ATLANTA – More than 500 churches affiliated with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (CBF) have participated in the “You’ve Got the Time” Bible-listening program this year and contributed more than $185,000 to support the distribution of Scripture around the world.

 

Part of an ongoing partnership with Faith Comes By Hearing, the audio-Bible ministry that has translated the New Testament into hundreds of languages and provides audio Bibles, “You’ve Got the Time: A Journey of Biblical Faithfulness” has been embraced by Fellowship churches.

 

Each participating congregation committed to listening to the New Testament each day for 40 days and was encouraged to support ongoing language translation efforts by collecting a special offering.

 

“We have been overwhelmed with positive responses from churches,” said Bo Prosser, the coordinator for congregational formation at CBF. “To immerse one’s self in the Scriptures for a 40-day journey has been very rewarding.  We’ve heard stories from across the Fellowship of creative ways of sharing in this adventure in biblical faithfulness.”

 

Since CBF’s partnership with Faith Comes By Hearing was launched in January, participating churches have raised nearly $185,000 to aid in funding complete translation of the New Testament into new languages, including Kambaata (Ethiopia), Chin Tiddim (Myanmar), Karen Pwo Eastern and Western (Myanmar) and Arabic Saudi (Saudi Arabia). Nearly $77,000 of CBF’s financial support has already been allotted to complete these translations.

 

Funding just one language translation costs $25,596. Currently, Faith Comes By Hearing offers 528 audio Scripture recordings in 473 languages reaching more than 4.5 billion people in more than 154 countries.

 

“Missionaries have told us about groups that hear the Bible for the first time, spoken in their own language,” said Roger Hunter, national coordinator for Faith Comes by Hearing. “People finally feel a connection to God when they realize that he hears them and understands them when they pray. It’s a powerful gift.”

 

To ensure the Scripture continues to touch lives around the world, the remaining $108,000 of CBF funding will be allocated to distributing solar-powered digital audio players called “Proclaimers” to remote areas, such as Myanmar and Ethiopia, via local Bible societies and field personnel.

 

Proclaimers contain a microchip recording of Scriptures in the heart language for each people group and have a battery life of up to 15 hours. They can be recharged with the built-in generator and solar panel to play the entire New Testament more than 1,000 times. The player’s audio quality is loud enough to be heard clearly by groups of 300 or more at one time.

 

“When a group of people gather around a Proclaimer, whether that is every day or once a week, a church is born,” Hunter said. “Our partnership with CBF ensures that we can continue to serve a world that is hungry for God’s word.”

 

Faith Comes By Hearing also recently developed an iPhone app called Bible.is, which offers audio Bible downloads in 50 languages. It’s available at http://bible.is/. Churches considering participating in 40-day listening program can learn more at www.thefellowship.info/ygtt. The website also includes information about an upcoming webinar at 11 a.m., Sept. 8, featuring churches who have already participated in a You’ve Got the Time listening program.

 

“It is so affirming to have a resource of this quality and to have it received so well,” Prosser said. “We are grateful for this spiritual practice and the formation that has resulted for those who participated in ‘You’ve Got the Time,’ and we encourage Fellowship churches to continue to support the mission-minded programs of Faith Comes by Hearing.”

 

CBF is a fellowship of Baptist Christians and churches who share a passion for the Great Commission and a commitment to Baptist principles of faith and practice. The Fellowship’s mission is to serve Christians and churches as they discover and fulfill their God-given mission.