Scriptures in Use Annual Report 2026 (Reporting 2025)v9
She Touched His Robe
During our Bridges for Women trainings, women receive much-needed camaraderie and support. The training equips them to reach those in their communities through accurate Bible storytelling. Gathering as women allows specific issues to be addressed that might otherwise go unspoken in a mixed group of men and women. We explore Scripture stories that best address unique challenges and ultimately draw women to know Jesus. Below is the story of Asha, a mother living in a Kenyan village, who attended a Bridges training and is now sharing Bible stories in her community.
Asha never attended formal schooling; however, she has memorized Bible stories through the Bridges for Women program. She says her favorite is the story of the woman with the issue of blood who touched Jesus’s robe. Asha belongs to a women's community group, and naturally weaves Scripture stories into her conversations with other women in the group. When the women gather, she retells the stories exactly as she learned them and dialogues through the story with simple questions. She shares how these stories have strengthened her faith, helped her face fear and anxiety, and given her confidence to speak, even among older women.
Image of God
During an SIU Bridges training among refugees, one participant shared that the Creation Story profoundly changed his view of marriage. He admitted that he had previously treated his wife as property. However, after internalizing the story of how God created both man and woman in His image, and how the woman was formed from the man’s rib, he came to recognize his wife’s dignity and value. He committed to honoring his wife as someone made by God and as part of himself.
What makes this discovery remarkable is that no one told him to treat his wife differently. Simply hearing the story of creation and understanding what God did in the beginning completely changed the way he viewed his wife and all of God’s creation.
Ordinary People, Extraordinary Effect
A bank manager living in India attended a Bridges training. He wasn't sure how he could use the tools, since he was not a pastor or church planter. He prayed and realized he had daily interaction with his bank employees. He told one Bible story each day during lunch to whoever was eating with him. Over the course of six months, 30 people came to faith and were baptized through hearing the Bible stories. A lady who worked in the rice fields attended a Bridges training.
One of the tools she learned was to create songs from Scripture stories. At first, she was not sure how God could use her. After the training, she created songs in her own cultural style from these stories. She intentionally sang these songs while working in the rice fields. Soon, all the other ladies were singing the songs along with her. They loved them! Through these Scripture songs, many women came to know Jesus and were baptized.
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Trading Fingers for Souls
A pastor regularly visited local villages known for their extreme Muslim beliefs and shared Bible stories with them. One of the men in a village listened to the stories but had yet to be convinced of what he heard.
One day, that man was alone in the jungle collecting honey when he was attacked by a huge tiger. The man put his hand up to protect himself. During the struggle with the tiger, he suddenly remembered the story of Jesus calming the storm and how Jesus has power over nature. He prayed, “Jesus, if you save me, I will follow you and tell everyone in the surrounding villages about you.” Jesus rescued him, but the man lost all the fingers on one hand.
He returned to his village and started sharing the testimony of how Jesus saved him, showing his hand, and telling the story of Jesus calming the storm. The people were amazed at his story. In only three months, 25 people followed Jesus and were baptized.
Dear Family & Friends,
I am truly amazed each year by the Kingdom harvest across Asia and Africa as people engage the Word of God in their own heart language and cultural communication forms. The impact is staggering. 2025 was clearly another year of God’s hand upon the ministry of Scriptures In Use. We have a small team of US-based leaders and trainers working with over 50 international partners and their networks. The collective global impact is huge! Of the total Bridges trainings last year, 97% were held without our US team present.
Multiplication, replication, organic, catalytic, and financial sustainability are at the core of the SIU Bridges model. I invite you to join us in praising God as you read through this report and be amazed at what He is doing in the harvest fields in hard-to-reach places. Our God is on the move! He is advancing His Kingdom among oral cultures. Thank you for being a part of finishing the task of the Great Commission He has called us to.
Kent Kiefer CEO & Executive Director
Living Waters
A remote village had long been marked by demonic activity, sadness, and a deep heaviness. While most local churches had deemed them unreachable, a small team of believers provided water pumps and shared Bible stories to meet their physical and spiritual needs. As the team shared Scripture stories, hearts began to open. Forty people followed Jesus and decided to be baptized—the very first believers in that village's history.
Their decision drew intense attention. The rest of the community watched closely, wondering what would happen to those who abandoned their traditional gods. Would they fall ill? Would misfortune strike their families? Instead, the opposite happened. These new believers thrived.
Part of the tribe’s religious practice involved wooden totems half buried in front of their homes, where hey burned incense and offered sacrifices. These totems symbolised their allegiance to their local demon.
Hungry for God’s Word
SIU is partnering with dynamic women leaders worldwide. Bridges for Women trainings have a huge impact in these hard-to-reach places. Here is a story of one such leader in Southeast Asia.
Linh has been training Bridges for Women across her country for nearly 20 years. She travels alone to remote places to train tribal women, despite her ongoing battle with cancer and being watched closely by the authorities. At one training, she planned for 40 women to attend. However, word had spread, and when she arrived, nearly a thousand women were eagerly waiting for her!
The women in these areas have very little access to ministry tools and are hungry for any Bible-based training that helps them reach their families and communities.
Without anyone instructing them, the new believers felt convicted to remove these totems. They dug them up and burned them in the sight of the whole village. Their neighbors watched in horror, anticipating consequences for the whole village. However, God protected them, and no harm came.
During the baptisms, many villagers who were not yet believers came to watch. One believer recited the story of the prodigal son in their heart language. Many clearly heard the gospel for the first time, and seeds were planted throughout the crowd. One man testified that as he came up out of the water, he felt a heavy weight lift from his chest—a release from years of spiritual bondage.
Now, when the team visits this village, once marked by demonic control, sadness, and a deep heaviness, they find a completely different atmosphere. People who carried visible despair now smile, and joy radiates from their faces. The transformation is undeniable.
Coaching Persecuted Believers
Malik was trained in SIU Bridges Scripture storytelling. He went to a city where Boko Haram ruled. Every morning, while Malik prayed, he walked past a local mosque. He got to know Adam, the leader of that mosque. Every day, as he passed by, he would share a Bible story with Adam in his local language.
As a result of the stories, Adam’s life showed noticeable changes. The region’s Chief Imam was not happy with Malik's influence on Adam. He made plans to catch Malik. When Adam became aware of the Chief Imam’s plan, he warned Malik not to return.
Adam was happy Malik was safe, but he greatly missed the daily Bible stories. He reached out to Malik and asked him to bring him a Bible. Adam was unable to read, so he asked his son to read it to him. As his son read the Bible and helped him to memorize the stories, they both chose to follow Jesus. They committed to sharing the stories with the rest of their family. Malik coached them over the phone. Before long, their whole family started to follow Jesus.
Their lives were changing, and news of their faith reached the Chief Imam. He told Adam that he would be promoted to oversee a bigger mosque in a different area and would be given a big house. Adam called Malik to discuss the promotion. After much prayer with trusted leaders, they discerned that the Chief Imam was actually planning to capture and kill Adam and his family. That night, the believers moved Adam and his family to a different city. They are now safely settled in a new location. Adam and Malik remain connected and encourage each other in their faith.
