God's Word for the Nations

For nearly 13 years, God has used your generosity to provide Scripture to Bible-less peoples in the languages that touch their minds and hearts:

Sub-Saharan Africa: In the past five years, teams have worked on several Bible translation projects among unengaged, unreached people groups (UUPGs) in Africa.

Over 60 UUPGs live in a vast, particularly difficult-to-reach region. Teams travel for over two days by propeller plane and jeep across rugged, desolate terrain to reach the region.

These UUPGs don’t have a written language, so teams share Bible stories that highlight gospel truths.

Your gifts enabled these UUPGs to hear the gospel for the first time!

Deaf Peoples: There are more than 300 sign languages used globally by over 80 million Deaf Peoples. But the Bible is only available in ONE of those 300 languages. That means more than 79 million Deaf People have no Bible in their heart language.

But you are helping to change that through your generosity!

Your gifts enable translators to work on 11 new sign language translations. This level of Deaf translation is unprecedented and will take eight years to complete.

With your help, we are combating Bible poverty among Deaf Peoples.

Your sacrificial gifts and faithful prayers help translate the Bible into languages that have never before had a Bible. Thank you for your commitment to ensuring everyone has access to God’s Word.

“Thank you for the gift of the Bible, the Word of God! It is the most important gift of all. I know it will help me as a leader, and it will also help my community.”

These are the words of Kofi*, a leader among the Bassa people. Kofi’s village is trying to resettle after being violently driven off their land seven years ago.

Land disputes and religious differences led to violence and numerous deaths. The five Baptist churches in the community were destroyed.

Your generosity to this ministry provided Bibles to 300 Bassa families returning from exile. Most families returned to little of the life they left behind—only despair and hopelessness.

As villagers begin to trickle back, several groups are gathering weekly for worship. They are praising God for His faithfulness and studying Scripture together.

They are learning to live as neighbors again with those who were once their enemies and following Jesus’s command to “love [their] enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44).

Thank you for delivering hope to the Bassa people by providing them God’s Word!

Please continue joining us in prayer:

• Pray for the Bassa people as they rebuild their lives. Pray they give glory to God for being their Father and Sustainer, and that they build new lives centered on Him.
• Ask God to raise up Bassa church leaders to serve in local churches.
• Pray for wisdom and direction for our national partner as he travels home to evangelize the lost, disciple, and encourage Christians.

We are grateful for your prayers and sacrificial gifts. Thank you for joining us in this ministry to encourage the Bassa people during these difficult times. We trust God to use His Word to draw people to Himself (Isaiah 55:11).

*Name changed

Most of us encounter God’s Word daily. We read or hear it at a Bible study, on a podcast, or in a family devotion. Often, we take access to the Bible for granted.

Can you imagine having never read or heard the Bible?

This is the case for many living in one area of North Africa.

Because of your generosity, audio files with verses like Isaiah 55:8-9 are translated, recorded, and shared by local believers with friends and family. Most are hearing the words of Scripture for the first time.

What a joy it is to watch as Christians here share the Bible!

Your gifts to this ministry enable native speakers to develop audio recordings to introduce the lost to the message and hope Christ offers them.

One local believer wrote, translated, and recorded a five-minute Creation-to-Christ story. This audio file will be a pivotal tool in presenting the gospel here.

Because of your faithful support, God’s Word is reaching into the darkness of this region. Thank you for making this possible.

Please join us in prayer:

• Pray for local believers passionate about translating and recording Scripture for this mostly illiterate people group.
• Ask God to open the hearts of those who hear His Word so they become believers.
• Pray for opportunities to disciple new believers using these audio files.

Thank you for investing in translating Scripture for this North African people group. Your gifts and prayers are opening doors to the gospel!

Thank you for praying and giving to help reach Arab peoples for Christ. The Word of God, combined with the Holy Spirit, is a powerful change agent that has impacted the lives of millions of people. When read or heard in the mother tongue, the Bible has the power to convict and redeem the lost. Your faithful intercession and generosity provide access to the Word of God across North Africa and the Middle East (NAME) in both digital and book form.

Across NAME, long-term Christian workers are committed to getting God’s Word to the people groups they serve. Your generosity directly contributes to providing thousands of copies of Scripture (in print and on SD cards) and a daily broadcast sending the Word of God into hard-to-reach places in the region. Hear from several NAME teams utilizing your gifts to reach Arab peoples for Christ using the Bible:

Refugees find hope in God’s Word. One NAME team works in refugee camps, delivering the hope of the gospel. As refugees become new believers, the team trains them to share Christ with men and women from unreached tribes fleeing war. They are seeing unprecedented openness to the gospel in some camps. Our partners lead the way, evangelizing and discipling those around them. Because of your gifts, SD cards with audio Scripture stories and other evangelistic media are vital to this strategy. Pray for deep growth and maturity in these new refugee believers so they can continue sharing the gospel despite persecution.

