International (MNN) — New technology emerges on the heels of a global Bible translation summit.
At unfoldingWord’s annual Global Church-Centric Bible Translation Forum, “We announced an AI-assisted tool called BT Servant,” Dane with unfoldingWord says.
“This promises to be a highly effective tool; everybody that heard about it was excited.”
Attended by 85 translators and associated partners, the fourth CCBT Forum presented workshops, testimonies, and networking opportunities. More about that here.
“We ended up with about 85 people, including 21 ministry partners, 28 languages, and 18 countries represented,” Dane says.
“It was just excellent. The Spirit of God was definitely present and everybody was encouraged.”
BT Servant: AI support in disconnected places
(Graphic courtesy unfoldingWord)
unfoldingWord partners with church planting networks all around the world. These believers translate God’s Word into their heart languages using tools and training from unfoldingWord. More about that here.
The newly announced BT Servant app helps translators check their work. “You can ask it any question you want about Bible translation,” Dane says.
Through WhatsApp, “it will take you NOT to resources all over the world, but [to] our very specific, tightly controlled library of resources that help church-centric Bible translators solve problems as they are drafting or checking their brand-new translations,” he explains.
Typically, highly trained consultants review translation work and answer questions. However, “we’re not creating PhD-level Bible translation consultants fast enough anymore,” Dane says.
“The traditional systems of Bible translation just cannot meet the demand.”
BT Servant’s integration with the popular messaging application WhatsApp makes it ideal for Bible translators in underdeveloped or hard-to-reach locations.
“In many places of the world, their internet service is intermittent. They can’t get online or stay online for lengthy periods of time. The offline software is great but sometimes they don’t even have access to a laptop,” Dane says.
However, “almost everybody has one of these phones, and you can go pretty much anywhere in the world through WhatsApp,” he continues.
“BT Servant is a big, big deal, and I think it’s going to get bigger as time goes by. Everybody was excited to hear about it.”
(Graphic courtesy of Progress.Bible)
How to support Church-Centric Bible Translation
According to Progress.Bible, 541 languages are still waiting for Bible translation work to begin. The scale of the task highlights a critical gap that ministries cannot bridge alone. You can help by partnering with unfoldingWord.
“unfoldingWord does not make Bible translations. We make Bible translators,” Dane says.
“We need people who can capture that vision, see the exponential power of it, and join us as financial partners.”
Most importantly, pray. Pray that BT Servant will help expedite the drafting and checking process for hundreds of church-centric Bible translations currently underway.
Sign up to receive unfoldingWord’s monthly prayer calendar here.
Header image is a representative stock photo courtesy of Brett Jordan/Unsplash.
