(Image courtesy Heather Haupt/TSC)

USA (TSC/MNN) — What is poverty? If you answered “a condition of being poor,” you’re right. Taken one step further, what is spiritual poverty?

According to The Seed Company, a billion people around the world don’t have access to the full Bible in their own language. The fact remains that there are still 4500 languages in need of translation, making the goal of access seem hopeless.

While it isn’t feasible to search person-to-person to ferret out a Bible translator in the 10/40 window, somehow God always provides a team willing to translate the Bible into their language. This has happened almost 1000 times with The Seed Company. God builds the team through the local church and international partners, and gives them both the desire and ability to translate.

That’s good news, and there are two precious resources this response requires: time and money. Once the team is assembled, the time has been drastically reduced through the cluster translation approach and new technology. As for fundraising, it takes foresight and communication.

This month, The Seed Company is inviting kids to step up get involved to help #EndBiblePoverty.

(Image courtesy Heather Haupt)

The bloggers behind ohAmanda & Cultivated Lives have joined together for a powerful Monthly Mission: raising funds to support Bible translation for the Tagasa language cluster in Southeast Asia. Their goal: $1,000.   

On their blogs, they outline the steps that can be taken to make these teachable moments for everyone involved.

Background on Tagasa: when Christopher Columbus left Spain, he was not looking for a new continent but for the Spice Islands, of which the home of the Tagasa people is a part. More recently, this volcanic island region became a resettlement area for people of different religions in a move to ease a population crisis in another part of the region.

In 1998, ethnic conflict resulting from the resettlement erupted into a bloody war that lasted until 2002. Religious tensions still run high. Completing the Bible for three people groups and helping implement and publicize an already-completed Bible for a fourth will provide a major tool for deepened faith and effective outreach in a turbulent region.

It takes just three minutes to start your own campaign. Click here to begin yours.

The Onething Conference in Kansas City, MO.

More than 30,000 people from 100 countries gathered in Kansas City for the event. Charisma News reports the late December conference was more than that, though. It was also the first annual summit of major leaders in the missions, prayer, and Bible translation movements and a partnership with the Seed Company of Wycliffe Bible Translators.

According to the founder of the International House of Prayer of Kansas City, Mike Bickle, “We want to see the Gospel preached and 24/7 worship and prayer in every tribe and tongue.”

Bickle told Charisma, “We’re believing for 10,000 prayer chains or prayer ministries across the earth. We’re hosting the first meeting bringing together the movements in church planting, missions, prayer, and Bible translation. There’s one movement in God’s heart, and some people think a call to prayer and fasting is a call to isolation and disengage. The missions movement needs the prayer movement, and the local church needs to be filled with the glory of God.”

More than 500 leaders from around the world met for the first Onething Leadership Summit. “We sent letters to 200 leaders inviting them to this summit six weeks ago,” says Daniel Lim, CEO of the International House of Prayer. “Over 80% of the leaders we invited said ‘yes.’ This is such a unique meeting because we have a common urgency that we need to pray.”

IHOPKC leaders unveiled the results of a survey at the summit that revealed houses of prayer are in 18 nations on 6 continents. The main proponents of prayer are millenials, with over 60% of the participants under the age of 35. Over 30% of the houses of prayers have 40 hours a week of corporate prayer.

Leaders at the summit also pledged to pray for over 300 languages that still need to be translated by Wycliffe’s Seed Company. “There are over 6,000 Wycliffe Bible translators who go to places no one wants to, they are hated by locals, and [they are] unsung heroes of the Body of Christ,” says Bickle. “They work 8 to 10 hours a day writing and translating the Bible,” reports Charisma.

Brian Kim, director of the Luke 18 project at IHOPKC, added that 4 billion people have no Bible. “This is the ultimate injustice.”

Bickle sees the House of Prayer movement as a catalyst for missions, evangelism, and Bible translation. “We’re just hosting the dialogue and providing the platform for new relationships, new ideas, and new plans every year in Kansas City,” he said. “The House of Prayer movement is the banner for all of these over movements.”

The House of Prayer movement has dramatically expanded in a city famous for its Prayer Mountain: Seoul, Korea. “We’ve been in Seoul for four years,” says Hojong Boaz Pank, leader of the House of Prayer in Korea. “We have over 100 churches involved with 112 full-time and part-time staff. I came here in 2011 with my whole family, including my mother-in-law, from Seoul to receive training. Today’s meeting (with summit leaders) was very strategic, and I’m expecting some great things to come.”

(Image Yida Refugee Camp courtesy UNITAR.org)

Sudan (MNN) — Ever hear the saying that goes, “You reap what you sow?”

Parts of Africa are experiencing that in an unbreakable vicious cycle of violence that has become a culture. South Sudan is no exception. The world’s newest country, its birth didn’t come quickly or peacefully.

