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Ethnoarts Part 1 & 2 (EMDC Podcast Episode #11 & #12)

Ethnoarts Part 1

Ethnoarts Part 2

Episodes 11 and 12, recorded on December 4th, 2020, will focus on ethnoarts. Ethnoarts is all about joining with community artists in working toward a better future… one of justice, peace, joy, physical safety, social continuity, and spiritual wholeness. This participatory process draws on years of experience and insights from ethnomusicology, ethnography of communication, performance studies, participatory community development, and other fields.

Our guests include Dr. Robin Harris, chair of the Center for Excellence in World Arts at Dallas International University who also serves as the president of the Global Ethnodoxology Network, and Matt Menger an Arts Consultant with SIL who has worked in Southeast Asia for the past 12 years. Matt has his master’s degree in music and is just beginning work on a Ph.D. in World Arts at Dallas International University.

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Read More »Ethnoarts Part 1 & 2 (EMDC Podcast Episode #11 & #12)

Recording God’s Word by Any Means

  • by FCBH

Imagine: You live in a secluded village on an island in the Pacific. You have only ever known the religion and rituals of your community, but you know in your soul that there must be something more. You yearn for truth and peace. Once, a foreigner brought a book in the local trade language and tried to tell your people about God, but your heart language does not have a written form. Only a few of your family members and friends can read the trade language to a small degree. The book that the foreigner brought contained complex wording that made no sense even to them. You eventually resign yourself to the fact that if there is a God, He doesn’t care about you enough to speak His truth in your language.

…Until one day, your neighbor shows you an interesting device. Emitting from it are words you recognize. Your neighbor tells you that at last, because of this device, your community can hear God speak—in your language.

Faith Comes By Hearing strives to ensure that every last person has the chance to hear God’s Word, no matter where they live or what language they speak. To carry out this work, we employ a variety of methods in recording and providing Scripture to more people.

Read More »Recording God’s Word by Any Means

Free software every disciple maker should know about

  • by JS

Connecting for discipleship.

In August of 2016, someone put me in touch with Fatima for the first time. I got her phone number and a few days later we sat down in a coffee shop together. Fatima described herself as open minded. I shared the Gospel with her, gave her a New Testament, and we fruitfully discussed what it means to follow Jesus. A decade earlier, Fatima watched a series on TV about the life of the Messiah and found Him compelling. In the weeks that passed I periodically sent her an SMS but she got busy and stopped responding. Fatima remained one of dozens of contacts in my phone with a similar story… a seemingly one-and-done Gospel conversation.

Read More »Free software every disciple maker should know about

Orality & Storytelling Part 1 & 2 (EMDC Podcast Episode #9 & #10)

Orality & Storytelling Part 1

Orality & Storytelling Part 2

Episodes 9 and 10, recorded on December 18th 2020, will take us out of the world of storytelling mediums through film, audio and web and introduce us to some ministries designed to equip Christians to better share their faith using communication strategies referred to as storying and orality. In these two episodes you’ll learn from representatives of Simply the Story and Storyweavers, as well as get to know a bit about the International Orality Network.

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Read More »Orality & Storytelling Part 1 & 2 (EMDC Podcast Episode #9 & #10)

5 more reasons why Google can’t translate the Bible

Google can do so many things: resolve dinner table arguments, magically change its logo on the daily and even anticipate what question I’m going to ask next.

But one thing Google can’t do is translate the Bible. We’ve already looked at five reasons why it just doesn’t work (see previous blog), and now it’s time to explore even more reasons why Google and other computer programs can’t come close to replacing the work of human translators.

Read More »5 more reasons why Google can’t translate the Bible

5 reasons why Google can’t translate the Bible

There are a lot of things I don’t understand: physics, the general logistics behind air traffic control and why I turn down the radio when I’m driving so I can see better.

Another skill my brain has never fully been able to grasp is the ability to learn different languages. It’s always been a challenge; just ask my high school and college French instructors!

Artificial intelligence translation programs like Google Translate are used all over the world to interpret everyday conversations, website content and more. But what you end up with can often sound closer to one of my second grade attempts at writing poetry than intelligible thoughts.

