Not Every Book Project is NORMAL
Bob Russell contacted LATM to help put these books to work in French-speaking cultures around the world, beginning in Louisville, Kentucky. This letter explains part of the middle of the story, but you'll see that it began long before the church was involved, and certainly without human planning. It is an amazing and unusual string of events, involving an international set of players, and perhaps waiting for your participation, too. It must be work of the Lord!
(This book project is the March selection for the LATM Book Club.
Click here for more information on that.)
Dear friends in Christ,
South Louisville Christian Church recently discovered a challenge/opportunity unlike anything we have witnessed in our 115- year history. In recent years, our community has become a relocation area for hundreds of African refugees. As a church, we have worked hard to forge a relationship with our new neighbors, and many of them now worship alongside us despite a difficult language barrier.
One of the Congolese men who worships with us, Muhoza Rushingana, was pastor of a church in the Congo. In getting to know him, it became increasingly clear that many of his Christian beliefs were shaped by cultural and tribal influences, rather than Holy Scripture. I began a long process of teaching him the doctrines of the Restoration Christian Church. This man now leads his own congregation, but rather than a watered-down doctrine, he boldly teaches pure biblical doctrine. The elders of our church were so impressed with his learning and teaching, that we ordained him as a minister in the Christian Church last year.
It turns out he is a well-known minister in the Congo and surrounding nations. He has influence that reaches hundreds of pastors in that part of the world. He is anxious to share his new doctrinal foundation with all of them, and begin to eradicate the false doctrine that is taught in many of their churches.
The best book I know on Christian doctrine is Dr. Cottrell’s The Faith Once For All. Regrettably, this book is not available in French, which is the common language of the people we are trying to reach. Equally regrettable is that neither this church nor Muhoza’s church have the resources to cover the translation or printing cost of the book. But this opportunity is way too big to ignore due to a lack of resources. Thus my appeal to you.
I am convinced that God has placed before us an opportunity to change the course of nations and tribes and peoples that we would otherwise not reach. Their hearts and minds are open to learning this doctrine – we just have to get it to them.
God’s very best to you,
Theo Dues, Sr. Minister
South Louisville Christian Church
18 Projects Completed last half of December
Including 2 New Languages
Four commentaries in the Arabic Bible Commentary series by Safaa Fahmi et al.: Leviticus, Daniel, Luke, and 2 Timothy
Six Arabic books to help parents with their children:
Child Rearing by Adel Mikhail Aziz
My Child has a Problem, Volumes 1-4 by Joseph Fayez Habil
Raising Children: Internet, TV, Social Media by Waseem Girgis
Reprint of Muslims and Christians Talking Together by Ibrahim Abdur Rahman in English
The Life of Christ Visualized by Standard Publishing in Lahu
Spanish edition of Dann Spader’s 4 Chair Discipling
Muslims and Christians Talking Together (reprint) by Ibrahim Abdur Rahman in Swahili
Church Hymns and Lyrics, V. Gnanasikhamani, ed., in Tamil and in Telugu
First project in Zaiwa: Life of Christ Visualized by Standard Publishing
First project in Borana: 28 Days with Matthew by Donald S. Tingle