Using Heart Languages to Reach Souls

Stories of Transformation

Language Barriers in India

Before 2021, we used the Hindi language among a certain people group in the mountains of northern India. While Hindi is the official language of India, in reality, it is just one of 121 languages and 270 mother tongues and is not spoken universally throughout the country.

This people group would try to read and then repeat the Discovery Bible Study (DBS) passages in Hindi. They would pray, inserting the Hindi words verbatim, but they were like robots with little feeling in their hearts about what they were saying. We wanted to reach the people in their own language, but we had no way of doing so.

Ending Scripture Poverty Initiative

Then 18 months ago we began the Ending Scripture Poverty (ESP) initiative, and our Disciple Making Movement (DMM) leaders traveled from village to village sharing the Word in the local languages with the help of a complete audio DBS on audio speakers. The people in this Indian village were so excited to hear the stories in their own language!

Now when they hear and discuss the stories in their own language, their hearts are touched in a way that hearing them in Hindi never could. They now not only listen, but their hearts change more readily through understanding the real meaning of the good news of Jesus. And that moment of transformation starts when they feel the meaning in their heart language.

The Impact of Scripture in a Heart Language

Our shepherding leaders especially like the recorded Gospel. Before the ESP Initiative, the leaders could only stay for a few days, share Gospel stories, and then had to leave. People didn’t hear the stories enough to remember them well in a non-native language and soon began forgetting details. Audio-recorded DBS gospel stories have changed the landscape of ministry. Now after a disciple maker has left, the oral shepherds continue to play the Bible passages that the disciple maker shared, and the people can listen over and over again. Once they listen, they retell the story in their own words and we see them grow spiritually like never before.

In these last 18 months, the people in this particular Indian village have begun 190 DBS groups. Before this, they listened to one DBS story and when the worker left there was little growth. Now with audio-recorded scripture passages, they can repeat, review, and retell passages over and over, bringing a much deeper understanding of God’s Word and achieving a more profound impact. This work has led to rapid and steady multiplication and to 1,428 disciples in 238 churches!

Join Us in Ending Scripture Poverty

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