Roughly half of the 46 million people in the Arab world who speak Egyptian Arabic cannot read or write. At the same time, many Arabs who are listed as literate in statistics are in fact functionally illiterate and do not have the capability of reading written texts, including the Bible. Women tend to be the least literate, caused in part by poverty, oppression and isolation in rural villages.
Because of these facts, reaching nonliterate Arabic speakers with the gospel by means other than the printed page is of utmost importance. That’s why TWR, in partnership with the International Bible Society (IBS), the United Bible Societies (UBS), the American Bible Society (ABS) and Faith Comes By Hearing (FCBH) created The Radio Bible project. These radio programs give both illiterate and literate people the opportunity to hear the Bible in an engaging fashion by using drama to clearly communicate the Scriptures.
TWR is responsible for producing and broadcasting the 15-minute daily broadcasts in the Arabic language. At the core of each The Radio Bible program is the dramatized presentation of the Word of God that takes listeners through Scripture selections from the Old Testament (approximately half of the Old Testament) and the entire New Testament within one year.
The Radio Bible in Arabic went on the air in late March to North Africa. Listeners of the broadcast can contact TWR through secure mail boxes and other confidential delivery systems operated by TWR in the Arab world, allowing staff to follow up with them and evaluate the program’s effectiveness.
Even as the world becomes increasingly dependent upon modern communication technologies, a large number of cultures remain connected only through the spoken word. Just like these in the Middle East, oral societies exist across the globe. Because at least 1.5 billion people have never been introduced to reading and writing in any form, and more than 4,000 languages have no translated Scripture at all*, TWR has made one of its global priorities to reach these oral communicators with the truth of God’s Word in a format they can hear and understand. Learn more on TWR’s Global Strategic Plan site.
*Source: International Mission Board, Southern Baptist Convention, 2004
Prayer Points
- Please pray with us regarding this new ministry outreach to the Arab nations of North Africa. Pray that many Arabic speakers will tune in to The Radio Bible programs and understand God’s Word clearly in their own language.
- Please pray that funds will become available so that the programs can also be broadcast to the Arabic-speaking nations of the Middle East.