Faith Comes By Hearing flourishing on radio and cassette

(Above) A Faith Comes By Hearing Listening Post gathers around the cassette recorder at the Roman Catholic church in Chitera. Malawi. Photo: UBS/Haldor Noss (MAI01C-7/13A). (Right) Two members of the group who gathered to listen to the Word of God on Faith Comes By Hearing cassettes at the Roman Catholic church in Chitera. Malawi. Photo: UBS/Haldor Noss (MAI01C-7/34A)

CHITERA, Malawi — The dramatised New Testament Faith Comes By Hearing (FCBH) readings in the Chichewa language, produced by Hosanna in conjunction with the Bible Society of Malawi, are being broadcast by the national radio station Malawi Broadcasting Corporation and by the Christian station Trans World Radio. Negotiations for further broadcasts are also under way with three more stations.

But as in the hundreds of other countries where FCBH is enjoying great success, the Bible Society is encouraging people to listen not just individually to the radio but in listening groups or, as they are known in Malawi, ‘Listening Posts’. These groups of up to 20 people gather around a cassette player, often in a church, to listen to about 30 minutes of dramatised Scripture reading, and afterwards they take part in a guided discussion.

Relationships

Listening in groups not only builds up numbers and relationships between group members but also provides a more effective way for Bible Societies to gather reactions.

“We can monitor listening clubs to see what’s happening,” explains Bible Society FCBH Promoter Wilfred Ngalawa, “to see how people respond to listening to the Scriptures. We didn’t want to start the program without studying the situation: we wanted to know what problems might arise and how we might handle them. After we have assessed the effectiveness of the approach we have taken we’ll extend Listening Posts to more areas.”

“Then we go national!” beams Kamwana Muyaya, Marketing Manager at the Bible Society of Malawi.

The Listening Post in rural Chitera meets in a classroom in the compound of the Roman Catholic church. Tables are arranged in a circle and the people who have come for the session are singing praise songs in Chichewa. On a table in the middle of the circle sits a bright red cassette player.

After some introductions and announcements by the leader, Mr Manyamba, the group stands for prayers.

Then the red cassette player becomes the focus of attention as it plays the dramatised Word of God. Here and there a listener follows the voice on the audio cassette in the printed Bible, but most either cannot read or have not brought Bibles. Everyone in the room sits immobile and silent, listening intently.

Children play in the yard of the Roman Catholic church while a choir group practices and a Listening Post meets round the cassette player to take part in a Faith Comes By Hearing program. Chitera, Malawi. Photo: UBS/Haldor Noss (MAI01T-4/3)

At one point, the beautiful voices of a choir can be heard practising in the sanctuary next door, an uplifting accompaniment to the spoken Word of God.

After the tape has been running for about half an hour, Mr Manyamba stops the player. Having sat still for so long, the listeners are glad to stretch their limbs as they gather their thoughts. Mr Manyamba encourages questions and comments and various listeners begin to volunteer their thoughts – all in Chichewa.

“Now that we have the Word of God spoken, the way we understand the Scriptures is much clearer than it used to be in the past,” says Mr Manyamba later.

Little idea

It suddenly strikes me that a Christian who cannot afford a Bible has to rely almost entirely on the verses of Scripture that the pastor chooses to read for his sermon. A person who cannot read and who does not own a Bible may have little idea of what else is in the Bible.

For this person, looking up a Bible verse or studying its context – things which are normal to literate and well-off believers in many parts of the world – are just not possible. People who cannot buy a Bible – or perhaps cannot read – must rely entirely on someone else reading to them. The FCBH program provides what may be the only practical way to make the entire Bible available to this huge number of people.

Form own groups

Some of the listeners in the Chitera Listening Post are already sharing what they learn there among others: provided they can obtain a set of FCBH cassettes, they can form their own dedicated groups of listeners at home if they want to.

At the end of today’s discussions, Mr Muyaya, Briton Kawamba, who works for the Christian Witness Department of the charity World Vision, and members of the Listening Post distribute FCBH cassettes and Bibles to other newer listeners keen to start groups of their own.