Ukraine (MNN) — Creativity is a vital tool for getting Scripture into people’s lives, especially during war.
Dane of unfoldingWord says Bible work continues in Eastern Europe, often taking different forms depending on local needs.
In one Ukrainian community, the ministry is developing tools to help people better understand Bible books. “They’re creating dictionaries based on those books,” says Dane.
The ministry also provides education for translators. Leaders say the goal is to strengthen the theological training of those working on Bible translation, even as the war continues.
A local pastor said, as quoted by Dane:
“We’ve also started raising the theological education level of all of our translators. Despite the difficult circumstances, they’ve enrolled in a Bible college.”
In another area of eastern Ukraine, believers are making Scripture more interactive through digital projects. Dane says: “A church planter is producing media projects with their translation of open Bible stories.”
Poltava durig war, Ukraine (image courtesy of Margarita Marushevska via Unsplash)
This work is possible because of unfoldingWord’s approach, which focuses on equipping local believers to lead the translation work themselves.
“We’re building capacity into the local church so that they can translate the Bible for themselves, for their people, in their heart language,” explains Dane.
With the ministry’s open-license resources, local believers can continue the work even without outside support or funding. They are trained and equipped with the ministry’s tools to adapt what they learn to their own realities and local challenges. This approach is used globally and looks different in each community.
“The church-centric Bible translation model builds Bible translation capabilities into other teams and countries, and across project and country lines,” says Dane.
Please pray for local leaders in Ukraine and Eastern Europe involved in creative translation work. Pray that Scripture, as the living water, would quench the thirst of many people.
Visit unfoldingWord to see how they partner with churches around the world to bring Scripture to all people.
Header representative photo of the Gural people in Ukraine, 2023. (Photo courtesy of Gazeta1509 via Wikimedia Commons).
