Largest Bible School in India
Prayer & Praise Report #5, 2008
Dear Friends of God's Story,
How we praise God for His care and love and the power of His Word. Last year we saw the most new versions of God's Story produced 35. This year, already 29 have been completed and 11 more are waiting
for final approval. God gives the increase!
East Africa: A ministry that works in 100 counties is "testing" the use of God's Story wrote, "Our workers in East Africa love it. They want every language you have for the Horn of Africa!"
Ethiopia: “Thank for the good work you are doing. I am a Gbagyi man residing in Abuja, Nigeria and a Pastor/Computer Engineer. I have just bought a copy of God's story in Gbagyi for village evangelistic outreaches. I quite appreciate the work you've done.”
Please Pray For Us: In the next few months, we have over 50 Simply The Story workshops scheduled in 20 countries! It was just under two years ago that the Lord allowed us to introduce STS to the world. By the end of this year we estimate that STS will be actively being used in 42 countries (that we know about!) Amazingly, most of the instructing staff are 2nd and 3rd generation people we have taught, who have then
taught others. As well, the majority of instructors are nationals teaching their own people.
(Don't forget to let people know about the Dallas STS workshop, Sept 19-20 & 22-24. Email back for flyer on it or for info on STS Sept-Oct workshops in 10 African nations, India, Sri Lanka, Philippines and Mongolia.)
Wonderfully, this STS addition to God's Story is helping people to learn whole Bible stories, and empowering people to study and deliver the Scripture in inductive Bible study, oral style. We continue to record more told Bible stories. We want the non-literate to have a recorded oral Bible as an anchor.
Trainings are nice, but what actual impact does the STS way of delivering Scripture have on discipleship and evangelism?
Village Evangelism Impact: Grace Bible College, the largest Bible school in India, now uses STS as part of their curricula. Reports from their staff state, “Our graduate evangelists are seeing greater responses to the Gospel and growth of the village believers than ever before.
One man in this village, who for three years The evangelists themselves, who have been trained in and use God’s Story and STS, show a deeper walk with the Lord and better understanding of the Bible than their previous graduates.”
USA Impact: A missionary to SEA who spoke in a USA church on the way from STS workshop back to field just wrote "By the way, I did try STS at church in Illinois, again using Acts 3 story to spark people in
home community missions. It was a moving of God's spirit
as several people stood up and publicly confessed and repented for passing the poor/homeless by. The pastor
then called the whole church to prayer asking God to open their eyes to community. Praise the Lord STS
WORKS!!!!, it allows people to interact and really see and hear God's messages."
More After Nairobi Impact: Our Africa Director Bram... went to Costal Kenya and trained Kenyan pastors in STS. One comment they made struck me. “Before we thought that to use stories we had to do a world view study first and that we could not present salvation until the end of the set of stories. To us 3 to 4 months to wait to present salvation was too long, so we didn’t use stories. Now we see that the Holy Spirit can bring people to faith even off of just one Bible story!”
School Impact: Before heading home, the headmaster of a local public middle school asked Bram... come to his school to “do something evangelistic.”
Bram... told the whole story of the Prodigal Son, then followed the STS style of asking lots of questions about the story. Amazingly the student body of 900 became engaged and enthusiastically answered questions. At first, the children considered the elder brother in the story to be the hero. But in time the children discovered that brother’s pride and disrespect of the father and the younger brother’s humility. During the discussion they observed, and then offered, “The younger brother confessed his sin to his dad and to God. We want to be like him!
After discussing the story’s contents, the children offered many personal applications that they saw. Bram... then asked, “Do any of you want to come to God and admit your pride and ask Jesus to be your Saviour?’ Three hundred children raised their hands and prayed to be saved!
“The pastors who we just trained in STS have offered to go back to that school every week and tell more stories to these children.”
Even More School Impact: On the journey home, one of the other instructors, who had also been invited to preach at a local school, reported, “I told a story and about 300 children prayed for salvation!”
It Gets Better School & Nation Impact: Upon arriving home to Nairobi, a top leader in the Kenyan Baptist Convention (who had learned STS in the June workshop we led in Nairobi) visited Bram...’s office. “I just came back from the Congo where I attended a major Baptist meeting. I sat on the front row so at every opportunity I could tell another Bible story STS style. Now they all want this in the Congo. Then I went to a school there, told a Bible story the STS way, and almost 300 children came to Jesus!” [Can it get any better?] Third Generation Impact: (From an instructor in Uganda, taught by a Kenyan who we taught) "All these attendees confessed that STS is the best Bible school they have ever attended without demand for exam; yet very rich in digging Bible truth. They were very appreciative for such a privilege to have attended and participated practically in STS. Since they are in the key role of their local churches, they said they will share the idea with their congregation to be using the same method for deep Bible study and discipleship program. One pastor, Dennis said, ‘Thank you for this handy tool, our quest is now fulfilled through this simple method.'