After more than two decades of war, with two million dead and four million people displaced, literacy levels are low. And the war is not over for all. Hundreds more refugees are still arriving in the camps, and there are no schools. An entire nation has been traumatized, and the devastating effects of this generational trauma are sure to impede the stable and healthy recovery process of this nation.

But a ministry is part of trying to change that by sowing the seeds of peace through story-based trauma-healing workshops in South Sudan’s refugee camps. The Seed Company, in partnership with the Bible Society in South Sudan and Samaritan’s Purse, launched a trauma-recovery program.

Its emphasis on the recovery–from a physiological level rather than a psychological one–allows the program to be used across cultural boundaries.

There was an overwhelming response by the Sudanese people, and many had requested training in trauma awareness and a recovery methodology.

Mark Kordic with The Seed Company says, “When we’ve seen teenagers being forced to do unspeakable acts of violence, families separated, death and destruction and rape and other things occurring, our partners on the ground said, ‘We must offer hope for these families–especially the children.'”

That brought out a clear need, especially when the youngest survivors weren’t doing well. Kordic asks, “How in the world can you process this when you’re eight years old?”

Another challenge, he says, is, “How do we reach out to them in a language that they understand. The challenge is: there are 50 language groups in this refugee camp of 70,000 people.”

The Seed Company started the first training in seven of the groups that have no Scriptures in their own language. “We’d love to reach out to a dozen more languages, and we can do that as people support these trauma-healing workshops. We’d love to reach more of the 70,000 people that are really suffering from unspeakable abuse.”

The initial teams translated and memorized six Bible stories, five real-life stories, and six Bible verses which were set to music. In January, they began regular trauma-healing listening groups in the camp, where they told stories and led discussions about how God can heal pain.

As a result of this initial offering, plus a second training in the summer, Kordic says now “20 Christian congregations, amazingly, have been developed among seven of the 50 language groups as people respond to the stories from the Scripture in a language that they understand best.”

Surviving war and war atrocities is huge. In hindsight, it’s really the first step on a long road to recovery. Having a shoulder to cry on, so to speak, and someone who can offer hope makes a huge difference. “It involves song, it involves dance. It involves storytelling. And as folks go through the workshop experience, in which Scriptures are brought to life in their native language, heart language, it speaks to the way that they’ve always communicated.”

In fact, as Christmas approaches, there’s a clear difference in parts of the camp where Christ’s name is known. Kordic describes the scene. “If you can think of the horizon of a refugee camp and stringing colorful cloth on clotheslines, it gives you a little glimpse of the change from a fear-based refugee experience to one that at least they can look forward to hope because Jesus has entered into their life.”

There’s so much more that can be done. So far, the trauma program is only available in seven languages. The Seed Company wants to expand that to cover all 50 language groups in the camps. Kordic acknowledges the scope of the project, but says everyone doing their own part will help it succeed. “There’s never been a greater acceleration of the Great Commission than right now. Today. I would just encourage folks to consider joining the race to end Bible poverty.”

Pray, give or go.  Connect here.

Parts of Africa are experiencing that in an unbreakable vicious cycle of violence that has become a culture. South Sudan is no exception. The world's newest country, its birth didn't come quickly or peacefully.

After more than two decades of war, with two million dead and four million people displaced, literacy levels are low. And the war is not over for all. Hundreds more refugees are still arriving in the camps, and there are no schools. An entire nation has been traumatized, and the devastating effects of this generational trauma are sure to impede the stable and healthy recovery process of this nation.

But a ministry is part of trying to change that by sowing the seeds of peace through story-based trauma-healing workshops in South Sudan's refugee camps. The Seed Company, in partnership with the Bible Society in South Sudan and Samaritan's Purse, launched a trauma-recovery program.

Its emphasis on the recovery–from a physiological level rather than a psychological one–allows the program to be used across cultural boundaries.

There was an overwhelming response by the Sudanese people, and many had requested training in trauma awareness and a recovery methodology.

Mark Kordic with The Seed Company says, "When we've seen teenagers being forced to do unspeakable acts of violence, families separated, death and destruction and rape and other things occurring, our partners on the ground said, ‘We must offer hope for these families–especially the children.'"

That brought out a clear need, especially when the youngest survivors weren't doing well. Kordic asks, "How in the world can you process this when you're eight years old?"

Another challenge, he says, is, "How do we reach out to them in a language that they understand. The challenge is: there are 50 language groups in this refugee camp of 70,000 people."

The Seed Company started the first training in seven of the groups that have no Scriptures in their own language. "We'd love to reach out to a dozen more languages, and we can do that as people support these trauma-healing workshops. We'd love to reach more of the 70,000 people that are really suffering from unspeakable abuse."

