USA (MNN) — At Dallas Baptist University, 1300 students have been challenged to listen to the entire New Testament in 40 days. That means listening for just 28 minutes a day until Easter.
DBU chose Faith Comes by Hearing's Audio Bible New Testaments for the campaign. FCBH has audio New Testaments available in 275 languages, and they are available for free by
downloading at their Web site.
The DBU campaign is called You've Got The Time. At a DBU chapel, every student received a free copy of the New Testament on an MP3 disc which includes Matthew through
Revelation 22. Students had expressed the desire to have an audio Bible before the campaign, and they are already making it part of their worship time. Groups are listening in their dorms and then discussing what they've heard afterward.
Daily e-mails are a source of encouragement for those who need to be reminded to continue to listen or to start listening. Program Director at DBU, Dr. Bob Garret, said, "We want to help young people draw closer to God by hearing His Word. We also want them to help others get closer by sharing His Word. The Bible is not just for us, it's for the nations. And we want the students to have an international agenda."
This is part of the goal of FCBH as well. They are praying that the 10 percent population of international students will take God's Word with them when they return home overseas. Records at DBU show that a majority of those students do not come from a Christian background.
FCBH's president Jerry Jackson also hopes that their Audio Bible will help make a difference on the campus–for those who are listening and those who are not. This campaign is
a model for their future efforts to do similar things at other universities.
In an age of iPods, listening to the Bible can be easier than reading it. Garret said, "They all have iPods, and they listen everywhere — while they're working out, going
between classes and traveling. It's hard for students to be disciplined enough to read every day. This is a great way to pour the Word of God into their hearts and minds and lives."
