Report: 30 Years Broadcasting The Way of Righteousness
Tools that Evangelize and Equip
“Great is our Lord, and mighty in power…His Word runs very swiftly!” (Psalm 147:5,15)
It was in May of 1981 that Carol and I and our 19-month-old son, moved to Senegal, West Africa. Those early years were hard and hallowed as our happy little family grew to three children, and as we worked to build relationships, learn two languages, a new culture, and the Islamic worldview. In time, we began to share the story and message of God’s prophets with neighbors, friends, and families—from our home to our downtown book room to surrounding villages.
Seven years would pass before we had the thrill of seeing the first Muslim turn from Islam’s system to Christ’s salvation. Those were years of growing in trust and in intimacy with our God as He was teaching us to wait on Him—for His strength and direction (Ps. 25:3-5) and to wait FOR Him—for His working and timing (Ps. 25:20-21). In His faithfulness, the Lord met us at crucial times in personal ways: encouraging us amid discouragement; reminding us to let Him be God; and that the work was His. Our part was to rely on Him as we explained the gospel in a way that made sense to Muslims, confident that He would bring about a harvest in due season. (Hab. 3:17-19; Eccl. 11:1, 4-6) This He has done.
In September of 1987, through a series of God-directed events, Malick, a 26-year-old Muslim truth-seeker, stepped into our book room and into our lives (See his testimony in this edition of Cornerstone). After seven months of searching the Scriptures, Malick transferred his faith to the Lord Jesus Christ, the Savior of whom all the prophets wrote. Having received God’s gift of forgiveness and righteousness, Malick’s mind, heart, and life were transformed. Persecution followed. Around that same time other Senegalese also traded in their religion for a relationship with the one true God. A fledgling church was planted.
It was in 1992 that the Lord put it into our hearts to contact Senegal’s national radio station, expressing our wish to buy airtime to produce and broadcast a series of Wolof programs that would “present the stories of the prophets according to the Scriptures of the Bible.” In a God-orchestrated sequence of events, every obstacle fell away, and a door opened before us to sign a two-year contract for a weekly broadcast on Senegal’s national radio station. With Malick as the voice, the first of one hundred 15-minute programs were broadcast throughout the nation on November 2, 1992. The program is called “Yoonu Njub” (pronounced YO-NEW JOUP, as in SOUP), meaning, “The Right Way” or “The Way of Righteousness.”
Thirty years later, these Wolof programs continue to be aired—dozens of times a week—on ten Senegalese radio stations—all owned and operated by Muslims. While the station managers like that we pay for airtime, they are also captivated by the content. Some even choose to freely air our programs extra times each week, “because our audience likes them.”
Muslims are spellbound by the stories and words of the prophets—and those who regularly tune in discover that all the prophets point to Jesus and His all-sufficient sacrifice.
Today, this Creation-to-Christ-to-New Creation radio series not only continues to be broadcast in the 94% Muslim nation of Senegal, but, through many partnerships, these 100 programs, translated and recorded in scores of languages, are being broadcast into the Muslim world and beyond.
In Senegal, Malick wrote earlier this year: “Let us glorify God for a man who visited me last weekend to tell us that he has given his life to the Lord through the ‘Yoonu Njub’ programs, which he listened to as a teenager. Now he leads a ministry that uses the radio programs to reach and disciple teenagers.” Trans World Radio uses this chronological series on various platforms in over 50 languages. TWR’s West African director writes: “We are seeing lasting fruit from ‘The Way of Righteousness’ broadcasts. We receive calls from listeners in isolated areas. In Ghana, a group of 100 people have formed as a fellowship with 10 other cell groups. In Burkina Faso, 7 groups are listening to the radio programs and meeting together. In Ivory Coast, coffee and cocoa plantation workers are turning to Christ.”
Over the past 15 years, the Lord has also put into our hearts the vision and inspiration to produce other multi-media chronological gospel tools, including the movie King of Glory, now in more than 50 languages. In the last year alone, more than 4.5 million people have watched this multi-language movie on YouTube with an average view time of 45 minutes per click. The Lord still delights to multiply our “five small loaves and two small fish” to feed the multitudes.
Thank you for praying for our team and worldwide partners as we oversee dozens of ongoing media projects—each with its precise translation requirements and tedious technical challenges. Pray for more workers with the vision and skillsets to join us in limitless global gospel opportunities. And remember, these multi-language resources are not just for souls across the sea; they are for people in your homeland, including “the foreigner residing among you… Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners.” (Lev. 19:34). To be effectively equipped to help people of all ages and cultures understand and believe the gospel, visit ROCK’s website (www.rockintl.org/resources), and avail yourself of free multi-media downloads in more than 85 languages.
One non-threatening way to offer souls the chance to experience the story and message of the world’s bestseller is with a King of Glory business card (www.rockintl.org/store). I keep these small, beautiful, embossed cards in my wallet and offer them to people I connect with in stores, gas stations, restaurants, drive-throughs, repair shops, etc. With such a proven gospel tool in your pocket, purse, or wallet—an otherwise mundane errand can be turned into a mission with potential eternal value. This “King’s card” equips the receiver to watch the movie on their phone or device and discover for themselves the big picture of God’s plan of salvation. For the person who is an obvious foreigner, I’ll greet them and ask them something like, “So, where is your family from?” and/or “What language(s) do you speak beside English?” In most cases, the King of Glory movie is in their language, and in the flow of a brief conversation, they are delighted to receive the card with its QR code and link (www.king-of-glory.com).
Whatever our method, the Lord Jesus calls us to plant gospel seeds. He makes them grow. What a day of rejoicing that will be when we meet Him in glory and the redeemed souls who have come to Him because we were faithful to scatter gospel seeds along life’s pathway!
“He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.” (2 Cor. 9:6) Be equipped. To stream, download and share The Way of Righteousness radio programs or King of Glory movie in many languages, etc. visit: www.twor.com | www.king-of-glory.com | www.rockintl.org/resources. Be edified. For life-transforming discipleship books and podcasts by Nate Bramsen, visit: www.rockintl.org/discipleship-focused-tools (Check out the ongoing “Exodus” Podcasts!)