Ministry releases new translations of audio Bible

International (FCBH/MNN) ―Faith Comes By Hearing has provided Scriptures to more than 478,000 people in their heart language.

Now the ministry has actually added nine new language recordings to their catalog of Audio Scriptures. The new releases are:

• Avokaya - South Sudan
• Kapsiki - Cameroon
• Konso - Ethiopia
• Latin - Vatican City State
• Luwo - South Sudan
• Ndogo - South Sudan
• Palauan - Palau
• Takia - Papua New Guinea
• Tuwali Ifugao - Philippines

These recordings are possible because of dedicated translation work by Wycliffe Bible Translators, The Bible League, United Bible Societies, and the Bible Societies of Cameroon, Ethiopia, Papua New Guinea, and Sudan.

Faith Comes By Hearing plans to release a second Portuguese recording this month to better reach the more than 177 million people who share Portuguese as their heart language.

FCBH is also making use of communications technology, offering free access to Audio Bibles through streaming and podcasts. For the smart phone users, there is the Bible.is app for iPhone, iPad and Android devices providing access to written Bibles in more than 600 languages.

They still provide Audio New Testaments on solar-poweredProclaimers for listening groups for those who don't have internet access. September's report indicates that there are more than 290,000 Proclaimers proclaiming God's Word around the world.

In 2012, Faith Comes By Hearing will celebrate its 40th year in ministry, continuing to focus on their mission to record and provide Audio New Testaments in every translated language, making the fulfillment of the Great Commission a reality.

Author and Pastor Translates Simple English New Testament

PHOENIX, Nov. 28, 2011 /Christian Newswire/ -- "Why do we need another English version of the Bible?" This was the question some people asked author and pastor Andrew Jackson when he embarked on translating the New Testament from Greek into simple, everyday English.

"Unfortunately, many of the accurately translated English Bibles today are too wooden, making it difficult for the reader to get personally involved in the Word," Jackson notes. "Others are paraphrases that are often not accurate to the original intent of the writers of the Bible."

Jackson's International English Bible™, now available in ebook and paperback format, balances accuracy and ease of reading and is written for the ordinary person, with a clear, natural flow.

With a Master of Divinity degree from Fuller Theological Seminary and a Doctor of Ministry degree from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, Jackson served over 20 years as a teaching pastor in two mega-churches in Virginia and Arizona, and as a college and seminary professor. He is ordained in the Evangelical Presbyterian Church.

Having studied at the Jerusalem University College in Israel and traveled through Turkey for twenty years, Jackson now leads biblical tours in the Middle East. This experience affords him a unique perspective on the geographical and cultural context of the New Testament scriptures.

As a result, he intentionally included features in the International English Bible™ that increase its accessibility and relevance to 21st-century readers, including: inline citations of Old Testament quotes, geographical points keyed to modern-day places, brief historical explanations and modern-day units of measurement.

Seasoned Christians, new believers, students, new English speakers and teachers alike will gain a fresh perspective on the word of God by reading the International English Bible™.

11-11-11 a momentous day for Truth

USA (MNN) ― Veteran's Day is an annual United States holiday honoring military veterans.

Faith Comes By Hearing is observing it this year with a unique venture. Since Veteran's Day falls on 11-11-11, the ministry decided to launch a Military Biblestick project as a way for Americans to support soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines with the Word of God in audio.

Jon Wilke, a military veteran and spokesman for the ministry's project, says, "I can't think of a more honorable cause than to help those who volunteered to sacrifice their time away from their families, and even their lives, by providing the Word of God in a form that they can use and receive."

Faith Comes By Hearing has freely given more than 143,000 BibleSticks to requesting chaplains since 2008. And they need help keeping up, says Wilke. "Demand has really been escalating. We at Faith Comes By Hearing receive about 2000 requests in a single week from chaplains. It doesn't stop. It's been going on for four years. Every year the demand has doubled from the year before."

The pocket-sized, digital audio device contains a word-for-word dramatized version of the New Testament. Chaplains make them available to troops, and, Wilke notes, "The chaplains tell us that the military BibleSticks are the most requested items that they've ever seen. There's a spiritual hunger in our military right now that's being fulfilled by the Word of God."

