Mission 66: Audio Bible Teaching Addresses the Global Bible Literacy Crisis

Quick Summary: Mission 66 is breaking through the global Bible literacy crisis. During Global Bible Month, this audio Bible commentary by Brazilian scholar Luiz Sayão is now available in 9 languages reaching 3.2+ billion primary speakers (4+ billion including secondary speakers). Through conversational dialogue with engaging hosts, available on 90+ radio stations, YouTube, YouVersion, and free study resources, Mission 66 transforms lives.


John Mathews (voiced by John-Paul Davies of Wales, left), Esther Sisulu (voiced by Unathi Sithole of South Africa, right) and producer Scott Hollinger (center) record the English-language Mission 66 series.

The caller in September 2026 to Radio Capital, TWR’s partner in Mozambique, was blunt.

“I do not know Jesus,” the man said. “I am a drug addict, a drunkard, and I am sick. I was passing by this channel, and my niece told me to listen. I listened attentively, and as soon as they announced the number, I called.”

The program the caller had listened to was Mission 66, or Rota 66 as it’s known in Portuguese, the language of Mozambique. As with so many people who encounter the Word of God, the man recognized himself in the Scriptures.

“Everthing you are saying is … happening in my life,” he said. “Please, I need to change.”

During November, Global Bible Month, the Mozambican man’s words highlight why the audio Bible commentary founded by Brazilian Bible scholar Luiz Sayão has become an increasingly accepted tool for introducing the truths of Scripture. 

Now, TWR is about to bring Sayão’s biblically grounded but accessible tour of the Bible to a ninth language. 

“We have funding to get the African French New Testament produced,” said Jon Fugler, Mission 66 director for TWR. “We’re getting ready to launch into production of that in January.”

Half of the People in the World

When TWR announced a partnership with Sayão in March 2023, the goal was to bring the teaching to the world’s 10-most-spoken languages: Mandarin Chinese, English, Hindi, Latin American Spanish, Modern Standard Arabic, Bengali, Portuguese, Bahasa Indonesian, Russian and African French. (It was already partially completed in some languages by the time the partnership began.)

Using conservative estimates, that means it would reach the primary language spoken by 3.2 billion people. That rises to more than 4 billion – roughly half of the world’s population – when secondary languages are also included.

Fugler’s hope is that widespread availability of Mission 66 in various formats will be part of the answer to what some are calling the global Bible literacy crisis. The availability of Scripture is growing at an astonishing rate, with more than 99% of the world’s population having access to at least some of the Bible, according to Wycliffe Global Alliance.

But what’s often lacking, Fugler and others say, is the sound teaching that would enable believers to grow in their faith. In Africa, for example, between 85 and 90 percent of church ministers have little or no biblical theological training, according to the World Evangelical Alliance’s Mission Commission.

Conversational Format, Youthful Vibe

Mission 66 can fill some of that gap. The full program covers all 66 books of the Bible in 613 episodes, in understandable language without dumbing down the text. Unlike typical teaching programs, it’s presented in a conversational format. It’s a dialogue between two people in most languages, and among three people in Latin American Spanish.

That threesome – Johnny Pérez, Kimberly Yépes and David Silva – have a youthful vibe and have gained favor with a youthful audience.

The idea was to reach people in the 35-to-45 age bracket, said Annabel Torrealba, international director for Latin America and the Caribbean and Hispanic Ministry with TWR. The actual data show something else. “The reality is that the audience, the big chunk of the audience, is between 25 and 30.”

On the air since Oct. 2, 2023, Misión 66 is found on 90 stations, including seven in the United States, Torrealba said. But that’s an undercount, since some of those are flagships of a network of stations, and many have repeater stations.

New Programs, New Resources

The English-language Mission 66, featuring John Mathews (voiced by John-Paul Davies of Wales) and Esther Sisulu (voiced by Unathi Sithole of South Africa), is available online, Fugler said. A new program is uploaded each weekday, but once that portion of Scripture is covered it can be heard at any time. Mission 66 reading plans are available on YouVersion.

Wherever it goes, Mission 66 draws interest. In Indonesia, for example, the weekday postings on the YTWR YouTube channel drew more than 92,000 responses just in August 2026. The Spanish and English versions have been opened in 125 countries, said Ted Siemens, Mission 66 project manager.

The Mission 66 team continues working to provide additional study tools. Among them:

• A free, downloadable study guide to complement the teaching.
• A 30-day reading plan on God’s promises fulfilled from Abraham to Joseph.
• Just out this month, a seven-day devotional guide – tied to Global Bible Month – on the Gospel of John, available at www.mission66.bible.
• The Route 66 Study Bible, by Luiz Sayão, released in May 2025, was named best study Bible in an annual awards presentation in October 2026 by Brazil’s Association of Christian Publishers. The study Bible, at more than 2,000 pages, currently is available only in Portuguese.

Visit the Mission 66 website here.