Four hundred years of Portuguese rule, followed by twenty-five years of civil war, have left Mozambique impoverished but open to the Gospel. Both Christians and non-Christians are eager to learn more about God, but there is a problem: 80% of the population is illiterate, and could not read the Bible even if they had a translated copy. Mozambique now has one of the fastest growing churches in all of Africa, but due largely to a lack of access to the Scriptures, spiritual growth and discipleship have been severely hampered.
ASM has stepped in to help fill this gap. In Mozambique, as in many parts of the world, making the Bible available means providing Scriptures in audio form. Led by Chad Vanden Bosch, our Director of African Operations, ASM operates out of its recording and training studio in Xai-Xai in southern Mozambique. In order to increase our efforts to disseminate God’s Word in audio, we are also building a second training and recording studio in Chimoio in the central region of the country.
In addition, ASM has recently started working with the first pediatric hospice/palliative care project in the entire country. This is a brand-new project that aims to provide a higher quality of life to children suffering from terminal diseases (mostly AIDS) through comfort care and the use of audio Scripture materials.
ASM also partners with Crown of Victory Studios to get the Bible into people’s hands in a form they can use and understand. Since the beginning of this ministry partnership in Mozambique in 2005, thousands of audio Bibles have been distributed and many Bible translations have been recorded. This is just a small success with a long way to go. The people are hungry to hear God’s Word!
Stay up to date on stories from Africa by visiting Chad and Dara Vanden Bosch’s blog.
