ETHIOPIA
Africa
Meet the
ESTHER PROJECT ETHIOPIA
Among the Aari, Basketo, Gofa and Melo people groups in southern Ethiopia, women are often considered
possessions with little more rights than cattle. Oral Bible Storytelling is a proven method of facilitating
transformative impact in this part of the country. The Esther Project will present Jesus to these communities
through women.
Goals
40 Bible stories in
4 language groups
Expected
Impact
Strengths
A trained team of Ethiopian
Christian leaders has two years of
experience in Oral Bible Storytelling.
The manager is an established,
reliable and trustworthy partner. This
is the third such project in Ethiopia.
01 Bible stories will minister
to women — and to the next
generation as women teach the
stories to their children.
Partners
Ethiopian Kale
Heywet Church,
SIL Ethiopia,
Wycliffe Ethiopia,
and local churches.
Risks
Political or intertribal tension
may sidetrack the project.
Because this work focuses on
culturally dominated women,
it could create problems
within the local communities
and churches.
02 The Esther Project will
produce audio recordings of
Scripture that will be passed
around to the local communities.
Quick Facts
Location: Ethiopia
Number of Speakers:
544,880
in 4 people groups
Expected Completion:
2018
03 About 500 women will receive
training in Bible storytelling. This will
add value to women who’ve been
dominated.
01
theseedcompany.org
PROJECT PROFILE
The Challenge
The Solution
About half of the people in these groups profess to be Christians.
The other half believe in traditional religion, which includes
worshiping the sun, adoring ancestors and honoring different
spirits. This system influences the people’s daily lives. For
example, if a spirit tells them not to go to work, they stay home
and consequently encounter problems. If a spirit warns them
that they’ll die, have chronic sickness or become poor, they’ll be
fearful, easily losing hope and productivity.
Using a proven workshop model, Ethiopian leaders will train
25 women from five church districts in how to craft Scripture
stories. These women will teach others until 500 women have
received training. Three workshops per year will produce 40
Bible stories for the women to share and distribute in local
churches and storytelling groups. The stories will be audio
recorded for cellphones.
Lifestyle choices are noticeably different between believers and
non-believers. Non-Christians typically spend their money and
time on worthless things and have a poorer work ethic than
followers of Jesus. Alcohol and tobacco use, the incidence of
AIDS, and polygamy are more widespread among those outside
of the faith.
One of the issues that God’s Word impacts positively is
treatment of women. Traditionally, older people are highly
respected. However, even with modern-day trends toward
equality, women hold a much less prominent position than men.
Missionaries introduced Christianity about 60 or 70 years ago.
At that time, idols and Satan worship were rampant. Evangelists
went from house to house winning souls and planting churches.
These efforts account in part for the Christian presence in the
area today.
Pray
With Us
Experience has shown that Scripture stories have the power to
transform lives and draw people to Jesus. During each workshop,
the storytellers will report on how many times they’ve told the
stories and how many women God’s Word has touched. This
project will be considered successful when women who’ve heard
the stories begin to view themselves as people of value to God
and to their families.
Local church leaders will select the story crafters through prayer
and discussion with partners. Mother tongue speakers who are
fluent in both their native tongue and the language of wider
communication will begin serving in this role. The ultimate goal is
for them to tell the Bible stories so women will hear Jesus’ Good
News and come to faith in Him in their own cultural context.
Father, transform people’s lifestyles by Your Spirit. Give them hope, dispel their
fears and make them productive — all as a result of knowing Christ and living under
Him as King.
How You Can Make a Difference
PRAYER | Lord, please use the Bible stories in these four
languages to captivate people’s hearts with Your love, and show
them their need to have a relationship with You. We ask that the
“show-not-tell” method of communicating Your truth through
colorful and dramatic Scripture stories will fall on receptive ears.
Father, transform people’s lifestyles by Your Spirit. Give them
hope, dispel their fears and make them productive — all as a result
of knowing Christ and living under Him as King. Lift women out
of their centuries-old position of inferiority to see themselves as
Your children. Show people the futility of worshiping elements of
Creation, such as the sun, ancestors or spirits, instead of the one
true God.
FINANCIAL INVESTMENT | Help bring these four Ethiopian
people groups Scripture they can understand. Your investment will
give the local churches the tools they need for personal spiritual
enrichment as well as effective outreach to their people.
As an investor, you will help the Esther Project translators receive
training, equipment and a livelihood as they work to bring God’s
Word to their people in their own language.
Call the Seed Company at 1-866-663-8377 or visit
theseedcompany.org/projects/esther-project-ethiopia to make
your commitment to these four Ethiopian people groups today.
Visit theSeedCompany.org or call 1-866-663-8377 to join the team today.
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