One of the barriers to wholistic discipleship in many places that we work is lack of Bibles. In some areas even pastors don’t own a Bible. They often tear one Bible into pieces, sharing it amongst many pastors and then exchanging pages on regular intervals. In DR Congo, we were shocked to discover that 70% of Christian pastors who do have a Bible are using a Jehovah’s Witness version. (Jehovah's Witnesses do not believe in the trinity and do not believe that Jesus is God. Their "Bible" has made changes to many verses in order to justify these wrong beliefs. Here’s a helpful article with an in-depth explanation.)
Other pastors cannot read. At church services they have a literate member of the congregation read a passage aloud, and then they preach whatever comes to mind. For these churches, which are typically in remote areas without electricity, a solar-powered audio device can give access to the whole Bible. When we have provided audio devices in other places, the whole community would often gather to listen to the Bible in the evenings. This year we want to bless the Congolese Church by providing as many Bibles as possible to those pastors who either don’t have one or are using a Jehovah’s Witness version. We really want people to be able to read God’s word for themselves.
Give one Bible for $15! This provides one print Bible.
Give an Audio Bible for $40! This includes both the Old and New Testament pre-loaded onto an audio player.