Right now, you can access Zúme’s resources at zume.training, you can find population maps and podcast episodes on zume.vision, you can download the guidebook and get resources on the app in dozens of languages. There are plenty of ways to access our resources online or to download them for offline use. But what do you do when you don’t have internet connection in the first place?
Our friend Josiah shared about his work with Renew World Outreach, developing technology to share gospel resources in parts of the world without internet—and sometimes without electricity. They got started with work in the Amazon rainforest of Peru in 1998, and now their specially-developed tools are used across the world. Josiah believes that this technology can help reach more seekers faster and train them to multiply disciples by increasing their access to Scripture and training resources like Zúme. He explained how many tools can be used for the Kingdom, but let’s start with the simplest: micro-SD cards.
These cost-effective devices can be used in smartphones or even phones like Nokias to view video and audio content like the JESUS film, audio Bibles, and Zúme training. You can purchase SD cards directly from Renew with some of this content pre-loaded, or you can load a card yourself translated into the language of the recipient and lock it with a device like the LightStream so that the content can’t be removed.
One way that Josiah has seen these cards be used is as a pre-evangelism tool. One friend gifted cards loaded with audio Bibles, films, and music—as well as well-liked material like the National Anthem—to whole communities in a country that is typically hostile to the Gospel. “Because the SD cards were a gift,” Josiah says, “people were very happy about it and willing to receive them.” The method gave every household in the community access to Christian content, normalizing and legitimizing the Gospel message. “Oftentimes,” Josiah continues, “the reason people are hostile to Jesus is because they’ve actually never heard what he said for themselves.”
Others at YWAM with the End Bible Poverty Now network also load audio Bibles onto SD cards and distribute them in communities across the 10/40 Window and parts of Africa. Instead of handing the cards out as an impersonal force, the person who shares the card becomes “a thread” connecting the recipient to Christ’s followers. When that person has taken the time to listen to God’s words in their language and they want to learn more, they know just where to turn.
Could you use micro-SD cards to share Bibles and Zúme training? Because they can be copied, these small pieces of tech are great opportunities to distribute Scripture and training from disciple to disciple, giving people the Scripture that they need to know God and the training that they need to share him—all in their own language. How could you use or share this tool?