The Christian Network for Africa Mission is set to formally launch a locally assembled audio Bible device to support evangelism efforts in unreached communities across Africa and Asia.
The launch is scheduled to take place on August 8 at the Yaba Presbyterian Church in Lagos.
The initiative is targeted at groups with limited or no access to western education, literacy, or printed scriptures.
The device is designed to play Bible recordings in various local languages and can be powered by solar energy or electricity, making it suitable for use in remote areas.
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A statement on Sunday by Edwin Ebeniro, the network’s chief missioner, said the inspiration for the project came in 2019 during a conference in Uganda.
“The device breaks the language barrier completely and makes it easy for people to be reached with the gospel because they will be hearing the word of God read to them in their own language,” he said.
“We cannot overemphasise the need for such a device, which by God’s grace we have been able to put together. It is the first locally assembled device. The beauty of it is that users can listen to the Bible while they do other things. It is unlike when you read the hard copy Bible, which compels you to shut down other things you’re doing.”
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Ebeniro said the audio Bible initiative not only addresses the challenge of literacy but also provides a unique resource for the visually impaired and others with reading difficulties.
“It’s not a question of ‘I cannot read’. The device makes it easy for the illiterate to access the word of God also for people that are visually impaired. That is why we are campaigning and asking churches to invest in its production,” he added.
“We are going to formally kick off the campaign and encourage churches to begin to subscribe to the device to aid their evangelism and also for their personal spiritual growth.
“The peculiarity of the device is that it could be used without electricity. What we have could be powered by solar. And it could also be recharged with electricity. It comes in different languages.”
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The chief missioner said so far, the project has produced 5,000 units, all distributed free of charge for mission purposes.
He added that the target for this year is 24,000 units, to be sent to hard-to-reach communities across Africa and Asia.
“It has been a great blessing to users. People get excited when they hear God’s word being read in their language. It tends to resonate with them more than when it is read in a language they are not familiar with. Many lives have been transformed through the audio Bible,” he said.
“So far, we have been giving out the device free of charge to the users because it is for evangelism purposes. But people who have an understanding of missions pay for its production. There are people in the church who have been bearing the cost. Our intention is to continue to make the device free.”
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