Spiritual Impact: "They adopted the Naman story. When Gehazi accepted the gift of Naman; its consequences that was to affect his entire lineage. They applied it in their lives that small sin can affect one’s family and ministry seriously! This was a long story told by me, as I was illustrating to them how simple it is to learn many verses within a short time if the principle is followed."
Pastors Impacted: "One pastor, Remmy Acila, said, “This is a very timely tool for discipleship, such a simple method but profound way of Bible study we have been praying to God for.” Pastor Patrick, a pastor of a local church in Lira town said, “now all our cell groups will grow faster because everyone will get involved in the system and be able to reach their neighbors”.
Bottom Line Impact in Uganda: "I have seen the desire for the body of Christ to go back to the roots of the early church, the Bereans who spent time studying the word to prove whether the things that Paul and his associates said was true. The need for training is overwhelming this is still a very new way of approach to
many churches, yet they have eagerly embraced it. There is a big need not only on STS but even for TGSP to be translated into the local language (Lango). This region has great potential to spread STS like wild fire when we embark on training more instructors."
Beyond Belief Impact: This next incident just occurred at a celebration to honor a pastor who does social work in India. Over 2000 gathered, Hindus, government workers and Christians. "They gave me much time to share what I have done for this society. I stood and said to everybody saying that I did “0” to this world BUT my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ came to this world to save each one of us.
“Everyone clapped and then I took time to share some testimonies and jumped into STS, I was looking someone to tell the story of blind man Barthimaias, a young boy told the entire story in dramatic way I asked everyone (2000+) to retell the story each other (to their neighbors) everyone was remembering the story and telling the story step by step to their neighbors (it was joy to see their faces while they were telling the Bible story first time in their life especially Hindus).
“After retelling the story I step through and then I have asked some important questions so that they can found out spiritual insights.
“Even though it was big group but still the Holy Spirit of God led each one us to find out many spiritual insights in the story and during application many were with tears and saying that even though we have eyes to see but still we are blind in spiritual matters and we are not believing Creator God. Finally Pas. Paul told everyone to stand up and he led them in prayer, I pray and believe that many people might have received Christ as their personal Saviour.
“Hindu guru said this is the first time I am telling the Bible story, how much truth is there in this small story and how much faith that blind man has up on Jesus, if we have trust in God and then God will do miracle. I gave him VCD of G.S film and more people shown their interest to know more about the Creator God.”
India Big City and Slum Ministry Impact. “STS is doing really well with us, Lord is giving us great insights into His pure word and our whole leadership is thrilled in switching over to STS. Now we have 10,702 members in our churches, all glory to our Lord Jesus. STS is a great blessing.”
Impact on Theologian: “As you know, I am a trained theologian. I am used to presenting the Bible in a very
complicated way which only really fits intellectuals. Now I can present the Bible in a simple way to anybody. On the bus ride way back home to Gulu, Uganda, I sat next to a Buddhist man from Japan. I decided to tell him a simple story using the method I had just learned. So I told him the creation story and asked him questions to engage him. In the end, the man gave his life to Christ as Lord and Savior. So I invited him to come and live with me and my family for a month…..
“I am also using this Bible story method in our weekly Bible studies and in our weekly staff devotions with Favor of God in Gulu. Later this summer, we are planning on training all our staff and field workers in N Uganda….”- M O-New Life Bible College w/ Favor of God, Uganda .
Ministry to Illiterates in Sudan Impact: “We are so exited about the opportunity we had to attend this training in Nairobi. Please thank all the donors who helped make it possible for us to attend this training. It was so useful to help us understand the Bible better. We are now able to also train those who don’t read. We want you to know that although we just got home, we have already started this training in our ministry in Sudan.” -R & J, Truth & Life Ministries, Sudan.
Vital Discovery Impact: After the STS workshop in Kenya, a church planter who attended shared a wise observation. This man, strong in theological training, let go of his city business to minister, but in four years he has seen little fruit in his rural village work. To come to this workshop he traveled two days by camel, one day by "airbus" (hitching a ride on the top of a passing truck) and one day by bus! He loved what he learned in the workshop, feeling empowered! He stated, "I have been teaching what others taught me, but until this training I did not know how to learn from the Bible. I now see that I cannot take people to a place where I have not yet been.”
Not Any More!: So, Friends of God’s Story, thanks for your prayers and support. For us, this is a signal time in missions and open door. The ongoing retelling of the Bible stories, the impact of God’s Story on DVD and audio, and the solar players is carrying the Gospel to the far regions of the earth.
This week we received the recorded God’s Story narration for a people living in Timbuktu, which was once considered the hardest to reach place on earth. Not any more!
In His mercy, Dorothy A. Miller