August 12, 2019
The Next Language, Post 5
In Zechariah 4:10, the Lord admonishes us to despise not the day of small things or small beginnings.
Global Recordings Network (GRN) has a unique mission. Some ministries translate scriptures. Some produce films. Others plant churches and disciple converts. But GRN plants seeds.
It is wonderful that Christian ministries can today make better quality recordings and record many hours of audio or video on digital media. But our niche in missions is to provide those first talking tracts to even the smallest languages. You might say we aim to be the “first responders,” providing the Word of God in native languages for the first time.
When visiting recordist Vaughn Collins in Indonesia, I confessed to him the desire to settle down and do a Bible translation, which takes years to do (he had done this). He said, “There is nothing wrong with that. But remember that many tribes of the earth will only get morsels or seeds of the Word in their language, and that is our first priority.”
All or parts of the New Testament are available in 2,600 languages, but GRN offers recordings in over 6,400 languages.
Vaugn compared what GRN does to the Syrophonecian woman who pestered the Lord to heal her daughter. The Lord somewhat uncharacteristically said (maybe with a wink, teasing her) “it is not right to give the children’s bread to dogs.” She replied, “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall under the table.”
Vaughn added, “Even crumbs bring life.” Our task is to give crumbs, to plant seeds, and maybe those mustard seeds will be just the word that brings faith. One Spanish version of Romans 10:17 says, “So then faith comes by hearing a word from God.” Others may follow with other kinds of ministry, but the task of GRN is to plant the first seed.
From then on, I saw my ministry in Colombia in line with John the Baptist – a voice in the wilderness crying, “Prepare ye the way of the Lord.” That phrase played incessantly in my brain and drove me from one tribe to the next – first to record and then to distribute the gospel seeds. Fifty years later we know that many of those seeds flourished – not to our glory but to the glory of God who directed some to plant, some to water, and some to harvest.
God Bless,
Larry DeVilbiss | Executive Director
Global Recordings Network USA