2022 Annual Report
– MULTIPLYING HOPE PARTICIPANT, THAILAND
“I understand the story so clearly when it is told in my heart language.”
“Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.”
PSALM 119:105
“You have heard that it was said…” Jesus repeated this phrase regularly when speaking with people familiar with the Old Testament. It is easy to read past it in order to get to the heart of Jesus’ message. But think about it; Jesus refers to the Bible as something that was communicated to people orally. He then uses an oral method to challenge and expand their understanding of it.
Information was communicated orally in the days when our Savior walked the Earth. It’s how people learned and shared ideas. Most people in the world today are oral communicators. Their lives are transformed through stories, songs, and drama. Orality is deeply embedded into their culture and identity. They aren’t merely oral communicators. They are oral people.
At SRV, we are committed to helping oral people have access to and understand the truth of God’s Word. Our vision is that everyone on earth will know the story of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection and be called to trust in him for their salvation.
In this annual report, you’ll get to hear what we’ve done over the past year, where it took place, and who’s been impacted. I hope you see how God’s Word is transforming lives and communities through your generosity. Thanks to the support of donors, people who are Bibleless, unreached, and suffering from trauma are hearing the story of the God who has come to make all things new.
Your continued prayers and support are greatly appreciated.
With Thanks,
Mark M. Overstreet PRESIDENT/CEO
SPREADING THE GOSPEL | OUR MISSION
We want every person in the world to have access to God’s story. People come to faith as they hear the gospel story, whether it is coming from the lips of a pastor, neighbor, or family member. Faith comes by hearing. If we want to see people transformed by the gospel, we need ways to share the gospel using oral methods.
80% of the people in the world today would rather communicate the gospel through speaking or signing rather than written words. We know because they live in cultures which are oriented around oral learning rather than text-based learning.
There are 7,388 living languages in the world today. Only 724 have a whole Bible. God wants his Word in every language, and oral people need to understand the Scriptures in their hearts, so they can spread the saving message of Jesus Christ. Orality is an efficient and effective way to spread the gospel. It enables Christian leaders to bring God’s Word to people in their local language and spread hope to the communities who need Christ.
Our vision is simple: we believe everyone should be able to tell God’s stories in their heart language, bringing hope to every community in the world.
WHAT WE DO
We train local leaders to share the truth of the Bible among oral people: the Bibleless, the unreached, and the vulnerable.
Step 1: Healthy Partnership
We serve local leaders and networks in oral cultures who invite us to partner with them to implement oral strategies.
Step 2: Introduction to Strategy
We begin training local leaders to share God’s Word using trauma-informed oral methods to address their greatest spiritual, emotional, and physical needs.
Step 3: Leadership Training
We provide a series of in-depth trainings for leaders to grow and access all of God’s Word, giving them ways to teach others, tell Bible stories, and live out God’s Word in a way that leads to redemption and healing in their communities.
Step 4: Multiplication
Our long-term partnership continues as we equip local leaders to multiply churches and serve the God-given vision of the local church.
Walking alongside our partners, we understand that the world is hurting and many people have experienced trauma. Unaddressed trauma creates barriers to spiritual growth and understanding. SRV’s trauma healing ministry, Multiplying Hope, meets the needs of those who have encountered pain that affects them emotionally and spiritually. Multiplying Hope equips people with essential tools to address trauma safely and effectively. This program provides a comprehensive framework that supports people and organizations wanting to integrate a traumainformed approach into their discipleship and church-planting strategy and who seek to multiply God’s healing in their unique context.
This year we faced many challenges, but God added growth and multiplication in our trauma healing ministry. As crises around the world unfolded, he opened doors to share his hope and healing in new areas, including Afghanistan, Ukraine, and Syria. As Multiplying Hope addressed these needs, partners were trained, groups were started, and new Bible story sets were created.
IMPACT
We share God’s Story
SRV shares God’s Stories among oral people groups all over the world in some of the most unreached and vulnerable communities.
God’s Story transforms communities
The power of His Story transforms communities and gives hope to those who are hurting and need the gospel.
Communities create impact
We partner long-term with local leaders to multiply churches and advance the gospel.
TRAUMA
“I wanted to die rather than stay in this misery, but then I found Multiplying Hope...God’s Word is everything. Jesus used to sit next to hurting people and tell them stories. We get to copy Him and do the same. He created us, so he knows why stories work so well with us. I am still learning why.”
Nancy, Director of Arabic Speaking Communities
In the last year, SRV trained 5,400 church leaders in 68 languages. As a result, 385 new groups and churches were planted, with 341 new believers and 100 baptisms.
EUROPE
2 in-person healing groups
2 online healing groups
Trauma healing focus for Ukrainian groups
UNITED KINGDOM
76 people have been trained in either trauma healing or Bible storying at Christ Central Church. Beyond regional programs, SRV has executed a number of global ministries in 2021.
MEXICO
SRV has trained 227 people in Bible storying resulting in 20 new believers. There are now plans to run a 17-week Global Focus storytelling set with leaders from all the churches in the Agape Network.
