THERE is an easy way of sharing the gospel with those who speak in a language unknown to you - just give them cassette tapes. But these are no ordinary tapes; they are recordings of evangelistic Bible-centred messages and songs, scripted for ‘holding attention’ and culturally relevant to the listeners.

Just for Malaysia alone, GR has recordings of about 1,000 spoken languages and dialects, said Rev David Lim, Director of the regional GR office in Singapore.

With the influx of foreign workers and students of various races into Malaysia, the gospel tapes are an opportune tool for churches and Christians to make the first contact.

"We have been working with some Malaysian and Singaporean churches that had caught this vision. For example, one church in Melaka used our Mandarin tapes to help some China nationals come to know the Lord.  A doctor in Nilai, Negri Sembilan, played our Bangla tape at his clinic to his Bangladeshi patients waiting for treatment.

"Another lady wrote in and requested for the Bangla tapes for distribution to some 50 Bangladeshi workers in a factory near her church," Rev Lim said.

Besides foreigners, the tapes are an effective tool to reach dialect-speaking Chinese relatives (especially the older folks), Orang Asli (indigenous people) in both West and East Malaysia, and also refugees in Malaysia.

The tapes may be reproduced and distributed freely. For tape requests or more information, write to Gospel Recordings Singapore Ltd, Serangoon Central PO Box 512, Singapore 915501 or e-mail grsin@singnet.com.sg.