The work of Bible translation is complex, and it requires teams of passionate and talented individuals working through unique scenarios on a daily basis. Don’t just take my word for it, though! Here are five real-life reasons why human translators, not computer programs, are needed for clear, accurate and natural Bible translations.

Read More »5 reasons why Google can’t translate the Bible

Which Wi-Fi Media Box?

A detailed comparison of the ConnectBox, LightStream Pocket, MicroPi and BibleBox Pi

How do you get digital resources into the hands of people who aren’t connected to the Internet? How do you distribute apps, videos, audio, documents, and images to people who can’t afford the data it would take to download those materials? What if those people live in remote areas where they don’t have access to a cellular network?

Read More »Which Wi-Fi Media Box?

What is EthnoArts?

Communication is happening all the time, all over the world, and it’s not just limited to spoken language. We connect with other people through the arts such as song, dance, stories, movement, and a variety of other media. The arts are a powerful way to communicate important messages that often go beyond words to speak more deeply to the heart. Unfortunately, all too often outsiders have neglected or, even worse, rejected local culture and arts outright as valuable methods of communication. Misunderstanding has resulted either in outright rejection or in misuse of these expressive forms. In the field of EthnoArts, we believe that communities have unique cultural gifts and artistic expressions that are an integral part of their identity. 

Read More »What is EthnoArts?

Websites for Ministry Part 1 & 2 (EMDC Podcast Episode #7 & #8)

Websites for Ministry Part 1

Websites for Ministry Part 2

For our 7th and 8th EMDC Podcast episodes recorded on February 17th 2021, our conversation will look at websites for ministry. Clyde Taber and Keith Williams will focus mainly on the Mobile Ministry Forum, a multi-agency volunteer coalition created to help provide training and insight into how best to use mobile phones in ministry situations. They’ll also touch on the Visual Story Network and Mission Media University, two other ministry focused sites dedicated to furthering the gospel among the unreached through partnerships and training.

If you are looking for a partner to develop a website for ministry, we highly recommend the services of Kalaam Media. In this episode, Steve refers in the beginning of this episode to them. Since 2011 they have become a world wide provider of creation and hosting services for multi-lingual websites and mobile apps, supporting clients in over 70 countries and offering an ecosystem of website and mobile app creation services, client support services, and website and mobile app hosting services.

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Read More »Websites for Ministry Part 1 & 2 (EMDC Podcast Episode #7 & #8)

Finishing a Bible Recording

  • by Sarah T

If I had to describe the audio processing team at Faith Comes By Hearing, I’d use the word precision. Much like a tool-machining company, audio engineers have to produce an individual product with extreme accuracy—again and again. They have to get each Audio Bible recording just right.

Every workday, the 20 audio editors buckle in at their desks, strap on their headsets, and enter the culture of another people group through their recorded words. But these aren’t ordinary words: they are God’s words, which were painstakingly translated into the community’s mother tongue.

The Greek New Testament has 138,000 words; the English has 180,000. What?! That’s a big gap. The New Testament might have a unique number of words for every language. Let’s take an average of 160,000 words. Since Faith Comes By Hearing has more than 1,460 New Testament recordings, that means audio technicians have already recorded 234 million words, more or less.

 

Words are essential in everyday interactions, education and business, and most certainly in spiritual matters. Because 50% of the world’s population can’t read at a level high enough to understand the Bible, the audio recordings produced by Faith Comes By Hearing are crucial to the salvation and spiritual growth of millions of people. This drives our need to be accurate. Each word matters.

An audio editor focuses on one language at a time. If all goes well, he can check the audio files, add music and sound effects, and complete the master in about three and a half weeks. As many as 30 languages are in the studio at the same time, and the team produces an average of 10 Scripture recordings a month.

How does an editor in Albuquerque follow a biblical text and recording in totally foreign language? Some languages use the Roman alphabet, like English and many other European languages. This makes listening and following the text relatively easy. Otherwise, audio processors refer to a transliteration of the recorded language, which changes the sounds of the words into Roman script. The editor can now identify if there is an extra word or if one is missing. Finding simple errors like these is an essential step in verifying the accuracy of a recording. The text also helps the editors place markers in the right location to add the background music and sound effects.

