Grace Baptist Mission

Grace Baptist Mission Literature Ministry

The literature ministry of the Mission was started in the early part of the nineteen eighties. It grew out of a request from South India for teaching aids to be produced in simplified English, which could be readily translated. Material now goes to help pastors in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe.

What support can we give to Pastors and Preachers?

We seek to equip pastors and teachers with helpful tools. We are concentrating on producing Preachers’ Study Papers and guides and lessons from Bible characters that accompany the Mission’s radio programmes. These are written in easy-to-read English.

Pastors’ workshops

Alongside the ministry of supporting pastors and preachers with books we have begun to organise workshops to do practical work on preaching.  The idea behind these workshops is to help participants to understand what biblical preaching is.  A couple of workshops were held in KwaZulu Natal and Harare in July 2008 that were our first attempt at running this type of training.  The group of attendees is limited to 30, to enable interactive teaching and practical group work.  The emphasis is on how to study a Bible passage and then to be able to preach it to a local congregation.

Preachers’ Study Papers

The Study Papers are designed to go through a Bible book, taking a passage for each study. The PSPs give a verse-by-verse analysis. Each paper has an introduction to the passage, then a study of the verses, a summary and an outline of a sermon that could be preached on that passage. Footnotes are used to give further explanation of a word or phrase used. Most papers have a focus section, which deals with a related subject in more depth. At the conclusion are some questions for the reader to consider issues which stem from the passage in their own context.

An Aid to Study God’s Word

As with any book, these Study Papers can only be an aid and do not take over from the Bible itself. They are intended to help in the study of God's Word in preparation for preaching and teaching. Our understanding of Scripture comes about by the Holy Spirit opening our eyes and working in our minds and hearts. There are no short cuts to the hard work of wrestling with God's Word.

Translations

The Mission intends the literature it sends out to be translated and published in as many languages as possible. Anyone who wants to translate needs to write to ask for permission and will be required to sign an agreement for translation and publishing. This way duplication of unnecessary work can be avoided.

Our resources are concentrated in producing the source material in the English language. We are unable to assist financially in sponsoring translation and publication in other languages.