Radio broadcasts hope amid persecution. In another part of the region, your generosity provides a daily radio program that sends the Word of God in the Sparrow language to hard-to-reach places. Most recently, the funds purchased 10,000 Sparrow language New Testaments, more than 20 years in the making! The team is currently working with trusted national partners to get these into the hands of the Sparrow people at a time when they need encouragement due to persecution. Pray for those who read this Sparrow Bible to hear the Holy Spirit’s instruction and encouragement.

Social media offers the hope of the gospel. Another NAME team purchased 50 copies of the Gospel of Mathew this past Christmas for their online free Bible outreach. These versions were specially designed and stylized with NAME graphics to make it attractive as a Holy Book. Each also included helpful commentary for every chapter, explaining key concepts Muslims struggle to understand. The team gave out about half of these in response to online demands in December and the rest during their weekly Bible distribution outreach. Pray for those who read these Scripture portions to see God’s love and offer of salvation in a new light and respond to what they read in God’s Word.

Thank you for giving. Martha* is a long-term worker serving as a Health and Wellness coach. She said, “Working deep within highly educated, discerning individuals requires an entry point that resonates with felt needs. Health provides that access. Once confident of my deep, sincere concern for their physical health, many people are comfortable engaging in a spiritual discussion. I can offer a copy of Scripture because of your gift. Thank you!” Pray for relationships to develop that allow long-term workers to offer copies of Scripture and ask and respond to questions about faith in Christ.

While each team’s methods vary as they creatively and effectively provide access to Scripture, one thing remains: God works through His Word to draw men and women to Himself. Thank you for your generous giving and support.

Thank you for partnering with us to reach the nations for Christ. We appreciate your sacrificial giving and prayers as we labor together to solve the world’s greatest problem: lostness.

*Name changed.

In the New Testament, Jewish religious leaders and Roman officials alike were unimpressed by the disciples’ educational pedigree, or lack thereof. However, they could not deny the power accompanying their preaching and healing ministry. In the same way, God is still at work today using “unqualified” people to confound the wise, share the gospel and glorify His name to the ends of the earth.

“Uncle Garvesh*” is as unqualified as they come, except that He knows Jesus as His Savior and Lord. He was older than most of the participants in the Bible storytelling workshops when he joined the two-year training and sharing program. He never had any formal education, and, among the pastors from his area, his lack of schooling disqualified him for leadership.

But Uncle Garvesh didn’t complain about their attitude towards him. He was shy and content to remain in the background.

The program equipped participants to share Bible stories in chronological order from creation to Christ and required that they share the stories with family and friends. Uncle Garvesh started with his wife and children, sharing the stories timidly in the beginning. Little by little, he continued to share in larger circles with neighbors and friends. In this way, he mastered the stories and shared his faith with others.

Soon, Uncle Garvesh was invited to participate in a Christian leaders’ meeting in his district. He took the opportunity to encourage fellow Christian workers and shared from the Bible without referencing notes or a written Bible. His boldness and accuracy in sharing God’s word greatly surprised the leaders. Thereafter, the leaders of his area recognized Uncle Garvesh as a respected and qualified Christian leader.

Since returning from Bible storying training, he has started two new churches and overseen multiple home-based storytelling groups in different villages. According to the audience’s preference, he uses Nepali and his heart language to share the gospel through Bible stories. Once a shy man whom other Christians did not consider qualified for leadership, Uncle Garvesh has earned the respect of fellow Christian workers and gained enough confidence through his application of training to speak with boldness for the Lord. Like Peter, John and the other disciples, he is now a bold leader empowered by God’s Word.

*name changed

Mukhtar won a coveted spot at a school for promising Islamic apologists where students are taught Bible passages that support the Islamic faith. Mukhtar became so fascinated with the Bible that he bought his own copy from the black market. The Word of God gripped him with such power that he read it from cover to cover in less than two months; he could think of nothing else. He turned to Christ, giving up academic prestige, community respect, and a secure economic future. Persecuted and financially abandoned by his family, he sought refuge in a local church where he took a simple job as a door guard.

Finding his own copy of God’s Word led Mukhtar to sacrifice everything for faith in Christ, discovering joy as a doorkeeper in the house of God.