The initial teams translated and memorized six Bible stories, five real-life stories, and six Bible verses which were set to music. In January, they began regular trauma-healing listening groups in the camp, where they told stories and led discussions about how God can heal pain.

As a result of this initial offering, plus a second training in the summer, Kordic says now "20 Christian congregations, amazingly, have been developed among seven of the 50 language groups as people respond to the stories from the Scripture in a language that they understand best."

Surviving war and war atrocities is huge. In hindsight, it's really the first step on a long road to recovery. Having a shoulder to cry on, so to speak, and someone who can offer hope makes a huge difference. "It involves song, it involves dance. It involves storytelling. And as folks go through the workshop experience, in which Scriptures are brought to life in their native language, heart language, it speaks to the way that they've always communicated."

In fact, as Christmas approaches, there's a clear difference in parts of the camp where Christ's name is known. Kordic describes the scene. "If you can think of the horizon of a refugee camp and stringing colorful cloth on clotheslines, it gives you a little glimpse of the change from a fear-based refugee experience to one that at least they can look forward to hope because Jesus has entered into their life."

There's so much more that can be done. So far, the trauma program is only available in seven languages. The Seed Company wants to expand that to cover all 50 language groups in the camps. Kordic acknowledges the scope of the project, but says everyone doing their own part will help it succeed. "There's never been a greater acceleration of the Great Commission than right now. Today. I would just encourage folks to consider joining the race to end Bible poverty."

Pray, give or go. Connect here.

(Photo courtesy The Seed Company)

You can order food off a dollar menu at a fast food restaurant; you can buy one item from a dollar thrift store. In some places, it’ll get you a cup of coffee. Most of what you can buy with a dollar has a short shelf-life in terms of spiritual longevity…until now.

The Seed Company, whose mission it is to complete Bible translations in the heart languages of people without God’s Word, is trying to raise funds for a people group in South Asia.

Already, the Word of God has proven fruitful for the Branchu people. The Branchu church has grown five-fold in 10 years as translators photocopied and distributed draft translations of God’s Word in their language. Their neighbors watched the transformation: Branchu Christians didn’t spend money on spirit sacrifices. Liquor and gambling didn’t exhaust their resources or tear their families apart. The Branchu New Testament project pulled their language back from the brink of extinction!

Now teams from five of those people groups are translating the Bible for their languages alongside the Branchu. They’re eager to preserve their languages, and they hunger for

(Photo courtesy The Seed Company)

this living God who gives personal peace.

Your Buck-4-Good investment gives crucial support to Christians in this region translating the Bible to bring change to their families and neighborhoods. Your gift today will produce fruit that lasts for eternity.

TWIG Cluster: South Asia
Speakers: 720,000 in six people groups
Project Goal: Complete Bible
Project Start: 2013
Estimated Completion: 2019

By connecting translation with poetry, songs, and stories in a heart language, the Branchu team built a compelling foundation for Bible translation throughout this region. As a result, believers from four smaller language groups requested mother-tongue Scriptures.

“If we had the Bible in our language and could compose Scripture songs and pray in our language, then we could win our whole people group to Christ!” one eager Yew speaker said.

This project swings wide the doors for cultural acceptance of the Bible and shows its relevant message. It establishes the framework to translate more Bible stories, Scripture portions, and the “JESUS” film. Partnerships are an integral part of The Seed Company’s vision linking individuals, groups, and organizations to national Bible translation projects.

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For more information on the Seed Company, click here.

The Seed Company also partnered with Brenton Brown to create a music video which highlights the Gamo people receiving the New Testament in their language for the first time.

Translators are committed to seeing the entire Bible completed, so it can be used to preach and teach God's Word to the people and to disciple believers in their faith.

Pray for wisdom as the team begins translating the Old Testament. Pray also for believers in Ethiopia as they seek to honor God in all things.

Groups translating the Bible into various languages often tend to start with the largest people groups and work their way down. Smaller language groups can be low on the priorities task list.

But with The Seed Company initiative, Least of These, the priorities list for Bible translation is flipped upside down.

With support from The Bolthouse Foundation, the Least of These initiative is translating Scripture into languages with 10,000 or less native speakers.

Doug Kogler with The Seed Company explains, “As we’ve been doing research, we’ve discovered that many of these 2,000 Bible-less people groups have very few speakers–maybe as few as 1,000-2,000 speakers. So we’re concerned that they not be left behind. We believe that every language on the face of this earth should have access to God’s Word.”

Many of these smaller people groups are concentrated in the Amazon, Papua, the Pacific, and Africa, while others are more scattered.

Kogler shares how one of these small people groups inspired the Least of These initiative. “One of [our ministry partner] leaders was really moved as he read a devotional that was talking about a people group in Brazil. I think there were about 300 speakers–very small language group without God’s Word. The closing line of that devotional was, ‘Who will go and take God’s Word to these people?’”

