Praising God in Cambodia
Biblical Storytelling Introduced in Cambodia
In June 2007 Rev. Elizabeth Rand went to Cambodia where she took this picture of an 11-year old singing and dancing to a praise song during a worship service at a Methodist church in Kampong Chhang province. Upon her return she mobilized her church, Concord UMC in Englewood, Ohio to support the growing Church in Cambodia.
This January Elizabeth’s husband, Rev. Dr. Tom Rand, is traveling in Cambodia with a group from SW Ohio. He is responsible for the teaching work they are doing, which was inspired and shaped in consultation with GoTell. Here are his words about the trip and its goals:
“The missional work we will be doing is teaching Bible study methods. While we have many tools available to us in modern America that help us make sense of the Bible, these modern tools are not easily found in Cambodia. We will be using one of the most basic techniques for studying and learning the Bible as the root of our work: storytelling. Each of our team members will learn all or part of a Bible story to tell from memory.
We will be teaching our Cambodian friends these techniques as well because the literacy rate in Cambodia is quite low. We can’t just hand out Bibles and expect people to be able to read them. We have to teach them how to take the scriptures into their hearts and tell them as their own story.”
For more information about the trip to Cambodia, including a blog by Tom Rand, visit our new Cambodia page.
Lent Programs: Planting the Seeds for a Scripture by Heart Ministry
Sulphur Grove United Methodist Church in Huber Heights, Ohio is excited about the possibility of starting a Scripture by Heart ministry at its YMCA campus during 2009. To move the possibility toward reality they have engaged GoTell to lead a 4-week Lenten study called “It is Finished: Telling the Passion Story from John.”
Grace United Methodist Church in Dayton, Ohio kick-started its Scripture by Heart group with a series of classes in Fall, 2007 and has been telling the scriptures every Sunday in worship for over a year. Grace will host a Lenten study called “Don’t Be Afraid: Telling the Good News from Mark” culminating with a telling of the Passion story on Palm/Passion Sunday.
For an outline of these programs for Lent and their goals, click here.
