The LASB Becomes Pastors’ “Bible School in a Book”

The LASB Becomes Pastors’ “Bible School in a Book”

I remember when God began to plant the seed in my heart. It was after finding out that there are more than two million untrained pastors in the world today. I was shocked! I thought, Tyndale has the Life Application Study Bible (LASB); the global church has a great need to equip pastors. Could we bring the two together?

The church is exploding in many parts of the world. It’s growing at a faster rate than men and women are being prepared to teach new believers. Some pastors don’t even own a Bible, and those who do often find the text hard to understand. Many times, new believers try to lead their people to Christ with little to no training.

Because of its great heart for ministry, Tyndale responded by offering the Life Application Study Bible to pastors for the cost of printing, rather than charging retail value. Including shipping, this averages about ten dollars per Bible.

Pastors are provided with:

  • An easy-to-read Bible in the New Living Translation (NLT)
  • Ten thousand study notes designed to help the reader understand and apply the truths of God’s Word to everyday life
  • Hundreds of profiles of biblical characters and charts on key themes

For pastors who have never gone to seminary, receiving a Bible is like receiving an education for ten dollars! Many pastors have enthusiastically shared, “The LASB is my Bible school in a book!”

A pastor from Digos City in the Philippines planted a church in a Muslim tribal area west of Digos City without a seminary degree. He was very concerned about his struggle to deliver sermons based on sound outlines from Scripture without formal training. Later, he had the opportunity to attend a denominational conference, where he received an LASB and a three-hour training session in which he learned how to use the features of the Bible. Today, he uses the Bible study notes to create 80 to 90 percent of his sermon outlines. He has gone through the one-year Bible reading plan featured in the LASB three times in one year!

Pastor Elmundo attended the LASB training seminar in Cagayan de Oro in the Philippines. He uses the footnotes, Bible study guides, and charts regularly. He recently used the section for new believers when he met with his town mayor to share the gospel and pray for the mayor’s recovery from an illness.

Since 2008, more than 200,000 LASBs have been placed in the hands of pastors in Africa, India, and the Philippines. The Bibles are shipped directly from Tyndale’s printer in South Korea in containers holding 5,280 LASBs each.

Distribution partners who share Tyndale’s passion use book vans and motorbikes to deliver the LASB and other Christian literature to pastors in remote areas.

God is using the Life Application Study Bible and the New Living Translation to encourage and equip undertrained pastors in English-speaking countries around the world. The LASB has become a “Bible school in a book”, with study notes to help pastors accurately interpret the Scriptures and share their knowledge with others. When pastors grow spiritually, they are able to feed their people well, transforming entire communities. As the gospel continues to capture hearts, the global church grows. Praise be to God!

This article was written by Bonnie Cain, Executive Assistant to Mark Taylor, CEO.

Pastor in the slums of Uganda with a worn Life Application Study Bible (LASB).

 

Bonnie Cain explains LASB features to a Zambian pastor.

Bonnie Cain explains LASB features to a Zambian pastor.

 

South Sudan pastors are introduced to LASB.

South Sudan pastors are introduced to LASB.

 

Bonnie Cain with rural pastors in South Sudan.

 

Rural pastors in Uganda who use the LASB.

Rural pastors in Uganda who use the LASB.

 

African Leadership and Reconciliation Ministries (ALARM) staff pastor training in South Sudan with LASBs.

 

Rural pastor in Zambia leaving the LASB training with a new LASB.

Rural pastor in Zambia leaving the LASB training with a new LASB.