Bible Lesson Shortage

What lengths would you go to in order to ensure that your loved ones could study the Bible and learn about Jesus?

For many Rwandan church members, learning how to give a Bible study is so vitally important that they willingly walked more than two hours to attend a Voice of Prophecy Discover Bible School training seminar. In fact, some walked more than ­10 miles through torrential rain and on muddy roads.

In the city of Gisenyi, more than 500 delegates from around the region packed into a hand-built cinder block church eager to learn how to lead people to Christ. That day, it rained so hard that the electricity kept going off. The downpour on the tin roof was so deafening, it was impossible to be heard without the aid of a sound system. Whenever the power went out, the training came to an abrupt halt. Precious minutes ticked by as the group anxiously waited for the power to return.

After one unusually long delay, the members decided to ask God to stop the rain and bring back the power. In the middle of the third prayer, the electricity came back on and the rain subsided! Throughout the rest of the training, the power went out sporadically. But each time, the group began singing a hymn and the electricity returned.

Discover Bible Lessons Lead to Rich Harvest

In April, the Voice of Prophecy was asked to conduct Discover Bible School training seminars in five districts in Rwanda, including the cities of Gisenyi and Kigali. Thousands of local church members actively prepared for the countrywide outreach emphasis that included 2,300 evangelistic meeting sites.

According to the evangelism coordinator for the region, there are about 20,000 church members who desire to study the Bible with their friends, family and neighbors. Their key tool is the Voice of Prophecy Discover Bible Guides.

In 2003, these Bible lessons were translated into the Kinyarwanda language. Since that time, church members in Rwanda have used them extensively with great success.

“What I can say about the effect of the Discover lessons,” said a pastor from the Nyamata District, “is that people who join the church after undergoing thorough instruction through the Discover lessons do not easily leave the church. Most of the people we have in church who are strong in their faith are those who joined the church because of the Discover lessons. I know from past experience that when these lessons are distributed and students are carefully followed up, a great harvest will be realized.”

Another pastor reported that, “We currently have a large number of church members giving out Discover lessons. Some of our church members have shared that a few of their Discover students have already made the decision to be baptized. And these decisions were made after studying the first few Discover lessons!”

The Need for More Discover Bible Guides Is Great

In Rwanda, members could easily have used 100,000 sets prior outreach series and follow-up. Unfortunately, with local funding, only 29,000 sets could be printed. Many churches and members lack this effective resource, which would allow them to study the Bible with their friends and neighbors. Some people even used one set of lessons to study with multiple neighbors.

During one of the seminars in Kigali, a woman exclaimed, “You are teaching us to give Bible studies, but we do not have enough Discover lessons and some of us have none to use. We are willing, but we need lessons. Please, give us the Bible lessons so we can get to work!”

Your gift today will help provide these earnest, Gospel-minded church members with 100,000 more sets of Discover Bible Guides.

Today there are nearly 20,000 Rwandan church members eager to study the Bible with their friends and neighbors. If everyone received just five sets, we would need to print 100,000 sets! Five sets of lessons, printed in Kigali, cost $6.25.

Knowing the challenges that many members and churches have with few or no Discover Bible Guides, Kurt Johnson, our evangelism and Bible School director, also taught small group concepts and how to lead a Bible study when there are not enough lessons for everyone.

One church member shared how he dealt with this exact situation. The man was studying with five of his neighbors. He had managed to obtain four sets of lessons. But his fifth neighbor did not have a set. Nevertheless, this man faithfully studied with his neighbor every day to discuss the lesson.

Will you consider making a gift today to equip local church members with Discover Bible Guides?

The cost to print 100,000 lesson sets is $125,000. Your gift of $25 will provide 20 lesson sets, a $125 gift provides 100 sets, and an especially generous gift of $2,000 provides 1,600 sets! Your gift has the power to change countless lives.

Consider this testimony from the pastor of the Gako District, “We decided to conduct an experiment in four churches to see whether it is possible for every church member to win a soul for Christ. Due to this exercise being carried out for one week using Discover lessons and then inviting people to meetings that were held at the local church, 35 people have been baptized and 40 more are continuing to have Bible study. At the fifth church where we had organized Bible study meetings, we were receiving between 120-140 visitors every day!”

Indeed, the words of Christ ring true today with even greater power. “Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!”

Will you be the key in God’s hand today to lead someone to Christ? Your prayers and gifts of support make a huge impact both here at home and in countries like Rwanda. Because of you, the Voice of Prophecy is making a decided difference in the lives of millions of people around the world. Thank you!

Your brother in Christ,

Shawn Boonstra
Speaker/Director

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