Challenge and Opportunity: Bibles For the Bibleless

God’s Word has forever changed me. It teaches, encourages, convicts, and comforts me. It is deep. I can dig down deep into it and extract fresh insight, growing my understanding of God and His plan for me.

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12)

Like me, you’re a reader of this blog because you know the transforming power of God’s Word. Our access to Bibles and Bible study tools is immense. It would not surprise me if you have more than one English translation of the Bible in your home and more than one Bible app on your smartphone.

In stark contrast, there are many who are Bibleless. These people do not have any Scripture in their mother tongue. Wycliffe Bible Translators exists to end Bible poverty.

Challenge

Just a five-minute car ride from my home is the USA Headquarters for Wycliffe Bible Translators. As a volunteer with WBT, the need for Bible translation and what it takes to accomplish it is staggering. Consider these stats:

There are 7,000 spoken and signed languages in use today.
650 of these languages have a complete Bible.
1,500 languages have either a New Testament or portion of Scripture.
Approximately 2,000 languages need a translation project to begin.

In this case, the word “language” refers to one’s mother tongue, or “heart language”— the language in which you dream, think and pray. Consider this,

“Understanding Scripture in a language other than the heart language in which we think and experience emotion is like trying to eat soup with a fork. You can get a little taste, but you cannot get nourished.” —William Cameron Townsend, Founder of Wycliffe Bible Translators

Wycliffe Bible Translators is just one of many like-minded Bible translation organizations determined to get God’s Word into all the heart languages of the world, so every tribe and tongue can know and experience who God is and His heart for them.

Opportunity

Thirty years ago, a missionary kid (“MK”) from Colombia, South America (my first college roommate), introduced me to Wyclife Bible Translators. Now, through a unique chain of events, I am a teacher helping with missionary kid programming at WBT throughout the year. I am a teacher through and through; teaching is my God-given calling. He has gifted me to do it. God uses my gift of teaching to connect me with world missions— right around the corner from where I live.

Image may contain: 8 people, people smiling — Future MKs learning about the power of prayer in furthering Bible translation.

It is important to realize that when a family is called to become Wycliffe missionaries the whole family is called, not just mom and dad. So, while the parents go through introductory training at Wycliffe USA Headquarters, so do their children. On the surface, my job is to welcome the children, acquaint them with Wycliffe, and introduce them to Bible translation. What looks like fun and games, goes deeper. Our goals include discipling them in their faith, equipping them with tools to handle transition and change, and encouraging them in their calling as missionary kids. The goal is to send healthy, Christian families into the mission field prepared to handle the challenges and opportunities of missionary life.

I am thankful to God for giving me this unique opportunity to impact His kingdom using the unique gifts and talents He gives me. I stand in awe of how He weaves my story and small gift of service into His glorious story. Someday there will be no Bibleless people. I am glad to have a small role in ending Bible poverty.

God uses my gift of teaching to connect me with world missions— right around the corner from where I live. #MissionsClick To Tweet