If you haven't yet heard of the Africa Study Bible (ASB), please allow me to share a little bit about it with you...and please be sure to check out the current Kickstarter where you can pledge to help with the launch.
The Kickstarter goal is to raise one million dollars to print the first 100,000 copies of the Africa Study Bible. When you back this project, there are great incentives - ranging from social media shout outs and special previews to special artwork and goatskin leather copies of the ASB...and even a trip to Kenya for the launch of the Africa Study Bible and a safari! But even more rewarding, I think, is the knowledge that you have helped bring God's Word to people in Africa written from a perspective that they will more easily understand & identify with.
Here is some information for you which has been taken from the press release for the ASB:
Millions of English-speaking Africans know and love Christ, but for many, God’s word is hard to grasp. With nearly every full evangelical study Bible written from the viewpoint of the United States and United Kingdom, Africans have lacked a resource that connects with their unique experience, hindering discipleship. But that is about to change as major Christian organizations, led by Oasis International, are joining together to launch the Africa Study Bible (ASB), a six-year, cross-continental effort that has produced the first study Bible developed by Africans for Africans.
“With the ASB, we’re bringing the power of Scripture to Africa in a new and culturally relevant way,” says Dr. Matthew Elliott, president of Oasis, publisher of the ASB. “Under the leadership of an 11-member editorial board of scholars from across Africa, 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.”
“Our goal is to have the first run of the ASB available in Africa by the end of 2016,” says Elliott. “We already know of more than 100 million people in denominations and movements in Africa whose leaders want to use the ASB for discipleship so there is a lot of anticipation throughout the continent.”
Designed to grow the faith of African church members, teach them to evangelize their communities, and apply a biblical worldview to their society, 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, learn notes that explain basic theology, and major theme articles that apply the Bible to key issues. Oasis plans to initially release the ASB in English with French and Portuguese translations in development. Oasis is also developing a full-featured app of the study Bible.
“We have seen the hand of God in amazing ways throughout the development of this project,” says Elliott. “In the words of our supervising editor, Dr. John Jusu, the content of the ASB is bubbling up from the cultures of Africa. The biblical truth is percolating through our own cultures and stories to create a rich and textured tapestry that Africans can claim as their own.”
If you'd like to check out the website for the Africa Study Bible, you can find it here.
The Kickstarter for the Africa Study Bible will be open until June 16th - but, please, don't wait to give!
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