The Proclaimer

"But unless Christ's word is preached, there is nothing to listen to. "

Romans 10:17 The Message

In December, Phil had an opportunity to go out to a small village west of Niamey. He was joined by one of the ACEN church elders as they attended a Campus for Christ training session for the "Proclaimers."

The "proclaimer" is a solar powered/hand cranked MP3 players that is housed in a box with a speaker for protection and group use. The proclaimer has prerecorded portions of scripture in it that are used in small group settings to teach, and disciple the young church.

Many Nigerien are unable to read, so the use of oral language learning is very vital. The Proclaimer gets the word of God to the people of the church first, helping them learn scripture, ask questions in the small group setting and then with understanding go outside the church to evangelize their village neighbors.

It was a privilege to be present as the Proclaimers were handed out to the elders and pastors of churches from surrounding villages.

Their faces lit up as they heard the Bible passages read in their own language, Gourma.

Pray that these Proclaimers will be well used to strengthen the young church of Niger.

Pray for the leaders of the Proclaimer small groups, to be prepared for each meeting ready to answer questions and encouraging their members to learn more.

Pray that the Proclaimers are protected from damage and continue working for many years.

Pray for the follow up on the initial hand out of the proclaimer. That there will be good documentation of its use and small group feed back.

UPDATE! Training for The Proclaimer use was begun at the small Gourma church we attend in Niamey. We look forward to seeing how it is used there and growth in scripture understanding of our church members.