Before Jesus ascended to heaven, He gave His disciples a final command: “Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19, NLT). He also told them, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere — in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8, NLT).

In the months and years following, believers did just that — they told people about Jesus everywhere, increasingly expanding how far the gospel went forth. Today, we are living in a season where we are seeing people learning about Jesus truly from the ends of the earth!

And they’re not just learning about Him, but their hearts are being captured by His Word. They are then, in turn, becoming witnesses of Jesus in their communities, countries and even entire regions. The gospel is going forth and God’s global mission is expanding!

A Shift in the Bible Translation Movement

For more than 80 years, Wycliffe and SIL, a primary partner, have worked with like-minded organizations to lead efforts in advancing Bible translation around the world. Until recently, Bible translation had been viewed as something that only experts with degrees could do.

But praise God, that’s changing!

And they don’t want to wait for the work to start; they want to start it now. Local churches are playing a significant role in Bible translation for their own communities, and that’s accelerating the pace of the work.

The Indian Deaf community is just one example where they initiated translation work for themselves. Local churches started making videos of a pastor reading in English and signing Indian Sign Language simultaneously. They then posted the videos (take a look!) on social media and WhatsApp groups. This Deaf translation team is composed largely of Deaf signers, Deaf linguists and Deaf video editors, and they have now translated more than 14 books!

Binu Alexander serves with Global Partnerships, a multiorganizational collaboration that is engaging with leaders from the global Church in the Bible translation movement. He shared, “[Deaf] churches are going to do it. They’re not asking for permission; they’re inviting us to participate with them. We would rather support them and help them do a good job than to tell them that we won’t help them and leave them to do it on their own.”

Another exciting example is in Nigeria, a country that has historically had a significant number of languages that needed Bible translation to begin. But that has recently changed!

Two years ago, approximately 250 Nigerian languages still needed Bible translation to begin. Today, plans are in place to begin work on all but a few dozen. This significant drop is directly related to local ownership of the work as we see a God-sized dream becoming reality.

In these examples — and many more like them — local church leaders are sharing that they will do this work with or without us. But they’d rather do it with us! They trust that the training, materials, tools and financial support that Wycliffe and our partners can provide will equip them to accomplish the work.

An Invitation to Join God’s Global Mission

Jesus’ final command to His disciples is being advanced in new and exciting ways. As local churches around the world rise up and take ownership of the work for their own communities, Wycliffe transitions to the critical role of catalyst. Decades of expertise strategically position us to support local leaders in accomplishing their vision through technology, resources and funding, advancing the mission while empowering communities.

You are invited — and called by Jesus Himself! — to be part of this work too, advancing the Great Commission through praying, giving and advocating for the work of Bible translation around the world. Join the movement and help us say “yes” every time a local church invites us to join them in seeing God’s Word translated into a language and format that captures the hearts of people in their communities.

Sign Up for Weekly “God Sightings” Text Messages

Each week, you can receive an update on what God is doing around the world — directly to your phone! Stay informed, inspired and encouraged by the latest news, and join us in praying for God’s name to be made known among the nations through the work of Bible translation.

Text SIGHTINGS to 407-358-0916.

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