Audio Bibles bring God’s Word to diverse audience

International (MNN) — As technology advances, so does the way people seek information. People are constantly searching for more efficient ways to work, learn, and connect with others. The ability to have endless information at one’s fingertips has made people much more distracted and seemingly less patient.

This may seem to present challenges for studying Scripture and sharing God’s Word, but for Faith Comes By Hearing, these roadblocks can lead to a powerful form of ministry.

FCBH’s goal is to record God’s Word in every language. Its work consists primarily of audio Bibles, as well as a sign language Bible smartphone application for the deaf. Audio Scriptures are available through a variety of channels, including podcasts, smartphone applications, the Internet, and download. These formats give listeners God’s Word at their disposal, helping them spend more time with the Lord in the midst of their hectic schedules. They are especially useful for the younger generation.

“Technology and other things have given me access to carry God’s Word around with me on my phone. That’s really what’s going to get these other generations into God’s Word,” says Bill Lohr with FCBH. “They’re not going to want to go out and have to carry a Bible with them, or run home to grab that print Bible. They want to have things with them immediately.

“Wherever they are, it doesn’t matter which platform, which social media network, we want it to be so ubiquitous, that God’s Word simply is there. It’s available for them. All they have to do is think about it almost, and it’s there. They can read, they can listen, they can watch. All of these things can happen now with digital technology.”

FCBH has Scripture recordings in nearly 900 languages. Social media is one of its key ministry tools, which helps connect with such a diverse target audience.

“If Facebook were a country, it would be the second-largest country in the world,” Lohr says. “There are over 1.2 billion people on Facebook, and that continues to grow. So the sheer number of people on there: we want to make sure we can interact with them on God’s Word.

“By being able to put God’s Word available in every single platform, It doesn’t matter if you’re on Facebook, it doesn’t matter if you’re on Twitter, it doesn’t matter if you’re on Instagram. There are people on those networks who are sharing God’s Word. We want to make it so that with one click of a button, they can share something, and that takes them directly to somewhere where they can read more, or they can listen more.”

But the tool that has had the strongest impact, Lohr says, is a small, black, solar-powered audio player called the Proclaimer. These devices are preloaded with a recording of the Bible and are given to missionaries to distribute to rural villages where many are illiterate and lack resources for receiving God’s Word.

“Entire villages are transformed because they are hearing God’s Word for themselves…. But the work that we’re doing in the field where we have Proclaimers and other devices, we have some amazing reports that come back. Drunkenness in entire villages has ceased to exist, and people who are committing crimes are coming to the Lord and realizing this is not the life they want to lead.

“It doesn’t just happen because they realize they want to become a better person. It happens because they’ve had a true run-in and relationship with Jesus Christ.”

Want to bring Christ to unreached groups yourself? FCBH can help. Contact FCBH (toll free: 800-545-6552; e-mail: [email protected]) and ask for resources to bring on short-term mission trips to help share Christ.

Lohr also asks that you come alongside his organization in prayer, asking God to guide, bless and strengthen its ministry. Click here for ways to help FCBH financially.