Bible translations for non-literates

There's a very interesting article over at the Lausanne World Pulse on advancing Bible translations for non-reading audiences. (HT: etrangere)

This is a great reminder to bookish people like me that print media is not the only form in which the Word of God can be conveyed. While I very rarely meet anyone who's illiterate, I have tried to think through (vaguely) how to teach/lead Bible studies for non-book people. That is, those who might have some ability to read, but struggle with it, or just aren't at all interested in it. This reminded me that while it's good to try to teach Bible reading skills (Observation etc.), they aren't the only tools at my disposal. I remember a Bible study years ago which I restructured as a drama being quite a hit! An oral translation might also be better at bringing out some aspects, such as tone and emphasis, much better than a written translation can.

Of course, anything that seeks to make the Bible accessible to more people is always a good thing!