ALBUQUERQUE, N.M (ANS) -- Originally known as Hosanna, Faith Comes By Hearing began as a small tape lending library in the fall of 1972.

According to a news release made available to the ASSIST News Service, prior to establishing the Albuquerque-based ministry, founders Jerry and Annette Jackson had done missionary work across the desert southwest, traveling with their four children in a 1954 GMC school bus.

The news release said the Jacksons have experienced the highs and lows of a ministry that came from humble beginnings, and is now the largest producer of foreign language Audio Bibles in the world.

As its celebrates its 40th anniversary this month, Faith Comes By Hearing (FCBH) has Audio Scriptures recorded in 683 heart-languages, which combined are spoken by over 5 billion people.

“We never could have imagined the direction the Lord would take this ministry when we first got started,” said Jerry Jackson, president of FCBH, speaking in the news release. “We simply have done our best to allow Him to work through us - even our weakness and imperfection - and He has been faithful.”

The news release said this sort of willingness to follow the path God laid out before the ministry was illustrated by their move in the mid-1980's to start producing dramatized Bible recordings in what the Jacksons’ refer to as “heart languages” - the language you grew up with, speak in the home and pray in.

This decision has led to God's Word being freely available to the more than half of the world that is illiterate or living in a predominately oral culture.

The method of distribution, the news release said, has dramatically changed over four decades. The ministry originally used cassette tapes as its primary vehicle for providing its audio. The move to CDs provided a better sound quality, but like cassettes, multiple CDs (16) were required to provide the entire New Testament.

According to the news release, next came the Proclaimer, a solar-powered digital unit capable of being heard by groups as large as several hundred. When MP3 technology arrived, the ministry could fit the New Testament onto one disc.

As digital technology advanced and direct downloads across multiple platforms became a reality, the news release said Faith Comes By Hearing was able to realize one of its longtime dreams - to easily provide God's Word free of charge.

During its first 37 years in ministry, FCBH estimates the group reached some 50 million people with Audio Scripture. In the last two-and-a- half years - through what is now the Digital Bible Platform - FCBH has monitored Bible engagement by more than 93 million people, including connections originating from 92 percent of the countries on the planet.

In addition to these online platforms, the ministry also provides free access through digital playback devices. More than 320,000 Proclaimers are literally proclaiming the Gospel to the world's poor and illiterate population.

More than 230,000 Military BibleSticks - pocket-sized, digital players - have been distributed through chaplains to troops in every branch of America's military.

So what is in store for the next 40 years? “We have been willing to walk through every door that God has seen fit to open and we stand ready to do the same in the future,” said Jackson.

He added, “Living by faith in God's provision is a lifetime journey.”

For more information go to www.fcbh.org

Jeremy Reynalds is Senior Correspondent for the ASSIST News Service, a freelance writer and also the founder and CEO of Joy Junction, New Mexico's largest emergency homeless shelter, http://www.joyjunction.org He has a master's degree in communication from the University of New Mexico, and a Ph.D. in intercultural education from Biola University in Los Angeles. His newest book is "Homeless in the City." Additional details on "Homeless in the City" are available at http://www.homelessinthecity.com. Reynalds lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico. For more information contact: Jeremy Reynalds at jeremyreynalds@comcast.net.