Chad (MNN) — As explained here, unreached people groups have no access to the Gospel. unfoldingWord teaches local church planters like Jeremiah* how to do Bible translation.
Lives change when unreached people groups hear God’s Word in their heart language. “We have no idea the impact on people groups like this; it just revolutionizes their world,” unfoldingWord’s Dane Skelton says.
One unreached people group in Chad is known for its violence against Christians. “Reaching out to this group has a lot of risks attached to it,” Skelton says.
“But Jeremiah and his team, in the Spirit of God and with great boldness, decided to take a long journey and share Open Bible Stories with this group.”
Tribal custom says every new visitor must visit the village chief or king first. The king of this people group had a fearsome reputation.
“He was adept at using occult powers and would manipulate people using those forces,” Skelton says.
Thankfully, God protected Jeremiah and his team. Skelton says that when the believers arrived at the village, “they couldn’t talk to the king because he was so sick; he couldn’t get out of bed, he couldn’t eat.”
Miracles in Chad
Through community testing, Jeremiah and his team introduced villagers to the Open Bible Stories. It was the first time this people group heard the Gospel in their language!
“When they go in and do these community checks, they’re asking the people, ‘Were we clear? Were we accurate? Did it sound like your natural speech with one another?’” Skelton explains.
Then, Jeremiah felt a “nudge” – the Holy Spirit compelled him to pray for the sick king in person. After the king consented, “The Holy Spirit of God within Jeremiah said, ‘Now I want you to be bold,’” Skelton says.
“Jeremiah said, ‘King, I need to tell you that there is a King of Kings. His name is Jesus, and if you believe in Him, He will heal you.’”
The king believed and confessed Jesus as his Lord and Savior in prayer with Jeremiah. “A few days later, the wife reported that the king got well and got up,” Skelton says.
(Graphic courtesy of unfoldingWord)
Please pray for that king, who is now being carefully discipled by Jeremiah’s team. Pray also “for Jeremiah and his team,” Skelton requests.
“It’s a risk every time they go into one of these places, and they know it.”
Seventeen million people live in Chad, and over two million speak something other than Chadian Arabic. unfoldingWord’s Chadian Arabic Gateway Language project equips translators with the tools to translate Scripture for 78 unreached groups, totaling more than eight million people.
A matching grant for this project expires on June 1, and only $19,000 remains unmet. Help Jeremiah and his team reach more villages here!
*Pseudonym
Header image is a representative stock photo courtesy of Moise Perez Bekoume albani/Pixabay.
