Bible Mobility in West Africa

Eighty-five percent of those who call themselves American Christians are biblically illiterate. They do not engage with the Bible in a way that makes any difference in their lifestyle from those who are not Christians.

James and I at the most western point of Africa

As James Kanaganayagam, International Director for Back to the Bible (BTTB), made this statement, heads around the room nodded in agreement. “It’s the very same here in our own country,” said one  ministry leader. “We have good success in leading people to Christ, but very poor success in getting them to grow and be discipled in their faith.”

This past week, I have been hosting James on a whirlwind trip to the countries of Senegal and Gambia in West Africa, introducing him to key national ministry leaders in these two countries. This trip is an exploration by BTTB to find local ministries that could be partners in a new outreach that utilizes cell phones. Called MoBible (intended to sound like “mo-bile”), BTTB has already proven that sending people a daily phone and/or text message that meaningfully engages them with a passage of Scripture can have huge success. In two test cases since last summer, there are already 15,000 subscribers in the US and 20,000 in the country of Sri Lanka. (Check out  https://gotandem.com/ )

Meeting with Gambian ministry leaders

During this trip, we have learned just how far cell phones have penetrated the cultures of these two countries. Competing telecommunication companies have kept call prices low enough so that virtually anyone, even in remote villages, can afford to use them. As we discussed possibilities with church leaders on this trip, I was impressed with the timeliness of this ministry outreach. “This is truly an answer to prayer,” said David Jatta, director of a key youth ministry in the country of Gambia. “We were already trying to figure out how to do something like this, and now we can simply join hands with Back to the Bible to make it happen.” Before our meeting was over, he and his wife agreed to head up a national task force to make the partnership a reality.

Meeting with Senegalese ministry leaders

In Senegal, more than a dozen national leaders agreed that MoBible could have tremendous impact in their country. After hearing how non-Christians in Sri Lanka, including Muslims and Buddhists, had also signed up for MoBible simply to get a daily word of encouragement, these leaders expressed their belief that MoBible could impact evangelism in their country as well as be a discipleship tool for Christians. They, too, have now formed a group to dialogue with us about how to bring the MoBible concept to Senegal.

As I begin this consulting relationship with Back to the Bible, I’m pleased to see such success during our first exploration trip for MoBible.  I look forward to discovering what other key national ministries around the world could be potential partners with BTTB in this strategic ministry endeavor.