Audio Bibles to Accompany Haiti Disaster Relief Teams

Before the earthquake, Haiti was one of the poorest nations in the world. About 70% of Haitians live on less than $2 a day, and now they have lost everything.

Faith Comes By Hearing, an international Audio Bible group, is working with Convoy of Hope to provide relief in Haiti.

Convoy of Hope, a disaster relief organization and ministry partner to Faith Comes By Hearing, feeds the hungry and provides pure drinking water to people in need across the United States and around the world. To date, the organization has provided help to 28 million people in 112 countries and 45 states.

Lauded for its effectiveness and efficiency, Convoy of Hope mobilizes thousands of volunteers each year to deliver food and supplies and to offer hope to the poor and suffering.

Convoy of Hope has people on the ground ready to receive containers of food, clothing and supplies being sent to Haiti. They are working with local Haitian churches that are ministering to those left in this deadly earthquake.

Faith Comes By Hearing is coming alongside their disaster relief services to provide solar-powered Audio Bibles that will minister emotional and spiritual healing to this impoverished nation.

A missionary there wrote on Twitter, “some of the worst effects are emotional…no smiles on the street and sense of despair.”

Another ministry partner in Haiti sent in a report stating, “Many are thirsty for words of comfort and ask us for the Bible.”

When her office suffered damage, the first thing she went in to retrieve–Proclaimers.

While relief efforts help provide the physical needs, Faith Comes By Hearing’s Audio Bibles will help bring the promises of God in the heart language of the people so desperate for hope.

“It’s hard for us to imagine losing everything–your home, your family and neighbors,” said Jon Wilke, Faith Comes By Hearing spokesperson. “Now, imagine standing in a line waiting for aid and hearing Jesus say (in the Beatitudes) ‘Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.’ Imagine hearing about how Jesus had no place to lay his head. These verses in God’s Word can demonstrate that God understands their situation and has not forgotten them.”

Faith Comes By Hearing is also making these Audio Bibles available for other ministries, relief groups and local churches. To get involved call 800-545-6552

Audio Bibles to Minister Hope in Haiti

Standing on a pile of concrete and tin metal rubble, a 20-something Haitian man points over his shoulder.

“This was my father’s house,” he said, matter-of-factly. Then the reality rolls over him like a wave, and his voice breaks, “My mother was in there. My family was…”

He is interrupted by another man who yells, “I can hear them in there. But we can’t get to them. Without a loader, we can’t move this.”

On Tuesday, Haiti, the poorest nation in the western hemisphere, was struck by a 7.0 magnitude earthquake near its capital city, Port-au-Prince.

People have set up makeshift shelters, refugee camps and hospitals as others dig through concrete mounds that once held their children, spouses, family, friends and neighbors.

Faith Comes By Hearing, the world’s foremost Audio Bible ministry, is responding to this crisis by providing faith, hope and love through God’s Word in audio.

“We already have 600 Proclaimers on their way through our ministry partner, Convoy of Hope,” said Jon Wilke, the ministry’s spokesperson. “These portable, solar-powered Audio Bibles will be given to local pastors so people can hear God’s Word in their own language–Haitian Creole.”

“There is an immediate need for 3,000 Proclaimers. We want to equip those short-term groups, disaster relief teams, church teams and ministries with the Word of God in a format people can use,” he said.

Right now, Haitians are afraid to go inside whatever is left of their homes. They are fearful of aftershocks or further collapse. Masses of people are sitting outside, on the curbs and under homemade shelters. Peoples’ houses are crumbled, their families are shattered and they are living in ruins.

“Haitians will need that long-term hope and comfort that comes from knowing God has not forgotten them through this tragedy,” said Wilke.

Churches can get involved by providing funding for more Proclaimers or by incorporating these Audio Bibles into their short-term trips. Learn more at www.FaithComesByHearing.com or by calling 800-545-6552.

“Please continue to pray for the people of Haiti and for those who are mobilizing to meet the tremendous needs that are impacting thousands of people,” Wilke said.

Audio Bibles Make The Final Four

Rev. Billy Graham once said, “One coach will impact more young people in a year than the average person does in a lifetime. So who’s coaching the coaches?”

Two influential Christian ministries have teamed up to do just that. This week in Detroit at the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, Faith Comes By Hearing and Nations of Coaches will inspire about 700 coaches to lead their teams from a biblical perspective and then provide them with free Audio Drama New Testaments.

“Faith Comes By Hearing is providing free Audio Drama New Testaments to these coaches because we want to invest in the next generation of leaders on and off the field,” said Troy Carl, the national director of Faith Comes By Hearing.

“Coaches are given a unique opportunity to mold young men and women at crucial times in their lives,” Carl explained. “Often the impact of an athletic coach will be greater than any other adult.”

Faith Comes By Hearing faithcomesbyhearing.com is the world’s foremost Audio Bible ministry and works in more than 100 nations around the world.

Carl said this outreach is a continuation of the You’ve Got The Time student athletes program from 2008. Last year, nearly two dozen NCAA football teams listened through the Audio New Testament. Feedback from chaplains confirmed that Audio Bibles are a perfect fit for today’s busy athlete.

Roger Holien, a Faith Comes By Hearing representative and a 10-year sports chaplain, said athletes listen nearly everywhere they go, “between classes, while traveling, in their dorms and in the hotel rooms.”

“By using Audio Bibles, we’re meeting the athletes were they’re at,” Holien said.

According to a 2007 ECAR Study, 83 percent of 18- to 19-year-old college students own mobile media players and listen up to two hours a day.

“With this exciting partnership with Nations of Coaches, Faith Comes By Hearing has extended their student athlete outreach from NCAA football to NCAA basketball,” said Carl. “Nations of Coaches is helping make this possible at the Final Four in Detroit.”

Tommy Kyle, the executive director of Nations of Coaches, said impacting coaches is their organization’s goal, and that they believe the Bible is the foundation of sound leadership.

“It is our desire at Nations of Coaches to equip coaches to leave a legacy of excellence,” Kyle said. “However, our legacy is not in the number of games or championships we win but how we impact our players for eternity. This is done by helping coaches master the greatest game plan ever written — the Bible — and to coach from a Biblical perspective.”

“The Bible teaches the values of respect, teamwork and commitment,” said Carl. “It’s in the best interest of every coach to know and apply the truths of the Bible to their daily life and coaching methodologies.”

“As coaches, we all know that winning a game comes with a great game plan. Winning in life is no different,” said Jim Haney, the executive director for National Association of Basketball Coaches. “Knowing God’s Word is the foundation on which we build our lives. Faith Comes By Hearing is providing a great tool in listening to the Bible as a way of learning this great game plan.”

Pastor Brett Fuller, the board president of Nations of Coaches and Chaplain of the National Association of Basketball Coaches, said that listening to the Bible was a great way for him to understand God’s Word.

“The Gospel comes alive, and hearing the Word makes it seem as if the writer is penning a letter to you,” Fuller added. As a result of Faith Comes By Hearing’s Audio Bible, I find myself more prepared to lead in this day and age.”

“In our sports outreach efforts, Faith Comes By Hearing’s goal is to provide every collegiate team with the Word of God in the format that coaching staff and student athletes can and will use — audio,” said Carl.

In college basketball alone, there are more than 2,000 teams and nearly 32,000 athletes.

“For about $500, Faith Comes By Hearing can provide a free Audio Bible to every member of an athletic team,” Carl said. “We’d like to see every athletic program take advantage of this opportunity.”