AN EXCITING PROJECT (THE ASB)

A couple of months ago I signed up to help promote a new study guide for African Christians. We are doing a Kickstarter Campaign throughout Tyndale’s blog network, and over the next week I’ll be tweeting about it as well, so if you follow me on twitter, feel free to retweet and share the news! And of course, you can contribute to the campaign yourself. Visit it here at  https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1816907898/launching-the-africa-study-bible to put in a small donation (or a big one, your choice!) Almost $8000 have been raised so far, but there's still plenty of room for your donations, with about a month still to go in the campaign.

There is a list of incentives and prizes on the donation page. They range from a simple social media thank you shoutout for a $5 donation to a trip to Kenya for a $10,000 dollar donation—and everything in between, which is where you might be. :P But you don’t really need any of that to participate, do you? This project is its own excuse for being.

But why is this book even necessary, you ask? Well, millions of Africans know and love Christ, but God’s word can be hard to apply to their daily lives because nearly every study Bible is written from the viewpoint of the United States or the UK. Africans have different experiences. They have lacked a resource that connects with their lives, making it hard for them to be nurtured. I was very excited to tell you how you can be involved in this project to print 100,000 study guides. 100,000 bibles is a drop in bucket compared to the millions of African Christians, but it’s a step in the right direction.

Dr. Matthew Elliott, the president of Oasis, which publishes the ASB, has this to say about it:  “With the ASB, we’re bringing the power of Scripture to Africa in a new and culturally relevant way . . . we’ve brought together 350 writers and editors from over 40 African countries, representing 50 denominations. This is an unprecedented project that will impact the global church. We already know of more than 100 million people in denominations and movements in Africa whose leaders want to use the ASB for discipleship.” 

Pretty exciting, huh? The ASB uses the New Living Translation and includes 2,400 plus features such as application notes, stories and proverbs, touchpoints that link Africa and the Bible, notes that explain basic theology, and major theme articles that apply the Bible to key issues. To see videos of people involved with the project (and more) visit www.oasisint.net

And don’t forget to donate! This project is about the spiritual future of Africa and the spiritual health of Africa today. It is for all generations and will have impact long beyond your lifetime. I can’t think of anything more important. Can you? :)