Major
Christian Organizations Partner to Launch Africa Study Bible Kickstarter
Campaign Planned to Help Raise 1 Million for 100,000 Study Bibles
“The Africa Study Bible is a project that has almost
unprecedented ability to positively influence the body of Christ in Africa,
perhaps more than other single continental-wide project in the history of
Christianity.”
--Dr. Danny McCain,
University of Jos, Nigeria
Wheaton, IL
– 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.”
With
the editorial nearly complete, Oasis, with the support of its partners, is
inviting fellow Christians to join with them in helping get the ASB into the
hands of Africans. With a goal of raising one million dollars to print the
first 100,000 copies, Oasis is seeking private donors as well as launching a
Kickstarter campaign, which begins April 18 and runs through June 16.
Contributors to the Kickstarter campaign have the opportunity to receive
incentives ranging from artwork prints to limited Italian leather editions of
the ASB as well as all-expense paid trips to the launch of the ASB in the
United States and in Africa.
“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.
To
support the effort, Oasis is partnering with Tyndale House Publishers to create
the study Bible. Other participants include Campus Crusade for Christ,
International, Willow Creek and Willow Creek Global Leadership Summit, IFES
(International Fellowship of Evangelical Students), Scripture Union, Africa
Leadership, TransWorld Radio, Moody Broadcasting, Center for Early African
Christianity, PJA (Publications pour la Jeunesse Africane), MMD Global, The
Livingstone Corporation, InSight Books, Urban Ministries Inc., and the
Association of Evangelicals in Africa, with additional participants being added
on a regular basis.
“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.”
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spokesperson bio
Meet Matthew Elliott
Dr.
Matthew Elliott serves as president of Oasis International and project director
for the Africa Study Bible. Oasis International serves areas of the
English-speaking world where people lack access to affordable Christian
literature and the Bibles needed to mature in their faith. In these countries,
the measure of annual incomes is often in hundreds, not thousands, of dollars.
The great needs of Africa, in particular, drive Oasis to concentrate on this
continent, where the Church is experiencing significant growth yet printed
resources are scarce. Matthew earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and
master’s degree in New Testament at Wheaton College, as well as a Masters of
Theology and a Doctorate of Philosophy in New Testament Studies from University
of Aberdeen (Scotland). He was ordained at College Church in Wheaton, Illinois
under Dr. Kent Hughes. He is the author of Faithful
Feelings: Rethinking Emotion in the New Testament (InterVarsity
UK/Kregel) and Feel (Tyndale
House). Matthew, his wife, Laura, and three children reside in the Chicago
area. For more information on Oasis and the Africa Study Bible, visit
www.oasisint.net or www.africastudybible.com
Contact: Debbie Lykins, 224-234-6699
deb@sidedoorcom.net
