Online Courses
By Dr. Ronald J. Barnes Jr.
Of the 7.6 BILLION PEOPLE on earth over ONE-THIRD speak one of these SEVEN LANGUAGES as their native language. (www.ethnologue.com/statistics/size)
- CHINESE (ALL DIALECTS)—1,299M (17%)
- SPANISH—442M (5.8%)
- ENGLISH—378M (5%)
- HINDI—260M (3.4%)
- BENGALI—243M (3.2%)
- PORTUGUESE—223M (2.9%)
- FRENCH—77M (1%)
As we conclude beta testing on our online courses, we now set our sights on delivering the message online in as many languages as we can, as soon as possible. We believe this is possible within two years for really only a few thousand dollars per language. We have begun to raise money for this venture and are asking people to partner specifically with this goal.
Help us reach over 2.9 billion native speakers with the gospel!
POOR POSTAL SERVICE—As I raise awareness of this new open door in my travels, it is met with much interest and excitement. Our ministry in Mexico has been greatly diminished due to the poor postal service throughout the country. Our missionaries would go months with no response from students due to slowness and unreliable delivery. The prospect that these and many other students might receive the courses, now on demand with no postal wait times, will open many new doors.
BETTER GRAPHICS, RENEWED USAGE IN DEVELOPED COUNTRIES—While we have the ability to produce any of our literature in top quality, we have made strategic decisions to keep the courses simple and affordable. In some parts of the world it has meant less attraction to using our courses, no matter how good the content. But having the courses delivered in digital format takes away the limitations printing in two colors has imposed.
PRIVACY IN DANGEROUS FIELDS—On many occasions, my conversations with “Muslim” background believers about the plan to make our courses available in digital delivery formats have been met with much anticipation. The ability to have on a smart phone, or device, any of the courses in a variety of languages will mean the ability to distribute and read privately the courses that if found in print could be extremely dangerous to the individual. In fact, if the FBI and CIA can’t hack into these devices without a pass code, then prying neighbors, family, and friends would only see what the device owner will allow.
This opportunity has significant ramifications even for missionaries and ministries working in restricted access countries to finally have the ability to put the courses in the hands of people whose governments restrict the access to literature in printed form. Places like “China” who have made it illegal to print without the approving process of applying for an ISBN, will now have the freedom to use the courses, all of the courses available, for free. And yes, this has already been tested inside the country.
So be in prayer for this venture that God would raise the finances to pull it off, that we would have native speakers in each of these languages (and many more), who can help us transfer the courses online, and that God would use this new avenue to His glory.
