The Project
The Context and Need
Millions of Christians in the Global South need help to understand the Bible as a whole, with Jesus as the central character and the gospel of grace as the main message. They need to see that the Bible is not a thousand different separate stories, but God's one story told a thousand ways, and that it is all about Jesus and what he did on the cross.
Most of these Christians don't have the funds or literacy skills to access traditional brick and mortar Bible colleges or distance courses. Their church leaders also often have little formal training and formal skills, yet are expected to be the source of Bible and gospel knowledge for their members, and help them live God's way. But Global South Christians and church leaders often come from a strong oral culture and have the strengths and learning skills that are inherent in oral cultures.
Read our detailed article on the context and need.
The Solution: An Interactive Audio Drama
There is a great need to deliver Gospel grounded Bible learning that is free or extremely cheap. It shouldn't involve travelling long distances or days away from home. It needs to be relevant, and not focused on reading and writing, internet access, or a computer.
"Cursed to Bless" is an interactive audio drama, using mobile phones. It covers the whole Bible through familiar characters who experience life issues that illustrate Bible passages and stories. It's like a radio soap opera that also teaches God's Gospel. Each episode presents a key point in the Bible and is followed up with interactive questions and helpful explanations. It's fun and engaging.
Cursed to Bless matches the oral culture with the available technology of Global South Christians. It is popular, accessible and affordable.
Benefits
- Engaging. We all love stories, and it's a particularly natural format for those in an oral culture. Cursed to Bless is like a radio soap opera, with the proven dramatic devices used to help the audience learn: it has conflict, comedy, and a touch of teenage romance. Further, it's a social activity, completed in groups. The interactive questions are a fun way for the group to consolidate their learning.
- Oral culture fit. The drama involves little reading. Rather, it uses the very popular format of a drama. It deals with concrete situations, repetition, and memorisation.
- Format fit. If we want to teach the big story of the Bible, it's natural to use narrative to do this.
- Technology fit. It targets the technology our audience have access to. The majority of poor Christians in the Global South already have a computer: the mobile phone. This is indeed a personal, mobile, and networked computer, as they have unrestricted access to it, they have it wherever they go, and it connects them to the world via a two-way communications device. The drama could potentially also be broadcast via radio, with some interaction and feedback added via mobiles.
- Flexible configurations. The audio drama can be distributed via several channels: the web, mobile voice network, radio, and MP3 players such as MegaVoice. Further, each segment of the drama might be distributed via different channels. For example, the friends' discussion could be broadcast over radio, and the audience could submit questions via SMS or the web, for a response from an expert on the radio. Using the mobile voice network, while incurring higher variable costs, would be a low cost of narrowcasting where there is little internet access.
- Low production and distribution cost. Audio is much cheaper to and easier produce than video: acting, directing, and editing are much more achievable by a local team. Lastly, it's much easier to distribute both for the partner and the audience: audio uses less bandwidth and can be played on basic feature phones, while radio and Bluetooth sharing are very cheap also.
- Culturally neutral. It is more 'culturally neutral', making it easier to translate and contextualise in each setting. Clothing, skin colour, housing, etc., will be imagined by each audience.
- Multitasking. The drama can be listened to while walking or cooking. This would be welcome by those poor people with less control over their time.
- Equips leaders. Church leaders could be equipped by providing extra support and interaction when a church engages as a whole. Although the drama can benefit individuals, this could be particularly effective when a church engages as a whole. Indeed, we hope that individuals on the ground who engage with the drama might be the catalyst for their church partnering as a whole.
Questions
Why would this audience listen to Cursed to Bless?
Cursed to Bless is an engaging and entertaining drama. Life is tough for our intended audience, and a good story is a temporary way out. The format itself is very common in developing countries, popular across ages and gender. Further, Christians will desire to learn and grow, particularly if done together as a church. We just need to remove barriers and provide a format that is accessible to them. Lastly, Cursed to Bless teaches the Bible very differently to what they would usually hear, and simple curiosity combined with the joy of seeing the Bible come together would be compelling. When done as a whole church, learners could gain a level of recognition in their social context which they would value, even if not a traditional or formal 'credential'.
Why audio?
Although it may seem quaint to wealthy and sophisticated consumers of media in the west, audio has a number of advantages. It's much cheaper to produce, is more culturally neutral, it allows multitasking, and it can be delivered over a number of channels. Critically, it is cheaper for the audience to download over the web and can be enjoyed on the technology they have access to -- the mobile phone. Nevertheless, we are exploring adding visuals to the lesson apps to supplement the audio drama. In the longer term, there is the opportunity for a full video production.
Isn't this 'second best' to a proper Bible course?
This audience has little access to a traditional Bible course, due to low incomes and orality. We do see Cursed to Bless as a pathway to more formal learning, but the first step must be achievable and affordable. Our vision is that, over the long term, a culture of biblical education would develop in a context where enrolling in a course is not even considered at the moment.
Can you really have entertainment that is educational?
Yes. We have researched this area and we're confident it can be done, although we see it as the pivotal question in this project. For example, the BBC has produced a number of educational dramas for UK and foreign audiences over many years. The Sabido Method has been used for years around the world to educate audiences on tough issues.
Cursed to Bless isn't meant to replace more formal theological education. Rather, it provides a first step in a pathway towards it.
Lastly, drama may indeed be the best way to change attitudes and learn a new way of seeing the Bible, which is needed more than mere factual knowledge.
Interested?
We are looking for:
- Church leaders who are open to trial this format in their context and help us develop it.
- Learners who will listen to the drama in small groups and give us feedback.
- Supporters who will pray for and tell others of this project.
- Funders who can support the production of the drama in new contexts.
Take the next step:
- Sign up for updates
- Download the overview document to print and share with others
- Download the Mizo or Burmese audio lessons
- Download the Production Guide to learn about the process of contextualising the drama into your own setting
- Contact us at biblesoapopera@gmail.com