USA (MNN) — Tomorrow is Good Friday, observed each year in remembrance of what Christ did on Calvary. Wycliffe USA President John Chesnut says it also brings to mind those who are stuck in spiritual darkness. “It’s a reminder of the number of people around the world that have never heard this story ever,” Chesnut states.
“They don’t have that hope many of us do today.”
illumiNations is an alliance of Bible translation groups determined to shine God’s light into the world’s spiritually dark places. Wycliffe USA, along with its nine illumiNations partners, wants every language group in the world to have Scripture by 2033.
“That’s not only an ambitious goal, that is a God-sized goal,” Chesnut says.
The finish line is only 12 years away, and more than 2,000 language communities have no Scripture at all. To help accelerate the funding that makes translation work possible, illumiNations launched the “I Want to Know” campaign.
“It’s a social media campaign to get the word out there and then invite people to participate in what God’s doing around the world today,” Chesnut explains.
(Photo courtesy of Wycliffe USA)
For $35, participants in the “I Want to Know” campaign can sponsor one translated verse of Scripture. Learn more here. People can also post the Bible verse they “want the world to know” on social media using the hashtag #IWTKBible.
The illumiNations alliance envisions all people having access to Scripture by the year 2033 — a target they’re calling the “All Access Goals.” It means 95 percent of the world’s population will have access to a full Bible, 99.96 percent will have access to a New Testament and 100 percent will have access to at least some portion of Scripture.
“Prayer is absolutely essential to see this move forward,” Chesnut says.
“The first prayer request is that people would have ears to hear that this is still a remaining need. Second of all, that the Lord would [break] down those barriers that have kept the Gospel message out of these communities.”
Pray that as God removes barriers, translation work can begin immediately in unreached language communities.
“The language communities around the world that still do not have Scripture are the least of the least and the hardest to reach.”
The “I Want to Know” campaign — the largest Bible translation campaign to be introduced on social and digital media — gives people the opportunity to sponsor one or more Bible verses in partnership with the 3,800 language communities worldwide that don’t yet have a complete Bible. (Photo courtesy of illumiNations)