That started a conversation between The Bolthouse Foundation and The Seed Company. “While we were concerned about all the 2,000 remaining Bible-less language groups, we had not really had any special focus on the very smallest of them,” says Kogler. The Least of These initiative was launched from there.

But reaching the smallest language people groups has its difficulties. “They live in such isolated areas, and sometimes it’s difficult to even get with them and find out really what their needs are, and where we would even start with a translation project!

“Pray that we could have creative contacts and that we could have strategic contacts with these people groups and begin to identify ways that translation could be started,” Kogler says. “We want to recruit a team of prayer partners and funding partners as well.”

You can donate to the Least of These initiative by clicking here. Every gift is matched dollar-for-dollar by The Bolthouse Foundation.

The Seed Company is encouraging whole congregations to join them in their project. You can get those resources, videos, and information for your church here.

After 14 years, the Dhao people have finally received the New Testament, thanks to The Seed Company. The process was long and tedious. They first had to establish an alphabet for this complex language to begin translation. Relying on farmers and other local people called by God, the project has now been completed.

The Dhao people, most of whom claim to be Christians, were first introduced to Christ in the early 1700s. Pastors translate Bible verses orally into the local language, but the people do not have anything tangible they can have at home.

Reverend Dr. Ayub Ranoh M. TH., Ph.D., the man responsible for coordinating the translation program, was born on the Island. He saw the great need for the people to strengthen and deepen their walk with the Lord.

The Seed Company's mission is "to accelerate Scripture translation and impact for people without God's word through the Great Commission partnership." This 14-year process is much anticipated for them.

Michael Sina, the translator coordinator, has been blessed by the process. "When we read Scripture in Dhao, it brings us closer to other people, other churches and other denominations. When we, the Dhao people, use the same language, it gives us unity in the Lord."

The hope of The Seed Company is that the Dhao church "will be strengthened, and individual believers will be encouraged to develop a deeper, more personal walk with the Lord."

Pray that the Dhao people will be built up and strengthened in their faith through God's Word. Ask God to open the hearts of people who may not believe.

Eyes, hands, motion, and rhythm — these are the basic elements of communication, language and art in the culture of Paraguay's deaf community. Approximately 300,000 people make up this vital part of the society. The deaf who live in densely-populated cities can attend special schools and churches. But those in rural areas don't have these advantages and don't learn sign language.

Regardless of location, all of Paraguay's deaf struggle with feeling isolated and unimportant in a dominant hearing society. Yet a common zeal for knowledge and information shines in the faces of deaf people throughout the region.

The Seed Company wants to help nationals develop 40 chronological Bible stories. These stories will be the first literature in Paraguayan Sign Language, providing hope and guidance in life. And with sign language videos, including the "JESUS" film, the deaf community will evangelize their own culture.

Prayer partners and funding are needed now to complete the project. The Seed Company is looking for nine people to pray for it. They need many more to get involved financially. Sign up for both right here.

"The idea is that we want to get Scripture available to people in a form that they can engage with, as soon as possible," said Dr. Larry Jones, Sr. VP for Bible Translation with The Seed Company.

They're using a technique called Oral Bible Storying to create a sustainable process for furthering the Great Commission. There are approximately 300 million oral learners in the world. That is, they prefer to process important information by listening or speaking, rather than reading. The majority of unreached people groups are oral societies, and few resources have been developed to reach these people for Christ.

This new strategy means Scripture is available in weeks rather than years, and it can be shared with unreached communities in a format they prefer. Also, it's not restricted to one region or nation.

"The phenomenon of oral communication and a preference for oral communication is global," Jones explained. The Seed Company has ministries operating in Asia, Africa, the Pacific and the Middle East. "In all those places, there is an oral Bible storytelling approach that seems to get traction."

Jones goes on to explain that in Oral Bible Storying, nationals spend a few weeks studying God's Word and hiding it in their hearts. Once they've committed Gospel stories to memory, they can then share the tales within their communities.

"It's not the only thing we do in those nations in Bible translation, but it's an awesome way to start," Jones said. The Seed Company uses this technique as a foundation for their other translation projects. "It's a recruiting tool in terms of drawing people into the cause.

"People see God using heart language Scripture in remarkable ways, in their lives, and in the lives of their neighbors."

Pray for Bible storytellers learning this technique and storing God's Word in their heart to share with members of their community.

"The clamor for this ministry is growing very rapidly," said Jones. Pray that God would raise up workers for His harvest. The Seed Company is looking for believers who are passionate about intercultural ministry and will teach nationals throughout the world to be Bible storytellers. Interested? Click here for opportunities to serve with The Seed Company.