About Us
Scriptures in Use is reaching out to the hard places of the world. Places where the message of Jesus has never been heard. Places where cultural and linguistic barriers have isolated people from the transforming message of Jesus Christ.
SIU has developed powerful and effective methods to communicate through storytelling the great narratives of the Bible. Through dramatizations of the parables of Jesus and cultural adaptations of Scripture in Song, every believer is taught to become a Bible storyteller through which they become natural disciple-makers and trainers.
Our Vision
To see the Scriptures used and applied in the lives of unreached, oral peoples around the world.
Our Mission
To equip and train oral people to make disciples who experience God through His Word in their own heart language and culture.
Our Values
- Unreached Oral Peoples
- Scripture Engagement
- Accurate Scripture Memorization
- Empowered Indigenous Leadership
- Partnerships of Trust
- Lifelong Learners
- Respect of Local Culture and Language
- The Oral Arts
- Reproducibility and Sustainability
Our Founders:
Jim and Carla Bowman
Jim and Carla Bowman chartered Scriptures In Use as a non-profit in October of 1986, after three years of short term mission trips to Mexico. Once they had raised enough support, they officially started Bridges training in July of 1987. Working out of their home, they recruited others to join their storytelling movement. Over the past 30 years, SIU has become a leader in communicating the Bible orally through storytelling, headquartered in Green Valley, Arizona. The Bowmans developed five separate curricula and tens of thousands have come to know Christ as a result. Jim and Carla Bowman are currently enjoying retirement and continue to serve the Lord in many ways.
Jim worked in television, film and newspapers. In the early 80’s, he and his wife Carla began to work among indigenous people with a unique assignment of Scripture engagement for minority languages. He pioneered the development and field testing of oral communication methodology, launching an international training curriculum in the late 90’s. He is retired in Arizona with his wife Carla and has two daughters and four grandchildren. Jim is also the author of Finding My Real Father.
CEO & Executive Director Scriptures in Use:
Kent Kiefer
Kent Kiefer is the CEO & Executive Director of Scriptures in Use (SIU). He has over 20 years of International Ministry experience; in his eighth year with SIU, and previously four years with a faith-based International Missions’ Sending Agency (“ABWE”) and eight years with a faith-based International Parachurch ministry (“Focus on the Family”).
Kent has a heart and passion for “reaching the unreached” and believes strongly that the oral arts, communication bridges training approach designed specifically for the indigenous men and women of peace around the world is one of the most effective means to reach the nations with the Gospel.