More than one in five adults in the Democratic Republic of Congo cannot read. In the remote villages where Reconciled World focuses its work, these rates can be even higher. This has a huge impact on people’s ability to do business, access needed resources, and educate their children. It also has an impact on Christians’ ability to grow in their faith. 

A Congolese pastor noticed that many of even the most committed people in his church were not reading their Bibles during the service. Despite wanting to learn more about God, these church members were unable to read the Bible in their homes or follow along during church. This burdened the heart of the pastor, but he did not know what to do about it. After completing the TCT training, he decided that he must help his church members. He coordinated with the leaders of his denomination to identify a teacher who could come to his village and help. Then his church pooled resources in order to pay for the teacher. 

A teacher came and began teaching church members which brought great joy to the church. The wider community saw what was happening and those who did not attend church also started coming to the church to learn to read and write. 

Similarly, in a church in South East Asia, women learned to read in just one month by studying the Scriptures together. These women were married as teenagers and never had a chance at education. Additionally, it was in a remote area where the first written text in their language was the Bible. When an outsider claimed that it was impossible for them to have learned to read in one month, the women agreed. ‘We know,’ they said. ‘It’s a miracle!’