30 Nov The Coming Sea Change in Bible Translation Ministry
I have the privilege of serving on the board of unfoldingWord, a Bible translation ministry dedicated to “the church in every people group, and the Bible in every language.”
This is such an important ministry that I thought I would acquaint you with this revolutionary new Bible translation strategy in case it is new to you. For a deeper dive, I encourage you to visit the unfoldingWord website to learn more about this disruptive innovation in Bible translation and disciple making.
Staggering church growth worldwide has created a staggering demand for faster Bible translation
As explained on the unfoldingWord website, people crave the Word of God in a language they can understand. As hundreds of thousands of missionaries have fanned across the globe to make disciples of Jesus, hundreds of millions of new believers have responded to God’s call, especially in Latin America, Africa, and Asia. That staggering rate of church growth over the last 40 years has created urgent demand for the Bible and other important Christian materials in languages that people understand best: their native tongue, or their “heart language.”
But there’s a problem. Even as we rejoice over the millions coming to Christ for salvation, as Christianity has grown, so has the need for Scripture for these new believers in thousands of people groups that either have no scripture in their language, or badly need updates of older translations.
Rapid technology has kept pace with rapid church growth
Traditional translation methods, which have provided Scripture translations for millions of people, simply can’t keep pace with this new surge in global demand. Fortunately, as God has grown his church rapidly, technology has grown right along with it. The revolution in computer and communication technology has given billions of people knowledge and connections they never would’ve had 20 years ago.
As these two massive global trends have converged, Christians now have an unprecedented opportunity and challenge: to use technology to equip a worldwide church desperate for the Scripture tools they need to establish “the church in every people group and the Bible in every language.”
Unfolding word is meeting that challenge by equipping our partner churches across the globe to do church–centric Bible translation (CCBT). New believers need the local church to disciple them, and churches need the word of God in a language their people understand.
But instead of relying on a small number of professionals from the Western world to oversee the process, unfoldingWord is giving Bible translation tools to churches, God’s prime instrument for reaching the lost world and making disciples.
The church is God’s instrument for doing His work in the world
Mission organizations have long recognized that they are most effective when they equip local churches to do the work. UnfoldingWord is providing scripture and training tools in 50 of the world’s most widely spoken languages – “Gateway Languages” – so that teams who speak those Gateway Languages, and also speak one of the 7000 language groups not yet reached, can translate God’s word for themselves clearly and accurately in less time and with less money than ever before.
Without this strategy, the remaining language groups of the world would not be reached with Scripture and other Bible resource tools for many decades to come. With this strategy, that goal can be reached in a fraction of the time with a fraction of the cost.
It is rare that such disruptive innovation comes along in strategic ministry worlds, and I hope this brief overview will both enlighten and encourage you to be open to whatever level of involvement God may want you to have in the world of church–centric Bible translation. Again, for more in depth information on this, please visit unfoldingWord’s website.
I look forward to seeing you next week as we continue exploring the resources and strategies available to us in our spiritual growth journey.
Help spread the message, “Like” my Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/maxanders.author and invite your friends to do the same. If you know someone you think may find this blog valuable, please forward it to them. I am always glad to hear from readers. Write me at max@maxanders.com. I try to answer all emails, but, if not, I may address in future blogs the questions/issues you raise.
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.