With more than 40 languages spoken in the small West African nation of Togo, communicating the gospel can be a challenge—especially among people groups resistant to Christianity.
A young Fulani man recently traveled two days across dangerous, jihadist-controlled territory in Burkina Faso to reach the Hospital of Hope (HOH) in northern Togo. ABWE physicians, struggling to communicate through a translator, learned that he had not come for medical attention. He requested one thing: audio Bibles. His brother had returned to their village a few months prior after a long hospitalization at HOH with an audio Bible he had received in his tribal language.
“We can’t hear it anymore,” the man said. He explained that a group of Fulani villagers—an unreached, semi-nomadic people known for Islamic radicalism—gathered to listen to the audio Bible three nights a week after evening prayers at the mosque. The group had grown to over 100 people, making it difficult for the words to reach the back of the crowd. With another device, the man said, everyone would be able to hear.
“This story is not unusual,” said missionary doctor Melissa Molsee. “From Fulani herdsmen to patients and their families to local Islamic leaders, people are showing up at our hospital asking for an audio Bible in their heart language. Most in our region do not know how to read, so the ability to hear the Word of God in their heart language is a priceless gift.”
In 2024, HOH chaplains distributed 600 audio Bibles in eight languages to those with whom they shared the gospel. Their goal is to give away 1,000 in 2025.
Understanding that faith comes by hearing, ABWE missionaries in southern Togo also employ media to bridge languages. Audiovisual ministry Studios Vérité, led by missionaries Daniel and Sherri Lethers, recently partnered with Revelation Media’s iBible project—the first narrated animation of the Bible—to translate iBible videos into several West African languages.
Studios Vérité staff first worked with a team of Togolese pastors to translate and record the audio script for the nine-minute “The Real Story of Jesus” in the Ewe language.
“When we synced it with the video, they were literally in tears because they saw it come to life in their language,” recalled Daniel.
Two staff members immediately took the video to local villages. Using a battery-operated projector, they showed the animated gospel presentation, and seven people trusted Christ. In another village, 14 came to faith.
This year, Studios Vérité is recording 42 iBible narrations from Genesis, along with 40 from the Gospels, in two major Togolese languages, Ewe and Kabiye. Videos are distributed through the iBible smartphone app, online, and on SD cards. Studios Vérité also completed an audio recording of the Old Testament in Ewe and will soon complete the New Testament.
“God is drawing people to himself as they hear his Word,” conveyed Daniel.
