Tuesday, 21 February 2012











In the small landlocked nation of Nepal, bordering China and India, God is opening up an unprecedented window of opportunity for the Gospel. This predominately Hindu nation of just under 30 million people, only 0.5% of which are Christian, has undergone significant political, cultural and spiritual change since the 2006 civil war that saw the fall of the Hindu monarchy. As a result of its recent turbulent past, religious extremism is prevalent in most parts of the country.

Despite these challenges, there are now more than 9,000 Churches located across Nepal. Bible League International has been active in Nepal for over 9 years and is currently working in partnership with more than 2,000 Churches to provide Bibles, Bible study resources and training for local evangelists and Church Planters.

The recent merger between Bible League International (BLI) and World Bible Translation Center (WBTC) has opened up new ministry opportunities in Nepal. At the centre of this renewed evangelistic activity are the Easy to Read (ERV) Bibles, New Testaments and Gospels produced by WBTC. In particular, 5,000 copies of the Nepali New Testament titled “Naya Karar” have recently been made available to Churches for their outreach and evangelistic programs.

The ERV format is proving to be an effective tool in reaching many parts of Nepal with the Gospel. One delighted evangelist, after receiving Scripture package sets containing Bibles, New Testaments and Gospels commented:  

“When my village people asked me for Bibles, I did not have any to give them. This is a good opportunity for us to reach out to the people. The Bible in simple language is very, very useful for our mission fields. This is easy for them to understand. Now I can give Bibles and Gospel books to anyone who asks for it without a problem.”

Many parts of Nepal are remote and mountainous and outreach efforts are increasing amongst the many poor and marginalised communities. The remote Padampur Village in the Chitaun District is one such community visited recently by a Bible Distribution and Outreach Team.

“We spent two days going house to house, sharing the good news of Jesus and distributing ERV Scriptures. On the first day, we met in the Church for prayer and fellowship. Then we went out distributing New Testaments and Gospels. When we went to houses sharing the gospel and praying for the people, one of them affected by Tuberculosis was healed. Another person who was attacked by an evil spirit was delivered. There are many castes that live in this village and we were able to meet several people belonging to these communities”.
Despite the dangers, Evangelists and Church planters, trained by Bible League International, will continue to bring the light of the Gospel to spiritually dark places across Nepal. Many are hearing the name of Jesus for the first time and are seeking to follow Him as Lord and Saviour.

It costs just $5 to provide a Nepali ERV Bible.



Your gift will help provide much needed ERV Bibles to enable the Church in Nepal to continue to grow and to ultimately bring lasting change to this often forgotten nation.

Tuesday, 7 February 2012

Ecuador: Evangelism and Discipleship

David and Deborah Butts have been engaged in evangelism and have served as missionaries in Quito for more than six years. They represent the Southern Baptist International Mission Board.

Their work is in the Ambato area of Ecuador, where the population is mostly Quechua people, the indigenous Indians of the area. There are almost 2 million Quechua people in Ecuador and Peru, and they are broken into 14 distinct groups.

"As we began our ministry in Ambato, we worked hard at evangelism," remembers David. "God allowed people to come to Christ, then they wanted their friends to hear. The problem was that they always needed to bring their friends and neighbours to me."

David quickly realised this was not effective. There weren't enough hours in the day to develop relationships with so many people. The work was capped by his limited time. "We did addition really well," he says, "but there was no multiplication."

Effective evangelism
When David became familiar with Bible League International's plan for evangelism and discipleship through reproduction, he knew his prayers had been answered.

"Bible League International teaches lay people to do the work of evangelism and discipleship," says David. "And they were able to help us with the various learning levels of the Quechua people we work with. We are so thankful that Bible League International has translated the Bible study materials into Quechua."

The Quechua are very hard working people, but they only make about $5 per day, and that is when they are able to get work. Most live off their small patch of land.

David says, "Before Bible League International came to Ecuador, our people didn't have Bibles; they were simply not accessible on their meager incomes."

Like missionaries around the world, David and Deborah Butts are thankful for the Bible training tools they receive from Bible League International. As they accept the call of the Great Commission, their ministry of evangelism is growing.


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