In Namibia, Adventist Church Reaches 2,000 Households with ‘Godpods’

By: Moses P. Munyunda and Noel Sibanda, Adventist Echo, and Adventist Review

As part of its “Go 1000” evangelism project, the Namibia North Conference (NNC) of the Adventist Church, in collaboration with Adventist World Radio (AWR), commissioned 2,000 electronic gadgets called “Godpods” that were distributed to the second largest population group of Namibia, the Rukwangali, on October 10, 2021. 

Godpods are small devices the size of a cellphone, loaded with an audio Bible in the local language and in English, along with Voice of Prophecy (VOP) Bible lessons and music in local languages. These solar-powered devices also double as FM radio receivers.

The initiative in Namibia is part of the church’s strategic intent to reach the unentered linguistic groups in the country with the gospel. The Godpods were commissioned by Honorable Victoria Kauma, regional urban councilor and deputy chairperson of the National Council of Namibia, on behalf of the regional governor’s office. In her commissioning speech, she said, “As government, we praise the work being done by the Seventh-day Adventist Church for its significant contribution to national development, through its network of radio stations, ADRA relief programs, and construction of low-cost shelters for the vulnerable pockets of the Namibian population.”

NCC president Moses Munyunda, also board vice-chair for AWR Namibia, said the project is a game-changer for spreading the gospel. According to him, this technology will help bridge the information gap between the rural and urban areas. “We are here as a church to compliment the work of the government in issues like substance abuse, health challenges such as HIV and AIDS, [and] family morals, to mention just a few, as we all fight behavior change in our communities.”

AWR Namibia country director Reagan Malumo said this is only the beginning, as the ministry plans to intensify the project across the unentered and hard-to-reach areas in Namibia. “We are bringing the church into your homes, and we want to make sure that you are all part and parcel of the development in the country.”

Southern Africa-Indian Ocean Division (SID) Adventist Mission coordinator Silas Muabsa hailed the project, first implemented in 2012 among the Himba people. Muabsa said it is the most feasible mission tool to reach cultural contexts where orality is a pivotal form of worldview formation. “We are excited to see the expansion of media being used as a tool in missions, especially in these hard-to-reach areas. We aim to intensify intentional disciple-making as tabulated in Matthew 28:19-20, through various forms of communication, culturally relevant to each people group in our territory.”

The 2,000 Godpods, valued at 320,000 Namibian dollars (around US$22,000), is a collaborative partnership between AWR and the NNC through AWR Namibia. Another batch of 2,000 Godpods is expected for the Rumanyo ethnic group through the Kashira outreach. The latter project is spearheaded by Neville Neveling, AWR cellphone evangelism global trainer based in Namibia. 

SID continues to intensify evangelism efforts to reach unentered areas with the good news of Jesus Christ across its territory. Leaders believe these hard-to-reach remote areas are fertile grounds for evangelism, and media is a formidable tool to reach people there.

The original version of this story was posted by Adventist Echo.