ETHIOPIA
SRV has trained 736 leaders and completed a set of Bible stories in 13 Bibleless languages. There are now 24 new house churches and 76 new groups.
LATIN AMERICA
10 Countries
2 Primary Languages
87 reported healing groups
20 new believers
1,000+ trained facilitators
6 new churches reported
AFRICA
2 Countries
11 Languages
Groups are reproducing
MIDDLE EAST
4 Countries
4 Primary languages
45 groups
225+ participants
Expansion to Jordan and Cyprus
LEBANON
The leaders from 2021 have continued to form new healing groups; since last year’s report, the ministry has expanded from eight third generation groups to 19.
ASIA
134 Local trainers
18 Languages
143 Active groups
275 New believers
1,261 Leaders trained
5 Baptisms
THAILAND
SRV partnered with people in local communities and trained 76 leaders, resulting in 16 active groups and 5 baptisms.
CAMBODIA
A new project began in January 2023 offering training in Introduction to Orality.
PHILIPPINES
SRV is working with 7 language groups throughout the country, which has resulted in 562 leaders trained and 270 new believers in just over a year.
PAPUA NEW GUINEA
There are now 68 leaders training with 30 of these leading listening groups, serving 20 languages.
“[SRV program] excites them and ignites their passion to see God’s kingdom come with power through the Word of God that is made alive in their hearts.”
— SRV LEADER, PHILIPPINES
STORIES OF HOPE
God is always at work, even in the most difficult circumstances. Just ask Aida and Jonas.
Although Christianity is the predominant religion in Ethiopia, the reality of the situation is far from straightforward. In certain regions and among specific communities, Christians risk losing everything for their faith. The pressure on Christians in Ethiopia remains high, especially in community and church life. Last year, more than 20 churches were attacked, damaged, or looted, adding to the already challenging circumstances facing the country’s Christian population.
Aida and Jonas live in Ethiopia and lead our SRV program in the capital city of Addis Ababa. Although the country has experienced significant turmoil and instability, they continue to be faithful to God’s call on their life to train leaders and share God’s Word with those who have never interacted with it.
Ethiopia is home to over 80 different languages. Aida and Jonas faithfully train local leaders to share God’s stories in many of these neighboring language groups. Just recently, the Derashe language group crafted 34 stories from God’s Word.
“They are sharing and people are coming to hear,” said Aida.
They also visited the Kefficho and Bench language groups to share SRV’s vision with their local church leaders. Both language groups committed to start Bible story groups within their villages. In addition, our partners will be training leaders within these communities in our trauma healing program.
The couple has also seen God uniting tribes and working among his people in new, powerful ways. Just recently, Aida traveled to Kenya to train a group of local men and women from four different tribes in our trauma healing program. Although these tribes are at war, Aida witnessed them listening and learning about each other’s culture. Through the process, they became close friends and experienced God’s comfort through his stories.
“When we invited the Dashi and Ari language groups to come together for an SRV program, we didn’t know that their people groups have been at war for a very long time,” said Jonas. “They hated each other. When we began by telling each other’s stories, they realized they were the same. They were reconciled, and now they tell each other stories and pray for each other every day.”
Overall, Aida and Jonas trained 736 leaders in their communities. They’ve completed a set of Bible stories in 13 Bibleless languages and started 24 new house churches. They’ve also launched 76 new groups, many of which are second and third generation. Despite the challenging circumstances, God continues to bless the work of Aida and Jonas in Ethiopia.
“They are sharing and people are coming to hear.”
– AIDA
THE GOSPEL IN EVERY LANGUAGE
In 2022, SRV embarked on our most ambitious project ever. We partnered with other Bible translation organizations to create a process for oral people to understand and translate the Word of God. Many people have never heard, read, or experienced God’s Word in a language that speaks to their hearts. We want to change that.
Our Translation Project provides quality, easy-to-use resources to help the global church translate the Bible and give hope to those without his Word. As we partner with the local church, we develop resources within the church to make God’s Word accessible to everyone and immediately useful in their communities.
Here are three distinctives of The Translation Project.
1. We are church-focused. We believe Bible translation is a ministry of the local church. Our translation process equips people around the world to translate the Bible and create highquality oral drafts of Scripture passages.
2. We are resource-focused. We provide exegetical tools for Bible translation for every book of the Bible. These tools include book introductions, audio files, and a video Bible dictionary to ensure that each passage of Scripture is understood and then translated in one’s heart language.
3. We are partner-focused. We walk alongside pastors, leaders, translators, and the local community, investing in their lives and partnering with them to make the Word accessible and practical as they grow and reach the lost.
We believe God wants his Word in every language. Oral people need to understand Scripture in their hearts, so they can spread the saving message of Jesus Christ. This three-year project has already received 62 percent of the necessary funding. We are currently seeking the remaining 38 percent of funding from generous Christians and churches who want to see God’s Word reach more people in more places.
OUR PARTNERS
srvpartners.org Give Here
