Contact: Jon D. Wilke, Faith Comes By Hearing, 505-881-3321
MEDIA ADVISORY, April 8 /Christian Newswire/ -- Daniel sat in the recording studio, trying to hold back tears. He was playing the part of the apostle Paul in an Audio Bible recording session when suddenly his eyes started to swell with water.
"Why did you give me this part? Did you have an ulterior motive?" Daniel asked. "I can't read anymore, this chapter speaks very strongly, and it's touched my heart."
Daniel was stirred as he encountered the truth and power in God's Word. This experience happens all over the world as people hear the Bible for the first time in their own language.
Since Daniel's experience in the studio, Faith Comes By Hearing, the world's foremost Audio Bible ministry, finished recording the Kekchí Catholic Audio New Testament and has been working to establish Scripture listening groups in churches, schools and homes.
Nearly 2,400 Proclaimers are now in the hands of Kekchí church leaders in Guatemala, 1,050 of them are designated for Catholic parishes and schools.
The parishes listening through the New Testament are representative of a movement among the Catholic church in Latin America. During 2009, Audio Bibles in seven different languages proclaimed God's Word in 10 Latin American countries. Demand is so great that plans are underway to send another 3,600 Audio Bibles this year.
"Right now, I am having to hold my hand on the faucet," said Phil Kenney, the ministry's manager for the Americas region. "We need a new supply of resources to meet the increasing demand." He expects the number of Audio Bible listening groups to double by 2012.
The Audio Bibles have been well received. A Guatemalan priest said, "I've used Audio Bibles both at the parish and diocese level. People show interest, paying close attention. Above all, the children in the biblical catechism classes concentrate much more on the message. The congregation is motivated and shares what they have heard with their brothers."
In addition to parishes, God's Word in audio is reaching into the schools. About 700 solar-powered Audio Bibles, called Proclaimers, are being used in public and private schools in El Salvador, Colombia and Peru. Nearly 1,000 more Proclaimers will be sent for schools in 2010 alone.
Globally, half the world's people live on less than $2 a day and nearly 70% are functionally illiterate, meaning the written Word is a locked book.
Learn more about this ministry at www.FaithComesByHearing.com.
