First in Discipleship Series Broadcast to Fulani

Post a Comment » Written on January 15th, 2009     
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DJIBO, BURKINA FASO (January 15, 2009) – The first installment of  “The Way of Righteousness,” a chronological discipleship program produced by partners of the Evangelical Covenant Church, was broadcast Tuesday night.

The program is targeted to the Fulani people, the largest nomadic tribe spread throughout Africa, says Covenant missionary Galen Johnson. Roughly 99 percent of them are Muslims.

The chronological discipleship program originally was conceived in Senegal and is being gradually translated into Fufulde, the language of the Fulani. So far 28 of the roughly 100 lessons have been translated.

Denial of broadcast license – “that proved a blessing.”

In 2007, Johnson had worked with several organizations to obtain a radio station license so they could broadcast the programming in Djibo, but the government denied the application. That proved a blessing, he says.

Paying for the half-hour shows, which are broadcast once a week, is far less costly than operating a station. The group had applied for the license because it seemed the only way to broadcast the programming to the targeted audience at the time. The cost of each broadcast is roughly $25.

Listening to the radio is a social event for the Fulani, Johnson notes, and people will gather together on the streets to listen to someone’s small private radio. However, the radio also allows people to be exposed to a broader understanding of spiritual truth without fear of reprisal from authorities.

For an earlier Covenant News Service story on the project, click here.

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