Engaging Different Audiences
...where the men focused upon the action in the story and in the broad strokes of doctrinal truth, the women focused upon relationships, feelings and emotions of the story characters as related to themselves, and family structure. There was a heightened interest among the women whenever a Bible story focused upon the person of a woman or some aspect of life typical in the woman’s world.
God and Woman is a selection of 95 biblical stories chosen for introducing women in Central and South Asia to the God of the Bible. The introduction describes the typical worldview of women in these parts of the world. God and Woman retells each of the stories and offers extensive helps, including how to set up each story, key truths to emphasize, and discussion questions.
Also available in French. [more...]
Godly Play is an interactive and imaginative method of presenting Bible stories, parables and lessons about religious traditions, using engaging three-dimensional materials and a variety of creative activities. Through a structured programme of storytelling, reflection and creative expression, it invites listeners into the narratives and encourages them to connect them with their own personal experience.
Through Godly Play, children become more aware of the mystery of God’s presence around them and in their lives. In a gentle and non-coercive way, it encourages children to move into larger dimensions of belief and faith through creative wondering questions and open-ended response time. [more...]
"I think the workshop gave all the kids a way of expressing thoughts and emotions that they had no outlet for before. It helped them know that what they are feeling is normal and that God cares deeply about them."
How can children who have been traumatised by war engage with Scripture meaningfully? How can they believe in a loving father who cares for them? Through stories of children who had experiences similar to their own and Scripture stories, they can learn that - although life involves suffering - God cares for them. Through games, crafts, and conversation, they can give voice to their pain and bring it to Christ for healing. This model has proven to be effective with children in Gulu, Uganda and Liberia. [more...]
The JESUS film has been translated into over 1000 languages and seen by billions of people. While the audio soundtrack of the film has been changed many times, the visual way in which the story of Jesus is told has not yet been translated for the 15-30 year old generation. The Visual Translation Project seeks to use the same dialog recordings used in JESUS, but translate the visual elements and how the story is told into the modern, visual language of this young, media sophisticated generation... [more...]
Pastors who have studied in a language other than their mother tongue can have difficulty using the local language Scriptures. When they preach, they sometimes borrow words from the language in which they studied, rather than thinking about the word that will communicate best in their local language.
For this reason Bible Institutes, seminaries and churches should encourage those who study the Bible to use the translation in their own language and investigate how important terms were translated.
On completing this 43 lesson course, a speaker with the Scriptures in their own language will be able to:
- identify how key terms in their language are translated;
- use the terms when they teach or preach;
- better understand the doctrine based on or related to the key term;
- attach greater value to the Scriptures in their language since they know that there are appropriate ways to communicate key terms in their own language and that it may change according to the context;
- use the Scriptures with more confidence and motivate other people in their ethnic group to do so.
The course is also available in Spanish and Portuguese. [more...]
KidsGames is a worldwide movement connecting with children and the communities in which they live. This is already making a positive difference to the lives of tens of thousands of children.
All children can be involved in the core KidsGames elements which include Sports and Games, the Bible, creativity, compassion, KidsMedia and more, all integrated into a fun and easy-to-run initiative. [more...]
Five years ago Lion Hudson (a UK based publisher) was approached by the United Bible Societies with the need for an illustrated re-telling of the Bible narrative that was suitable for a wide age range including adults, culturally appropriate for non Western readers and which could be printed at a price that made it affordable for a mass market in the two thirds world with minimum or no subsidy. The organisations settled on a long-standing and successful title - The Lion Children's Bible - as the book that best met this requirement. [more...]
The pastor will find that not only can his congregation read the Scriptures in their own language, but they will show a greater depth of understanding God’s Word and show growth in their Christian lives.
Community literacy projects have been running in Ghana since the 1970s. Pastors, however, were not using the mother-tongue Scriptures in their churches. To address this problem, Pat Herbert describes how they developed Scripture Guides to accompany literacy primers. The program is now known as Literacy for Life (LFL). The article includes a sample of a Scripture Guide lesson, and discusses various issues, including training of teachers to use the materials, making it a church-based program, and funding for the primers and Scripture Guides. It compares the normal literacy programs to the LFL program and describes the impact the program has had. [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...]
 | 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. |