Connecting with Culture

For 135 years, Lifewords (and Scripture Gift Mission) has been known for resources that equip, inspire, and encourage the Church worldwide, and that tell aspects of God’s story in engaging ways to the cultures and contexts in which we live. Jess Bee spoke to Steve Bassett, Lifewords Creative Director to find out more.

Jess Bee: Can you tell me a bit about the culture that Lifewords is working in and how it is seeking to engage with it?

Steve Bassett: Getting alongside people in all walks of life, communicating in ways that resonate with how people feel, how they think, how they live, has seen us create many resources over the years. Extending from purely literature to web, digital and now AI, and creating programmes and projects that offer different ways for people to engage, the ministry has moved with the times while being consistent with our core mission.

Literature resources are still the core part of the ministry today, but they sit alongside other expressions that also seek to share the gospel. Many people can’t – or won’t – read the Bible in printed form. We know about the proliferation of digital and social media, and now there is the new frontier of AI. What a challenge to find ways to share the Bible in this kaleidoscopic world. So, you will find us online with VerseFirst, with people

Life Changing Words, and animations of some of our booklets as we continue to explore other ways to engage in digital spaces. And, alongside all of this is NINE BEATS and Ninefold Path.

JB: What’s the latest with NINE BEATS and Ninefold Path?

SB: Our beatitudes project, NINE BEATS, is an example of finding wider ways to share the Bible. With the words of Jesus in Matthew 5 as the core of the project, NINE BEATS expresses the welcome of these words through music and arts, as well as through a printed curriculum resource, Ninefold Path. By engaging with people and getting alongside them, we find that the beatitudes quickly become a meeting place where the common aches and yearnings of the human heart can find a meaningful encounter with the words of Scripture. With NINE BEATS, the songs and artistic expression connect with how people feel and think and live, and point to the words of Jesus.

This year, we have been re-promoting the Ninefold Path as a resource for individuals, groups, and churches. Many have found it to be a compelling and transformative nine-week journey into the words of Jesus. At the end of September 2023 NINE BEATS is embarking on a mini tour of six venues, working alongside communities that we have built relationships with.

JB: How is NINE BEATS, and in particular Ninefold Path, evolving?

SB: Right now, we are looking for partners who will journey with us to bring the backing to make new ideas and expressions of Ninefold Path happen. If you are interested, do contact us – we would love to explore possibilities, from church-facing to culture-facing and all points in between!

For the latest information and NINE BEATS tour dates visit 9beats.org and ninefoldpath.org. Visit our YouTube channel to hear more from Eric Leroy Wilson on NINE BEATS.

Give thanks for how Lifewords offers a breadth of ways for people to engage with the Bible.

Pray for those who can’t, or won’t, read the Bible in traditional ways – pray that new expressions would help them engage with God’s Word.

Pray for new partners to help grow NINE BEATS and Ninefold Path.