A monk naps while tourists mill around the grounds of a temple in Kathmandu, Nepal. An ancient and beautiful nation, Nepal’s low literacy rate is really a testament to their strong oral tradition. Although 59% of Nepalis claim to be literate, the vast majority of Nepalis and other South Asians prefer to communicate orally whether they can read or not. It is recognised that up to three quarters of the world’s population learn important life lessons orally by observation, participation and conversation. Even many ‘westerners’ prefer radio, movies, short videos and conversation to reading reports. A Wycliffe Bible storytelling team works with a language group in South Asia helping the local churches share the gospel by translating, checking and recording Bible stories that can be easily re-told. An innovative approach to Bible translation, Pemba, a South Asian Bible story specialist, comments, “I think story is the best tool for evangelism and for the gospel. People like to listen in their own mother tongue.” Watch a video about this Bible storytelling project.

Photo: Ari Vitikainen