Once In History Opportunity That's Not Going to Come Again

"This is a once in history type thing that's happening - we're completing the work of getting the Gospel to every nation. We can see the end of it, which never happened before in my lifetime."
- Pastor David Snyman

Pastor David Snyman and the congregation of Paradise Hills United Methodist Church in Albuquerque, NM, have caught the vision of Jesus' mandate to take the Gospel to the ends of the earth. Pastor Snyman says, "I think the whole church should be involved in this last push to reach the world for Christ, it's really important we do that—and it's an opportunity that's not going to come again!"

Paradise Hills has enabled people in almost a dozen countries around the world to hear God's Word in their own language. Their giving has included Cuba, Dominican Republic, Mozambique, Nigeria, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Mexico, Azerbaijan, and Paraguay. In addition, they have also given to the Military BibleStick project, providing free Audio Bibles for our military servicemen and servicewomen.

When Paradise Hills took on the sponsorship of the Enhlit Audio New Testament recording for the people of Paraguay, they went all out to inform and include their members. They held a meeting so the congregation could vote for which language they would like to sponsor, had a missions banquet with a Paraguayan theme, put up posters, published information in the bulletin and newsletter, and had several special Sundays emphasizing the project. The result? Pastor Snyman says, "The church responded well. It was a joy, it wasn't like trying to raise money for something else, the money just came in."

After the Enhlit Audio New Testament was recorded, Paradise Hills continued to give so that the Enhlit speakers could have Proclaimers® with the Audio New Testament in their own heart language. Pastor Snyman says, "The Proclaimers® captured our imagination—knowing they would be out there a long time. Tapes wear out—the Proclaimer® was solar powered—people could listen without having to pay for batteries. Sometimes they have to make the choice between batteries or food, so this was good."

Pastor Snyman continued, "I've been really pleased with Faith Comes By Hearing. It's added vitality to our church and our people are excited about helping others have the Word in their own heart language."

Paradise Hills UMC has listened through the Audio New Testament five times as a congregation. Pastor Snyman says, "It's important any time you can get people into the Bible with their fast-paced lives. People spend time in the car, and listening to the MP3 Bible in the car is a great way to hear the Gospel again and again. The more we hear it, the more it blesses us. Also, we are becoming less and less of a literate culture. We listen to and watch things more. So to get people involved in the Word who don't read, Faith Comes By Hearing's You've Got The Time program is a great way to do that."

Pastor Snyman has been in ministry for 32 years and has pastored Paradise Hills UMC for 11 years. He and his wife Sheli have two daughters, Becca and Rachel.