Listening

Prayer & Praise Report #5, August-September 2016

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Preparing the Word in Asia

“Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” Rom. 10:17

TGSP has known for years that the power of God’s Story rests in the audio. We praise God for recent opportunities to record Bible portions. Our leader just recorded parts of the Bible (Old and New Testament) in the Yin language. He shared, "Still this people not yet having Bible.”

Can Radio Bible Studies Impact a Nation?

Missionaries in a predominantly Muslm area of east Asia reported the radio station is transmitting the Oral Bible Studies (STS style) from 2 times a day (2 hours each time) 7 days a week.  “Listeners text in comments and answers to the questions posed during the Oral Bible Studies and their texts are discussed during the transmission.” As people discover this radio station, its popularity grows!

The “STS radio station” airs the Bible stories chronologically. Our leader trains the students from two Oral Bible Schools (OBSs) how to do stories on radio so that (in his words), “I duplicate my self to the students so that they can help me in many ways of work for God.” The leader shares that story-telling changes many people in the Lord and raises disciples. He plans to start a 3rd OBS soon.

This leader and his instructors just finished their first training with another “anti-government” group who are devout Muslms. “They are glad hearing the stories and the first meeting was just a few leaders because they are so strict about fellowshipping.”

Please pray for this Gideon’s army. Another opportunity exists to teach values education to the 7^th thru 12^th grades.  The team hopes to engage other students as part of the STS team to reach other students. Many youth love STS and teach STS to others.  Currently, the government is open to this move for the sake of the young. Pray also for the other radio stations planned for Muslm areas.

What Is the Lasting Impact of STS Training?

USA

Recently, an instructor shared the blind Bartimaeus story found in Mark 10:46-52 with a group. They discussed how the crowd treated this blind man. At first the crowd told this blind man, who was crying for mercy, to be quiet.  The second time, the crowd obeyed Jesus and called for the man.

During the discussion, one man shared how he had planned to go to the casino, but he saw a lady bent over and struggling with some packages, so he helped her.  As a result, the “bent” lady, who was homeless, attended the Bible study for the first time that night.

Another couple came in late because it was the lady’s birthday. The birthday lady wanted only one thing, to be with people who had eyes on Jesus. She cried after listening to people talk about a blind man, whose eyes were opened and he saw Jesus.

Before the instructor finished telling the story, one man said, “I want another story!”

Another man shared how he felt at times in a church because he was shunned by the people who did not want to hear that he used to be a drug dealer and alcoholic.  The church seemed to be telling him, “Just keep it quiet.”

One STS-trained storyteller, who goes every Friday to the mall, shared, “I am now doing a Bible study with one man from the Mall, and helping a Chinese woman from the Mall learn English.  All these relationships came about from being at the Mall to tell stories. …. I'm deeply grateful for the doors that opened from first telling stories.”

Could Bible Stories Start a Village’s First Church in Africa?

Three leaders have been raised up to teach STS to others in Congo Braza.  They have more invitations than they can fill. One person recently wrote about the Villi region, "They went door to door asking the people if they wanted to hear Bible stories in their own language. Everyone they went to, said yes, … In 5 days, 52 people accepted the Lord, including the local witch doctor and the chief of the village. The chief has now given them land to build a church, the first Villi church ever built in this area."  As a result the pastor wants to train a local Villi pastor in STS so that he can design his church services each week around storytelling.”

Students Changed and Helping Others from Bible Stories?

A man trained in STS shared the following information about students attending his 2-year Bible school in Africa, which uses the STS method in their discussions.  “Students do not receive written materials except for the written exams at the end of the terms. … Since the method emphasizes application, the students seem to retain the information well. Each lesson included … discussing the story using the STS oral, inductive approach.”

Students respond in a consistent way. “The first area was that their lives had changed--the study had made a significant impact on their character. The second area included comments about understanding the Word of God. … And the third area was that they felt that they knew how to apply the Biblical principles to their own lives and help others to practice them in their communities.”

Can a New Believer Lead Others to Jesus in West Africa?

A team in West Africa shared the results after attending an STS training in Burkina Faso. “We have seen progressive results in our ministry and the [story-telling] is always the highlight of the evenings. Several have professed faith in Christ and we had now for the first time one of our believers lead a friend to Christ on his own. We had the honor and privilege of baptizing them both as well as another young man in that village last May. … We are continuing to use the STS as our main teaching method for this coming dry season as well.”

Sierra Leone

Staff at an education facility share Bible stories that they learn in the morning with guests who come to the resource center. The staff divides the guests into groups so that all the staff have the opportunity to practice presenting STS-style Bible stories. The organizer of the STS training shared, “We are so grateful for the time to practice using this helpful tool.”

Some from the training also conduct a “Ministry That Multiplies” (MTM) meeting, which helps STS graduates slowly hand to others the skills of STS while going deep in a Bible story.

Pastors and chaplains throughout Sierra Leone are now requesting that many of these STS practitioners introduce STS to their groups.

Some people are using the STS method at home during family devotions.   Another group wants their staff trained so the teachers can use STS in government schools that have Bible clubs throughout the country.  The multiple uses of STS throughout Sierra Leone as a result of the recent training are too many for one Prayer & Praise report. 

Latin America

Salvation and Baptism

In early August, several leaders trained in STS from Paraguay, El Salvador, USA, Mexico and Guatemala gathered for both an advanced STS training and to help lead a regular training. The man being baptized in the picture became a believer at this August training. This businessman was selling chewing gum on the street when a storyteller in our training told him a Bible story. The man came to the workshop that afternoon and was impacted by two more Bible stories. He accepted Jesus as Lord that day. He is an active member of the church now and attends regular STS Bible studies taught by some of our STS graduates. Thank you to Bryan, our European Director, for capturing the story.

Listen to the story here (as told by our European Director): http://tinyurl.com/STSLeper or a podcast here: http://tinyurl.com/STSLeper2.

Singapore

In Singapore more than 40 people were equipped to use STS in English, Mandarin, and Tagalog. One Chinese STS group leader went to a maid agency to look for a helper and reported, “I told the staff, I need a maid [with] smiling face. Why they all look so sad. … we chose [Mary] to work for my sis and our ministry. She [was] willing to serve God together & she attending church, also attending leadership training half way [half way house]. …Then I tell them the lost sheep story using STS. They all participant and said they are like that sheep. Many share their personal story to me, they said, they want Jesus, they need Jesus. Then I share the gospel with them. They all came to faith and we prayed the sinner prayer. (the two Indonesia maid also accepted Christ). praise God.

 “This morning, we went half way house with a few STS story teller to present story…. One brother accepted Christ after the story. They love to story and invited us to go back to tell story again.”

Extra Prayer & Praise Items

Our STS instructor in the South Sudan wrote recently asking for prayer and the restoration of peace. He said, “True peace come from God no from man join us in prayer. International body try to bring peace to South Sudan but it has failed now my village is empty…”

More than 400 solar audio players have gone out from July to Sept with many languages of God’s Story.

This month 3 new languages will be started in an East African country. A translation clinic is being planned for West Africa. One language has been postponed due to spiritual attacks on the storyteller’s family. Other languages in Asia, that have been on hold for a couple of months due to two computers crashing, are planned to resume recording soon.

Grateful to the Lord,

Andrea

Executive Director
The whole staff of The God's Story Project (TGSP)