Africa Study Bible Sampler - Flipbook - Page 31
HISTORY AND VISION OF
THE AFRICA STUDY BIBLE
History
The concept of a study Bible specifically created
for the needs of African Christians was birthed in
talks among African leaders, Oasis International, and Tyndale House Publishers. A survey and
statistical analysis to evaluate the understanding of the Bible by Christians in Jos, Nigeria, was
undertaken to evaluate the potential impact of
having the Bible in clear, modern language using African vocabulary and expressions. The
research clearly showed that meanings of words
and expressions in modern English from the
United States or the United Kingdom were not
always clear for English-speaking Africans.
Over the following years, the project moved
forward through conversations with leaders
throughout Africa, Bible experts at Tyndale, and
the Oasis International Board. These conversations included Dr. Tite Tiénou from Burkina Faso,
a member of the team that formed the vision for
the Africa Bible Commentary. He would soon be
joined by several other contributors to the Africa
Bible Commentary.
It was decided that the project, if attempted,
would focus on discipleship and life transformation by providing tools and helps to grow
Christians deep in their faith.
During an extensive period of evaluating
the need for the project, leaders from the continent were asked to give input. Seminary presidents, denominational leaders, and academics
spoke with unity: It was essential that we create
a study Bible to reflect the knowledge, culture,
and wisdom of Africa, with the purpose of growing African Christians and bringing insight to
global Christianity.
Brought together by Oasis International, the
project soon had a number of strong development partners, each bringing their unique skills
to the project. Special honour is due Tyndale
House Publishers and Tyndale House Foundation, who provided expertise and seed funding.
In addition, Livingstone, the creators of the bestselling Life Application Study Bible, began their
role as consultant and editorial manager. After
extensive preparation, the Founding Committee
of the Africa Study Bible met in Accra, Ghana.
Leaders from every region of Africa, representing
English, French, Portuguese, and Arabic speaking areas and eleven countries formed the final
mandate for the project, making all major editorial decisions. Special thanks goes to Mark
Taylor, Bruce Barton, Jeff Wright, and Matthew
Elliott—publishing experts who joined the meetings in Accra to advise the committee in study
Bible creation.
The committee came together in a spirit of
unity; the cornerstone of the meetings was a belief in the power and authority of God’s Word
and a pastor’s heart for growing the African
church. In simplest terms, the committee had
one mind in making each decision, shared one
heart in their desire to foster spiritual growth,
and spoke with one voice. The Africa Study Bible
will for ever reflect the work of the Spirit in the
Accra meetings and is for ever indebted to this
special group of people—each bringing a unique
set of qualifications and knowledge.
Vision
Formed by the committee, the vision for the
Africa Study Bible reads:
The Africa Study Bible is a Bible with study
tools written by African pastors and scholars.
Our goal is to increase the understanding of
the Bible using African insights and experi
ences to meet the needs of the church in Africa
and around the world.
The expression of the governing committee
is that the Africa Study Bible is to feed God’s
people as we all need constant feeding from
the source of life—God and his holy Word.
We Africans should see ourselves and our
cultural context in the study notes. Our goal
is that the notes will challenge and encourage the readers to live as God’s people in Africa. The Africa Study Bible is to concentrate on
knowledge and application, teaching people
how to apply truth to their specific situation.
It should empower Jesus’ mandate to make
disciples. The Africa Study Bible will help
people make a link between biblical truth
and life transformation. “African” writers are defined as those who are African in
knowledge, heart, and voice. “Pastors and
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