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GodPods Bring God's Word to People Who Can't Read
Nearly one billion people worldwide can't read. The RCA, in partnership with Audio Scripture Ministries, is working to get personal audio players with translations of the Bible--GodPods--to as many of them as possible.
Chad Vanden Bosch, an RCA missionary, tells an exciting story about the role Audio Scripture Ministries (ASM) recently played in bringing God's Word to an isolated people group in Central Asia.
Vanden Bosch provides technical support and training for ASM's partner recording studios on three continents. About three years ago a package addressed to Vanden Bosch showed up at the ASM office in Holland, Michigan. Inside were CDs containing an entire audio Bible in a language from a region in Central Asia. (For security reasons Vanden Bosch can't mention the specific place.) "There was no note or anything telling me what was to be done with this project," he says. "Nobody I talked to seemed to know anything about it, so I just hung onto it."
About a year and a half later, John Paul (JP) Sundararajan, the India-Asia director for ASM, had lunch with a missionary friend who was serving in Central Asia. The missionary mentioned his desire to reach an extremely isolated group with God's Word in audio since their literacy rate was less than one percent. "When JP told me about this meeting I couldn't help but smile," says Vanden Bosch. "The language they were talking about was the same as that on those 'mystery disks.'"
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Lent Devotional: Tuesday, March 9
By Marisol Ferrer
Scripture reading: Colossians 3:1-11
"God's lifegiving Word and Spirit will enable the church to live in a new obedience which can open new possibilities of life for society and the world."
--The Belhar Confession
In the book of Genesis we learn that we are made in the image of God. From Genesis to Revelation we learn that we have not only received the image of God, but that we are now fulfilling and are destined someday to fully actualize a divine design.
The image of God as Creator, Jesus as God's image revealed to us, and the Holy Spirit as a continued relationship shows us that God is community throughout eternity. If we are made in the image of God, then we are called to live in loving community together. We have been given the opportunity, privilege, and responsibility of reflecting this image of God. This is still a work in progress.
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March Issue of Perspectives Journal Now Available
The March 2010 issue of Perspectives Journal features writing by Scott Hoezee, Mark T. Mulder and James K.A. Smith, Grace Olson, Christine Visminas, John Timmerman, Barbara Crooker, Harry Boonstra, and Mary Hulst.
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Lent Devotional: Monday, March 8
By Paul Janssen
Scripture reading: 2 Peter 3:13
"We believe... that the church is witness both by word and by deed to the new heaven and the new earth in which righteousness dwells."
--The Belhar Confession
One of the first things I noticed when I moved from Iowa to New York was the amount of time New Yorkers spend waiting for the subway. Some waited patiently, but most had an air of urgency. To my rather laid-back Midwestern sensibilities, it seemed they waited actively, even aggressively. Apparently there's waiting, and then there's waiting.
As followers of Jesus, we wait for the dawning of new heavens and a new earth. What are we waiting for? For a way of being "where righteousness is at home" (2 Peter 3:13).
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Camp Fowler Goes Greener
Camp Fowler in Speculator, New York, is seeking to shrink its environmental footprint by generating its own solar electricity. In December 2009, Fowler installed 76 200-watt solar panels on the roof of what will become its new nature center.
"They're in an appropriate place--at the center of camp where everyone can see them," says Kent Busman, camp director. "As part of the nature center, it models a commitment not only to help kids learn more about the natural world around them but also to see how environmentally we can explore opportunities available to us.
"The philosophy of Camp Fowler is to provide opportunities as a Christian community to have campers experience a simpler way of life and to give the opportunity to learn about and care for the world around them."
