Among the Maasai People in East Africa, older men (those over 50) live outside, tending their cattle. They rarely enter buildings and would never consider entering a church building. For years, missionaries visited the Maasai to preach to them. The men were skeptical and felt foreigners had an agenda to convert them from their way of life. As a result, most Maasai believers have been women and children, with very few male disciples.
Enter Mark,* a respected 45-year-old Maasai follower of Christ. He has a burden to reach the men in his tribe and is empowered by New Generations. Knowing the response to other church planting efforts among the Maasai, Mark took a very different approach.
The New Generations Ending Scripture Poverty team gave him copies of Audio Scriptures along with a solar-powered player. Instead of preaching to people, he visited a group of fellow Maasai men and dropped off an audio scripture device that contained Discovery Bible Study (DBS) questions as well as an audio Scripture set (ESP300) in their heart language. He asked no questions and made no demands of the men. He just said he would be back later.
Mark returned after a few days. And instead of questioning them, this time the men had questions for Mark. He listened. They said, “This box talks the truth more than missionaries. These stories are so good!” For the first time, older Maasai men are following Jesus and stepping into discipling other men. God is using His Word translated into oral Bible recordings to draw people to Himself. The power is in God’s Word, not our apologetic persuasion. We believe God is drawing people to Himself, especially when people hear and interact directly with God’s Word in their heart language.
“This allows oral people to be initiators and not just receivers.” –Leader in East Africa
*Names and regions have been changed for security purposes.