Many of the people using Zúme may live in areas of the world where their access to the internet is monitored. They have to be careful what they access and how, because their government is paying attention and may be hostile to certain types of online content.
Renew World Outreach has a tool that may help. Their LightStream technology can distribute Scripture and Gospel content in places where the internet is monitored, spotty, or nonexistent. You can download a whole library of media onto the device—Bibles and audio Bibles in various languages, films, songs, and training material like Zúme—so that it can be downloaded offline in two different ways.
The LightStream device can be used to download material onto micro-SD cards and lock them so that the material cannot be deleted off the card. From there, the cards can be distributed and installed in phones, where they can be further shared to other phones and devices.
More uniquely, the LightStream can create a Wi-Fi hotspot through which phones can access its entire media library. This hotspot doesn’t grant access to the internet, but only to the media library, so it can’t be monitored like internet activity can. When users are near the device, they can stream the material without needing to free up storage on their phones.
The hotspot feature has been used in creative ways around the world.
- Some people have left LightStreams in coffee shops, airports, or other public-access locations so that anyone passing through can access the material.
- Others have used them as a specific strategy to train pastors from remote areas—the pastors can travel to the area with the device, download the material they need in their language, and return to their villages to teach people there.
- Another method was inspired by the Methodist circuit riders before the Second Great Awakening in America. Like the old traveling preachers, users can travel to small churches, villages, and communities to offer free downloads in group gatherings. Then, communities in remote locations that wouldn’t otherwise have a good way to connect can have access to some of the same resources in their own languages.
- One user approaches groups of strangers with the device to offer free downloads in remote villages. Even people who aren’t connected to the church have downloaded the materials just because they are bored, and they are interested in some videos to share.
Do you know someone who could use a device like the LightStream? Whether you are struggling with low internet access or high security risks, this could be an answer. With its security features, believers can even use it to safely share Gospel information without physically interacting—just passing by a place where the device is set up and connecting with a password.
To learn about more ways Zúme has been used and distributed around the world, and to get inspiration for how you can share these resources, check out our podcast.