Quality control (QC) for Scripture recordings is built into the recording and editing processes from start to finish. It begins in the language community, where the trained director and technician constantly monitor the sound quality, the person reading, and background noise. Adjustments are made on the spot to ensure the highest sound quality possible. In the studio, Faith Comes By Hearing’s audio editors can remove some extraneous noises, adjust volume levels, eliminate pauses, etc. As you can imagine, it takes a lot of time to check the approximately 160,000 words in each New Testament recording.

But we’re not done yet. There’s one more person who does a final check in the QC process. He listens for balance between the volume levels of the narrator’s voice and the background music and effects. He checks to make sure every chapter is announced, and he spot-checks the entire recording to ensure we’ve produced the best possible Scripture recording for each people group. At last, the recording is formatted to play on the Web, the Bible.is app, and a Proclaimer.

As I contemplate the complexity of recording Scripture in every language that needs it, I feel a sense of awe. And I have a whole new appreciation for the audio editors. They experience a great sense of accomplishment when they complete each new language. One put it this way: “Having a job where the whole mission is to get the Word of God to the whole world is awesome and very fulfilling.”

It’s not a task to be taken lightly—they are responsible for handling God’s Word in audio with precision so that every person can hear the pure Word of God in their language.

Read More »Finishing a Bible Recording

Oral Bible Translation

Oral communicators account for 70% of the world’s population. Many of them do not encounter situations in their daily life when they need to read or write. Using their rich oral tradition, they sing, tell stories, pass down history and teach skills to the next generation. There are over a thousand oral cultures in the world today, whose languages have not been written down. The Apostle Paul said, “There are doubtless many different languages in the world, and none is without meaning.” (1 Corinthians 14:10)  Yes, oral languages are meaningful, and significant.

It takes years of language study and analysis before even a Bible translation team can start translating in these languages using traditional methods. Even if the Bible is finally translated, only the literate few will be able to encounter the Word of God. It will remain unreachable for the majority of people speaking these languages. Oral Bible Translation overcomes these hurdles and engages millions of people with the Word of God.

Read More »Oral Bible Translation

Audio in Missions Part 1 & 2 (EMDC Podcast Episode #5 & #6)

Audio in Missions Part 1

For our fifth episode recorded on November 17th 2020, audio & radio experts Chris Singh with WEC in the U.K. and Pierre-Yves Mutrux with Galcom International based in Canada share about the impact that audio ministries in various forms are still having today.

Audio in Missions Part 2

For our sixth episode recorded on November 17th 2020, audio & radio experts Chris Singh with WEC in the U.K. and Pierre-Yves Mutrux with Galcom International based in Canada share about the impact that audio ministries in various forms are still having today.

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Read More »Audio in Missions Part 1 & 2 (EMDC Podcast Episode #5 & #6)

YouVersion scripture in over 1660 languages

Scripture in 1660 languages on YouVersion: tell someone!

Six months ago YouVersion hit a milestone of scripture in 1500 languages via Bible.com and the YouVersion apps for Android, iOS, Amazon Echo. Since then they have added over 200 versions in over 160 languages.

The answer to “And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?”, isn’t that they can Google.

Romans 10:15 doesn’t say, ““How beautiful are the phones of those who bring good news!”

Technology is a huge asset but for most people engagement with scripture still involves someone telling them about it. Who will you tell?Read More »Scripture in 1660 languages on YouVersion: tell someone!

Faith-Based Short Films in Taiwan

In Taiwan, there are many creative Christians who are using media and the arts to impact their generation with the Gospel. In this article (originally posted on createtaiwan.com), I feature three Christian YouTube filmmakers using different approaches to sharing their faith, in both English and Chinese.

Although our office is in Taiwan, our focus on creating media has not been for the Taiwanese people alone, but for people groups all over the world. The church here is mature and growing, with many congregations in Chinese, Taiwanese and other languages.

The government of Taiwan has plans in place to become a bilingual nation by the year 2030. In school, students are taught both English and Chinese and depending on the interest of the student, many have the ability to enjoy watching films in either language with subtitles.

Read More »Faith-Based Short Films in Taiwan