TULSA, OK – Gospel for Asia released a special report written by Karen Burton Mains in September 2019. “Literacy: One of the Great Miracle Cures” discussed resolving the limitations that illiteracy places on the human spirit.Mrs. Mains explained that because we read and write, we “often take for granted the treacherous limitations illiteracy places on the human spirit as well as on human potential.” She noted that,“Illiteracy has been the dominant disabler to flourishing. Illiteracy is more dominant than poverty, more dominant than a chronic physical disability, and more dominant than even an oppressive social system.” Literacy & Evangelism International (LEI), based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, has spent more than 50 years working with partner organizations, including Gospel for Asia, to provide resources to help local churches effectively reach and disciple the more than one billion illiterate people in the world. Their goal is “equipping the Church to share the message of Jesus Christ through the gift of reading” by developing native language primers containing Bible-based content.

“As adults learn to read and write . . . , they do so while reading the Bible and hearing for themselves what God has revealed to us through His Word.”

Believers need to understand that the Bible is a locked book to those who cannot read. Books are no more than paper with squiggles and lines that mean nothing.

Granted, people can be introduced to Jesus through oral communication. But growing in grace and the knowledge of Christ and becoming more like Him requires a steady diet of reading and understanding the Bible, the written Word of God.

The LEI primers used by churches help to develop the habit of daily Bible reading because that is the content being taught. The students are hungry to learn how to read. As they learn to read and understand, the Word does its work in their hearts as it draws them to a relationship with Christ.

Formerly illiterate people become more productive as they learn to read and write. They can read signs, legal documents, and prescription bottle labels. People who have learned to read their native language can secure jobs that do not consist merely of manual labor.

LEI primers are available in more than 250 languages. Those primers are used by ministry partners around the globe, including Gospel for Asia.

To become more familiar with the great work of Literacy & Evangelism International, take a moment to watch this short video recorded for LEI’s 50^th anniversary in 2017.

To read more news on Literacy on Missions Box, go here.