In 2018 WELS World Mission’s Multi-Language Publications had a vision to reach the world with the Gospel in a new way. Their vision was to equip people with the truth of God’s word using digital resources in English. Like the Latin America mission field’s Spanish Academia Cristo, TELL would use English to reach people through social media, self-led Bible lessons and live video classrooms.
Three years later, God has blessed that vision. The TELL Network has 1.2 million followers and likes on its main Facebook page. Across the globe there are 7,000 active users doing self-led Bible lessons on the TELL app and website. Currently there is one full-time TELL missionary who meets several times a week with students from Africa, India, and Philippines.
One student, Samuel, is from Guinea, Africa. He is a school teacher with a wife and children. “My greatest desire is to be well-equipped for mission work,” says Samuel, “I won’t miss this opportunity by God’s grace.”
Like thousands of others, Samuel found TELL on Facebook. TELL’s Facebook team posts daily Bible passages and short devotional videos by national pastors called #TELLtalks. The team answers questions online and invites people to start free Bible training on the TELL app or website.
Samuel downloaded the TELL app and within seconds began the first self-learning course. He completed three self-learning courses: Spiritual Healing, Truth Brings Peace, and Introduction to the Bible. Each course has nine lessons that include a Bible reading, teaching video, and quiz.
When Samuel completed the self-learning courses (“TELL Tier 1”) he received his first certificate. Then a TELL missionary contacted Samuel. He congratulated him and invited Samuel to join him in the live online classes (“TELL Tier 2”).
Today Samuel is meeting twice a week in a video classroom with a TELL instructor and other students. Students go in-depth learning about the work of Jesus, Old and New Testament history, and Law and Gospel. Each course takes about a month. There are eleven courses in TELL tier 2.
TELL tier 3 are live courses too. They focus on how to share the Gospel in your community: gathering, teaching and discipling. God-willing someday the TELL instructor along with a local missionary will visit Samuel to grow the relationship and support Samuel as he starts a small group.
When Samuel began TELL he had been praying for just that: an opportunity to share the Gospel. Since then God opened a door! A friend gave Samuel air-time on the local radio station. Every Sunday evening Samuel takes the Bible lesson he has learned with TELL and reuses them on-air to an audience of up to half-a-million. Many of whom haven’t heard the Gospel.
By God’s grace Samuel has found a place where he receives real Gospel training right from God’s word. “I used to believe in a Gospel that was preaching prosperity and miracles mostly,” Samuel says, “But I discovered this misleads believers. It focuses on earthly things and makes us forget heavenly things. Now I’m mission-minded.”
Daniel Laitinen is Multi-Language Production’s TELL Missionary and lives in Austin, TX
Please pray for those working in fields that are ripe for harvest. Share their story, engage with future news and receive updates. Learn more about our mission fields in Africa and how the Holy Spirit is working faith in people’s hearts at https://wels.net/serving-others/missions/africa
This is an update on Stillwater School Board’s proposal to change school start times in 2019-2020. The Stillwater School Board met last night and one of the topics on the agenda was the proposed changes in starting time to accommodate a later start for the high school students. This change in start time for the high school would affect the start and end time for Salem students. In the proposals presented last night, Salem would start school between 9:15 and 9:40 a.m., and end between 3:45 and 4:10 p.m. Jane Grobe and I spoke on how starting later and getting out later would affect our students’ learning and how it would disrupt family schedules. The middle school, where some of our students participate in after-school extra-curricular activities, would have their school day ending at 2:00. That would mean if students left Salem for after-school activities, they could miss over 2 hours of instruction to be at the start of the middle school activities. The board’s discussion on th
Salem Board of Education/Education Committee Meeting - The Board of Education meets at the same time as the Education Committee. Their next scheduled meeting is Tuesday, March 13, at 6:30 p.m. People that would like to address the board may request time at the beginning of the meeting by contacting the principal, Roger Zolldan (rzolldan@salemlutheran.org), or the chairman, Karl Paulsen (kvkthethinker@gmail.com). The meeting will go into closed session after the people that signed up to speak are finished with their topic.
Salem will NOT have school on Monday, March 5, 2018, due to impending winter weather storms and unsafe travel conditions. Parents and caregivers, please prepare and plan accordingly for alternate childcare. Stillwater public schools also closed. Monitor the following closure links: http://kstp.com/schoolalert/ http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/school-closings/ http://www.kare11.com/alert-center#alert-center-closings http://www.fox9.com/closings