News Stories
What are Mini-Bibles?
26/04/2007 9:00 am <>
One hot afternoon Hong dropped by the Chiayi OMF office to have tea and chat. He had come by the office to talk about God a few times before, and had even seen God do some incredible things in his life. As he sat down, he saw the bookshelf with many books and Bibles, and cheerfully asked if he could have a Bible. My husband, Tim, pulled a Bible off the shelf and opened it up with him. While Hong politely listened to the explanation of the format, and as he squinted at the small text, his enthusiasm waned. Tim told him about one of the stories in the large book in front of him. Afterwards Tim took down a mini-Bible and told him that the same story (and some others) was in that booklet as well. As he eagerly put down the larger book and took the mini-Bible, he said, “This I can deal with!”
A mini-Bible is a Bible portion taken from a modern translation of the Chinese Bible. It is bound in a small booklet with large, easy-to-read characters. It is so small that it can be placed in one’s pocket or purse. The text is presented without footnotes, references, or commentary. It is Scripture only. The mini-Bible follows a format with which many Taiwanese working class people are comfortable and familiar. They find it easy to accept and read. It is by no means a replacement for a complete Bible, but these booklets have served as an introduction to the Word of God.
Like Hong, many working class Taiwanese prefer to get their information orally. Although they can read, they simply prefer not to. Imagine this kind of person opening up a Bible with small Chinese characters, confusing numbers, obscure references, notes written in tiny coded text, and no pictures! When a new believer asked why the Bible had to be so big and difficult to read, we realized that we needed to find a less intimidating way to introduce God’s Word to them. During the past two years OMF and World Team, in cooperation with the Bible Society of Taiwan, have printed three mini-Bibles: The Story of Creation found in Genesis chapters 1-4, Selected Stories from the Gospel of Luke, and An Introduction to Christ. These booklets are taken directly from the Today’s Chinese Bible translation and are printed in large characters. These booklets have been used in evangelistic Bible studies, given to new converts, and widely distributed on various occasions. Mini-Bibles have shown themselves to be a great way to spark people’s interest in the God of the Bible, while not overwhelming them. OMF plans to publish a variety of mini-Bibles. We are currently in the process of printing a portion of the Book of Daniel, as well as a booklet that answers common life questions using Scripture portions. In the future we hope to print the following: The Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ, The Miracles of Christ, and Selections from Acts on the meaning of the church. As OMF is not selling these booklets, we are praying for others to help fund the printing of new booklets and the reprinting of earlier ones as needed.
Jennifer McCracken - Chiayi
Back