International (MNN) — Hope for unreached people groups follows in the wake of a Bible translation summit.
Dane with unfoldingWord says 85 people from 18 countries gathered recently in Kenya for the Global Church-Centric Bible Translation Forum. “It was just excellent,” he states.
“The Spirit of God was definitely present, and everybody was encouraged.”
One pastor shared how God was answering 40 years of prayer for the Masalit in his homeland.
Masalit tribal dancers at a 2014 event in Darfur, Sudan.
(Photo courtesy UNAMID via Flickr/CC)
According to Joshua Project, the Masalit are a non-Arab people group living primarily in Sudan and neighboring Chad. Classified as a “frontier” unreached people group, nearly all Masalit identify as Muslim.
By God’s grace, Sudanese Masalit trained by unfoldingWord are using church-centric Bible translation to reach the Masalit in Chad.
“This formerly unreached people group now has more than 150 who have come to Christ out of Islam in Chad,” Dane says.
Shifting paradigms
Testimonies and training sessions filled the forum, along with field reports, networking, and breakout sessions. Participants agree that one training on sustainability introduced a helpful paradigm shift.
Instead of viewing Bible translation as a project, “sustainable church-centric Bible translation takes this on as a mission assignment from God,” Dane says.
“Bible translation becomes a foundational, fundamental part of any growing church network in any part of the world.”
Sustainable church-centric Bible translation requires capacity building, training, local ownership, and leadership. Pray that church networks will achieve these priorities.
“The global Church’s responsibility is to translate the Bible for themselves, not ask outsiders to come and do it for them. It helps them develop really robust theological foundations,” Dane says.
Header and story images courtesy of unfoldingWord.
