People of the Book

Prince Rupert, B.C.

In 1995, pastor Andreas Tabert received a phone call from the Canadian Bible Society, asking if Prince Rupert (B.C.) MB Church would be willing to participate in the Bible Society's "Faith Comes By Hearing" campaign. After finding out more, Tabert said yes.

The campaign begins with a sermon on the importance of God's Word in the life of individual Christians and the life of the church. Tabert spoke on II Timothy 3, in which Paul challenges his readers to choose carefully between a life directed by self (a life that is motivated by selfish desires, opposed to the truth and headed for folly) and a life that is directed by God (a life that is motivated by selfless servanthood, committed to the truth of God's Word and headed for spiritual maturity).

At the end of the service, Tabert challenged the congregation to commit themselves to living a life directed by God, an essential part of which is knowing God's Word. He then introduced the "Faith Comes By Hearing" campaign, which challenges people to listen to the New Testament on tape for 28 minutes a day. By doing so, a person can get through the entire New Testament in 40 days.

People who already had the New Testament on tape were challenged to wipe the dust off the tapes and listen to them. People who didn't have a set of tapes were offered a set through the Bible Society. For $32, a person could get a set of NIV, KJV, New KJV, New RSV or CEV (Contemparary English Version) tapes. For $50, a person could get a dramatized CEV in stereo. In this version, the words spoken by various New Testament characters are read by different people. There are also background music and sounds. A French reading is available for $43.

Thirty-eight commitment cards (supplied by the Bible Society) were filled out, some representing joint commitments by more than one person. Twenty-one people ordered a set of tapes, most of them the dramatized CEV. This was also the version chosen by Tabert and his wife Kirsten. "This set of tapes is well worth the money," he reports. "At certain points--especially in the Gospels and in Revelation--I found myself putting down whatever I was doing in order to listen more closely." (A person can listen to the tapes while driving, washing dishes, ironing or doing some other activity that is mentally non-demanding.)

In the weeks following the initial Sunday, there were bulletin inserts reminding people of their commitment.

The campaign also became a part of a Bible class that Tabert was teaching on Wednesday evenings called The Story of the New Testament. It was set up much like a Bible college course, surveying the New Testament story of Jesus and the early church and also explaining how the New Testament came together. The course could be taken for credit through Columbia Bible College. Although only one young student planned to get college credit, the course regularly attracted a core group of about 12 people. A requirement for the course was either to read through the New Testament or to listen to it on tape.

Tabert says, "This campaign is an excellent way to introduce God's Word into people's busy lives. My prayer has been that through it we as individuals and as a church would become more biblically oriented. We need to be a people of the Book!"

adapted from a letter by Andreas Tabert

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