Our Passion
The Great Commission is one of the greatest themes of Scripture and one of the greatest realities of our time. I understand the core of this mission to be making disciples of all nations (people groups) which primarily involves evangelism and teaching (Matt. 28:18-20). The outcome of this activity leads to the training of leadership and the organization of believers into local indigenous church assemblies that become self-governing, self-supporting, and self-propagating.
Every believer must before God seek to understand their role in the fulfillment of this mission. Consideration needs to be given to resources, abilities, and spiritual giftedness. While there are a variety of ministries that contribute to the missions task, I believe that the best way our family can facilitate the fulfillment of the Great Commission is by serving in Bible Translation ministry.
That Bible Translation plays a vital role in the fulfillment of the Great Commission hardly needs to be explained. We have over two thousand years of church/missions history to demonstrate the impact that the written Word of God has when it is accessible in the heart language of the people. Throughout this same period, the primary Bible which the Holy Spirit has used to bring people to faith in Christ and to lead them toward Christian maturity has been a translated Bible. And generally, when there has been a void of the Word of God in the language of the people, those people remain in darkness or are crippled in their Spiritual growth.
Thus in modern missions, Bible Translation remains an integral part of the success of making disciples of all nations. The availability of the Word in a given language facilitates the spread of the gospel as well as Christian growth. In the cross-cultural church-planting endeavor, Bible Translation is what allows the national church to become a strong national church. The people have been evangelized, discipled, and trained for leadership. And now they have the Word of God in their hands to guide them; they are on their own.
For now, Bible Translation is the right ministry for us. I say “for now” because I cannot predict how God might direct our family in the distant future. But for the present time, we are committed to the completion of the Bible for the Day people of Chad. I believe that God has tailored my training, abilities, temperament, and spiritual giftedness so that this kind of ministry is a right fit for me. Bible Translation requires a certain level of facility in the Biblical languages, linguistics, and theology. In addition, it requires an inclination to details and sustained concentration that does not suit many people. But it suits us fine.
In the Bible Translation process, I play the role of a translation consultant. In this capacity, I check the accuracy of the translated text. Each translation project has one or more translators who produce the rough draft of the translation. This draft is then checked by a local committee representing the language group. Then the translation passes through one of us translation consultants. We look over the translation carefully noting places that may need to be changed and discussing those places with the translator(s). After this step, the translation is essentially in its final form ready to be formatted and printed.
Over the last one hundred years, Bible Translation has multiplied exponentially. We have translations in over 2000 of the world’s 6700 languages. Current projects represent over 1500 language groups. Bible Translation societies are pushing for the start of a NT in each of the remaining language groups where there is a determined need by 2025! LORD willing, my generation will live to see the day when every people group will have access to the Word of God. And we are excited to be a part of it.
Every believer must before God seek to understand their role in the fulfillment of this mission. Consideration needs to be given to resources, abilities, and spiritual giftedness. While there are a variety of ministries that contribute to the missions task, I believe that the best way our family can facilitate the fulfillment of the Great Commission is by serving in Bible Translation ministry.
That Bible Translation plays a vital role in the fulfillment of the Great Commission hardly needs to be explained. We have over two thousand years of church/missions history to demonstrate the impact that the written Word of God has when it is accessible in the heart language of the people. Throughout this same period, the primary Bible which the Holy Spirit has used to bring people to faith in Christ and to lead them toward Christian maturity has been a translated Bible. And generally, when there has been a void of the Word of God in the language of the people, those people remain in darkness or are crippled in their Spiritual growth.
Thus in modern missions, Bible Translation remains an integral part of the success of making disciples of all nations. The availability of the Word in a given language facilitates the spread of the gospel as well as Christian growth. In the cross-cultural church-planting endeavor, Bible Translation is what allows the national church to become a strong national church. The people have been evangelized, discipled, and trained for leadership. And now they have the Word of God in their hands to guide them; they are on their own.
For now, Bible Translation is the right ministry for us. I say “for now” because I cannot predict how God might direct our family in the distant future. But for the present time, we are committed to the completion of the Bible for the Day people of Chad. I believe that God has tailored my training, abilities, temperament, and spiritual giftedness so that this kind of ministry is a right fit for me. Bible Translation requires a certain level of facility in the Biblical languages, linguistics, and theology. In addition, it requires an inclination to details and sustained concentration that does not suit many people. But it suits us fine.
In the Bible Translation process, I play the role of a translation consultant. In this capacity, I check the accuracy of the translated text. Each translation project has one or more translators who produce the rough draft of the translation. This draft is then checked by a local committee representing the language group. Then the translation passes through one of us translation consultants. We look over the translation carefully noting places that may need to be changed and discussing those places with the translator(s). After this step, the translation is essentially in its final form ready to be formatted and printed.
Over the last one hundred years, Bible Translation has multiplied exponentially. We have translations in over 2000 of the world’s 6700 languages. Current projects represent over 1500 language groups. Bible Translation societies are pushing for the start of a NT in each of the remaining language groups where there is a determined need by 2025! LORD willing, my generation will live to see the day when every people group will have access to the Word of God. And we are excited to be a part of it.