That's due, in part, to the nature of the job a soldier has. Many come face-to-face with their mortality in the war zones. Wilke says, "We're talking about providing the Word of God in a format that they're going to use when they have some of the most difficult and pressing questions that they face in life. 'What's going to happen to me when I die?' 'What happened to my friend?' 'Who is Jesus?' And, 'Is this Bible real?' Soldiers have all of these spiritual questions that come along when they go on these deployments and face some of these difficult situations."

This Friday, more than 200 Christian radio stations will participate in letting their listeners know about the Military BibleStick and the great demand for it by chaplains and troops. "We've asked Christian radio stations across the country to join Faith Comes By Hearing to make sure that we can fulfill this backorder that we have. There are troops that are waiting months, sometimes, to get the BibleSticks once they ask their chaplain."

The impact is far-reaching. Wilke explains that "for a gift of $25, listeners provide a BibleStick, a disc for people in the unit, and (one) for the people at home."

On the TV side, Faith Comes By Hearing has produced a broadcast-quality, half-hour special that details the project and talks about how this small audio device is making a big impact on this generation of soldiers. More than 30 stations have agreed to air the program on Veterans Day or over the holiday weekend.

Continuing the ministry tradition of working closely with churches nationwide, FCBH reports that over 900 churches will be presenting the Military BibleStick project to their congregations throughout the month of November.

Click here if you want to help provide Scripture to the troops and their families.

Siawi close to having New Testament

Papua New Guinea (MNN/NTM) ― The Siawi Bible translation team and New Tribes Mission missionary Linda Krieg are two steps closer to the day the entire New Testament will be assembled and printed in one book.

Krieg, 66, has been part of the missionary team to the Siawis since 1986. That's the year the Siawis, an unreached people group, invited New Tribes Mission to begin planting a church among them.

Read more...

Don't Treat The Bible Like A McNuggets Happy Meal

"The Books of the Bible" is a version
 of the New Testament presented in
 historical context and raw formatting
 to get people engaged (Photo
 courtesy of Biblica)

USA (MNN) ― "We read the Bible in fragments. We read a chapter here, a verse there," says Paul Caminiti with Biblica. "We have somehow created a culture of Bible McNuggets."

But little verse McNuggets cannot sustain a Christian wanting to grow stronger spiritually. Statistics show that while the average American family has 11 Bibles, every day as many as 1,700 people give up reading the Bible.

According to Caminiti, there are three pitfalls that have kept people from fully embracing and understanding the Scriptures: We don't read the Bible completely, we read it out of context, and we don't read it as a community.

Biblica started their Community Bible Experience program to change all that. The Community Bible Experience program has groups of people in a church or Bible study reading the whole New Testament in 8 weeks. During that time, they meet together in the model of a book club to discuss what they've read.

Caminiti says, "Community Bible Experience is based on reading 12 pages a day, 5 days a week. And to our delight, in our 50 churches that we've tested, people are up to the challenge. They're ready to be slightly heroic."

Not only do they read through the New Testament, they read it in a special re-ordered version of the New Testament produced by Biblica called "The Books of the Bible."

"The Books of the Bible" features a re-ordering of Bible books and chapters based on first-century historical flow of events. Verse and chapter numbers have been stripped away, and text is presented across the page instead of in columns.

Also, Community Bible Experience really encourages whole churches to get involved in the project. Caminiti states, "We've discovered that when a whole church comes together and instead of engaging the Bible one group at a time, kind of like a little campfire here and there, we're encouraging them to build a bonfire and for the whole church to do this."

Additionally, Caminiti says the response they've seen is a swell in passion for God's Word. "People love doing this. They love the books of the Bible. They love reading together. They love it that their whole church is doing it. And I think that they love the fact that they're reading the whole New Testament."

If you are interested in getting your church involved in the Community Bible Experience, you can visit Biblica's Web site byclicking here. Copies of "The Books of the Bible" can be purchased either in bulk for $5 apiece, or in singles for just $6.99. The rest of the materials are free.

The next series of the Community Bible Experience will start on September 25 and end on November 20.

Don't be satisfied with the McNuggets Happy Meal. Get into some real meat.