Why Bible Translation?

The cultural core of any people group is their language. A church cannot be said to be truly indigenous and independent without the Scriptures available to them in the language that the people understand best – their own.

The purpose of Bible Translation ministries is to provide the Bible for every person in their own language. This work of God's people is essential to fulfilling the Great Commission. The task involves learning a minority language (usually unwritten), providing them a written form, teaching people to read it and then helping them to translate and produce the Bible in their own language.

Translating God’s Word is necessary for:

	Spiritual Growth and Maturity. The written Word of God is necessary for spiritual nourishment (Deuteronomy. 8:3b), sanctification (John 17:17), guidance (Romans. 12:2), wisdom and knowledge (1 Timothy 3:16). These are all aspects of the Great Commission in which Jesus commanded his disciples to make disciples of people from all nations and to teach those new disciples to obey everything that he had commanded them (Matthew 28:20). If people do not have the Scriptures available in a language they understand, they cannot attain the maturity that God desires for them.
	Evangelism and Church planting. An indigenous church needs the written Word in a language that the people understand in order to effectively present the Gospel message. The Scriptures challenge believers to spread the Good News, but if the Scriptures are not in a language accessible to the people, neither the challenge nor the message will be clearly communicated.
	Changed Lives. When nationals participate in the process of translating the Bible for their own people, God does a work in the translator's lives as well as in the lives of others in their language groups. See the story of Rachel and how God opened the eyes of her husband Peter.

Top of Page

Home Page