New Godpods initiatives set to expand reach in Pacific Islands

Pastor Likaveki recording Steps to Christ in the recording studios.

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Pastor Bruce Likaveke is visiting Adventist Media in Wahroonga, NSW, this week to record Steps to Christ in Solomon Islands Pijin, which will be loaded onto Godpods and distributed across the South Pacific.

The resulting audio book will be uploaded to the devices alongside audio Bibles, sermons and Bible studies on the 28 Fundamentals. For Godpods going to Solomon Islands, the resources will be available in Pijin, Bahasa (Indonesian) and English, and for those going to Papua New Guinea, Tok Pisin and English.

With the help of ads recently published in Adventist Record, $A20,000 of donations have been received in the past few months—enough to purchase an extra 324 Godpods, in addition to the 10,000 that have already been ordered.

“We’ve had a great response to our previous calls for donations [for Godpods],” said Hope Channel South Pacific director Pastor Wayne Boehm. “Thank you to everyone who donated.”

Carrying on the work started by It Is Written Oceania, Hope Channel is excited to be partnering with Adventist World Radio (AWR) for the first time to facilitate distribution. AWR are the initial brains behind the Godpods project and regularly send the devices across the globe.

“In the past we’ve ordered and distributed the Godpods independently, which was more expensive,” said Pastor Boehm. “It made sense to join onto AWR’s existing order of 100,000 Godpods to keep our costs down as much as we can.”

For the first time, Hope Channel has also ordered Godpods made of clear plastic so they can be sent into the prisons.

“That way, the prison officials can see that nothing is hidden inside them, and allow the inmates to have access to them too,” he added.

In addition, Hope Channel plans to collect personal contact information from those who receive Godpods, to create a database so they can send follow up sermons and Bible studies to their phones. This cell phone evangelism initiative was recently presented by Pastor Boehm at the TPUM World Changers Bible Training programs, with training continuing to be rolled out over the next few months.

“Although many places in the Pacific don’t have data or reception, when they go to the cities they will be able to download our resources we send them,” said Pastor Boehm.

Since 2014, 39,212 Godpods have been distributed throughout the Pacific.

With millions predicted to attend Papua New Guinea for Christ in May, the goal is to provide as many people with Godpods as possible. Currently, 10,000 are on order and 4000 have already been sent out, but more are needed.

“It’s fantastic to see the church get behind this project, but we still have a window to order more [before May]. We’d love your support.”

If you would like to donate to the Godpods project, please visit their website or call (02) 9847 2222, or send a cheque (payable to Adventist Media) to Locked Bag 1115, Wahroonga NSW 2076. 

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