(Photo: Akari Kogure, a high school student, is the reader for our “Audio Bible Japan” podcast which goes through the New Testament in a year. Her father, Pastor Kogure, is my colleague in ministry in Gunma, and is the host of the podcast.)

Back in January of 2009 I came across a podcast on the iTunes Store entitled “One Year Daily Audio Bible”. It is a daily recording produced by Brian Hardin, a photographer, graphic artist, and record producer based in Nashville, TN. I had been looking for some way that I could listen to scripture as I walked at night….a way to get spiritual exercise and physical exercise at the same time.

The podcast, which is about 25-30 minutes a day, takes you through an Old Testament, New Testament, Psalm, and Proverb portion of scripture each day, with Brian’s comments and prayer at the end. A virtual community of listeners has blossomed all around the world over the past few years and a prayer movement called “The Wind Farm” has also evolved, clearly through the energy of a few obedient leaders and the miracle of the Holy Spirit.

I found myself intrigued after about a month of listening and walking, and began praying that we could do something similar in the Japanese language. Many situations came to mind….the fact that there are Japanese living all around the world who might be open to “hearing” the Word in this way; or the fact that so many young people who we work with and pray for in Japan are no longer READERS…. they seem to take in far more information on their cell phones and ipods than through books. Maybe some of these jr. and sr. high students would be willing to “hear” the Word if it came to them over their cell phones?

Several email communications later, and some planning with Brian Hardin of the “One Year Daily Audio Bible” has resulted in a Japanese version of the DAB which began on January 1, 2010. We are actually “piggybacking” on the English DAB site and receiving technical help from them to make this happen. My colleague Pastor Tatsuya Kogure is the host of this short daily podcast and his 17 year old daughter Akari is the one doing the actual reading of the texts. Because we are new at this we felt that it would be wisest to do just a reading of the New Testament during our first year.

To check it out, or recommend it to a Japanese friend, you can go right to the iTunes Store (in either the US Store or the Japan Store) and search for “One Year Daily Audio Bible Japanese” under podcasts. When it comes up just click on the “subscribe” button and it will automatically download to your computer every day.

You can go here to get all the info:

Daily Audio Bible    (Main site)

Daily Audio Bible Japan (Japanese site)

We are presently working at making it easier and easier for young people to find it on their cell phones.  Will you pray with us that many Japanese (wherever in the world they may be!) will find this podcast and begin to listen to God’s Word?  After all, Faith Comes From Hearing….

We are also praying that this “Audio Bible Japan” podcast will be an important resource for our Gunma Harvest work.