Using Media
"There is no question upon hearing the cassettes that Jesus speaks their language, that he understands Konkomba, hears their prayers, and is not a stranger among them."
Faith Comes By Hearing is a program where groups meet regularly to listen to the whole audio New Testament and discuss what they hear. This report (from 2002) outlines its benefits among the Konkomba people: decreasing syncretism; knowing Scriptures; hearing Scripture in the mother tongue; revealing the distrust by non-readers for anyone reading aloud; showing that Christianity and Jesus are not foreigners; removing the dividing wall created by literacy; church planting and evangelism; and signs and wonders. [more...]
Designed especially for youth and young adults, Living Worlds is educational yet entertaining.
Living Worlds is filmed on location in Italy, Greece and Turkey and supplemented with computer graphics and animations. It aims to help us understand better the world of New Testament times and specifically the context into which several books of the Bible were written. Each episode is around 10 minutes long, making it ideal for use in home groups, Bible studies - even Church gatherings.
The first episode "Corinth" uses cutting edge computer graphics, animations and story-telling to explore the life of Ancient Corinth. [more...]
The Logoscom association trains pastors in preaching with visual aids and encourages systematic Bible meditation using audio and video. They seek to create relevant visual tools for our modern world of communication.
Take a look at these websites for Scripture Engagement resources in French:
- www.logoscom.org (resources for churches)
- www.allobible.org (video and audio Bible downloads, teaching on personal Bible meditation, ideas for leading groups)
- www.allobible.mobi (website for mobile phones).
Henri Bacher is a creative Bible engager and used to work with Scripture Union in Peru. See for example, the video Bible Stop. [more...]
 | Mary Magdalene acts as both narrator and participant in Magdalena: Released from Shame, as she traces through the story of lives that have come into contact with Jesus, and have been powerfully released from shame. |
Pilot programs have clearly shown that extensive word and concept explanations are often needed if a non-Christian is to understand the written text as read on a cassette. The explanations will need to be provided in a format that is appropriate to both the medium and the listening context. It may be... a dramatic series of daily readings, presented in the context of a village family, and a narrator who will provide the necessary help with background information so that the listeners can place the text in its geographical and cultural context.
Although written before much of the revolution in digital media, this book provides a lot of useful strategic input for those involved in media and Scripture Engagement.
It is divided into three sections:
- Foundational principles for use of media in church and mission – Biblical principles, communication models, research methods.
- Selected media descriptions – chapters on television, radio, video, audio cassettes, print, film, music, painting & dance-drama, computers
- Practical guidelines for media in church and mission – strategy, planning, production, testing, distribution, evaluation.
"MegaVoice seeks to make the spoken, transforming message of the Word of God accessible to every non-reader in the world in a language they can understand."
MegaVoice produces audio players which can be used to listen to Scripture by those who cannot read or who prefer to listen. Many hours of recordings can be contained in a single device, each of which is rugged, portable and data-secure.
Available are the solar-powered Envoy and Story Teller.
Mobile Advance's mission and vision is connecting the unreached with the good news and church of Jesus Christ through the device that connects them with the world- the mobile phone.
At their website you will find:
- Resources to help you to get started and advance in mobile phone empowered ministry;
- Research, reviews, case studies and strategy papers that will help you and the Church to advance into new, more powerful realms of mobile phone outreach;
- A community of like-minded “world Christians” who are using the mobile phone to help bring the gospel to their neighbors and friends. Some of these people have faced the same issues you are facing and have answers you need. Others may be facing barriers you can help them overcome.
The Mobile Ministry Forum (MMF) is a coalition of ministries working towards the goal of giving every unreached person a chance to encounter Christ and His kingdom in a compelling, contextualized fashion through their personal mobile device by 2020.
On the MMF website you can find reports and presentations from the Mobile Ministry Forums of recent years, as well as a blog and mobile best practices. [more...]
 | A brief introduction to mobile ministry and its place in world missions Author: Keith Williams Published by: Mobile Ministry Forum An exciting growth area for Scripture Engagement practitioners is working out how mobile phones can be used around the world to encourage the use of the Scriptures. This 5-minute video presents an introduction to the possibilities of mobile ministry: [more...] Links: View video on Vimeo | Mobile Ministry Forum |
"Bible students, pastors, missionaries and professors are finding this convenient and easy way to read and study the Bible wherever they live, work or travel."
Olive Tree Bible Software provides solutions for people wanting to use their Bible on their Android, Mac, PC, iPhone, iPod and iPad.
Bibles and other Biblical reference materials are available in an increasing number of languages.