Story number 3 for 17 Apr 2001

(Ethiopia)–In the 10 years since the demise of communism in Ethiopia, and with the advent of religious freedom, the number of evangelical Christians has grown tremendously. So says International Bible Society’s Dean Merrill. Merrill says the IBS has just launched the Amharic translation of the Bible. “Amharic is the language of Ethiopia, which is a nation of 63 million people. I think it’s about the 18th largest nation in the world. We have just finished the Amharic Standard Version, which is a fresh translation into today’s Amharic language.” Merrill adds that with the new translation, the possibilities for ministry are boundless. “The advance of the church, the advance of the kingdom of God is just tremendous. So, it’s just a very exciting time of growth in the church and young people coming to Christ and people wanting to read God’s word…tremendous openness and open arms to the Word of God.”