The Official Launch of the Last Languages Campaign

It was Saturday evening November 22nd, and we were nearly done with the last event marking the Public Launch for the Last Languages Campaign. As I walked to the platform to speak, I passed Zachary Peterson, the eight-year-old son of Seed Company Board Chair Todd Peterson.  Zachary was on his feet, reached out and gave me a high-five.  I will treasure that image for a very long time. That small act of excitement, support and encouragement represented to me God’s goodness…his joy and pleasure… at what we are committing ourselves to. It was a living, visible picture to me of God’s enthusiasm for reaching the least, the last, and the lost. Wow! How could I not be excited?

So, we did it! We officially launched the Last Languages Campaign (LLC). With intense awareness of our dependence on God, we took the step of faith on Friday and Saturday, November 21-22, at our Wycliffe USA headquarters in Orlando, Florida.

The celebration started on Friday morning when hundreds of Wycliffe USA staff, along with family, partners, pastors and special guests, gathered at Wycliffe USA’s headquarters for a time of commitment…first to God, but also to seeing the Last Languages started in this generation…by the year 2025.  Dr. David Swanson, pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Orlando, gave us a charge: Please God first! At the end of the service, all of us stood together to commit ourselves…in faith…to what lies ahead. 

Then, to end the morning, we celebrated the beginning of The Seed Company’s 500th project – Scriptures for the Majang people of Ethiopia with lead mother-tongue translator Josep Kalakun. It was appropriate to have Mark Taylor with us…his dad, Ken Taylor, was a huge supporter of Bible translation, and Mark has inherited that vision.  Tyndale House Publishers stands with us, giving us a portion from the sale of each New Living Translation.

One of the great joys of this and later events was sharing the celebration with pastors and leaders from churches that have partnered with us for many, many years.  Calvary Church in Santa Ana, California, for example, was represented by Missions Director Liz Gold.  Calvary began supporting a little known Bible translator by the name of William Cameron Townsend in 1932 – 76 years ago!  They’ve been in this for the long-haul with their prayers, people and finances.

On Saturday morning we celebrated the most recently completed Scriptures – always an emotional time for us.  The ethnomusicology band Izibongo led the overflow crowd in worshipping God to the rhythms and words of more than a dozen cultures.  Three speakers (Filipino, Brazilian and Ugandan) described how the translation of Scripture in their mother tongues had impacted their own lives.  Each of them now, in one way or another, gives leadership to Bible translation movements and mission efforts within their own countries or around the world. 

We then transitioned to an afternoon of celebration around Lake Tyndale (just outside our backdoor) to observe and/or participate in linguistic, translation, and ethnomusicology demonstrations, experience oral strategies (Faith Comes by Hearing and the Jesus Film), and taste some great ethnic food…oh, and did I mention helicopter rides?  Our friends at JAARS were very supportive of the weekend!

The final event was the leadership dinner on Saturday night.  David Dean, Chair of the Wycliffe President’s Council, announced that $120 million has already been given and/or committed towards the LLC goal of $1 billion!  While the campaign is focused on the transforming power of God’s word in the lives of individuals and communities where it’s planted, we know that there is a financial cost, and we praise God for His provision.

Finally, during the dinner, came the presentation of the Bill Bright Scripture Impact Award, given this year to Dr. Barry Black, Chaplain of the U.S. Senate.  I am grateful to the Bright family for their willingness to loan us Dr. Bright’s name for the benefit of Bible translation.  After the award was presented, Dr. Black spoke.  He did a marvelous job of articulating the power of God’s Word in his own life, tying that into our ministry in Wycliffe and to the urgency of our Last Languages Campaign. 

That evening, on his way back to the hotel, Dr. Black said, “Wow!  I've always known about Wycliffe and I’ve had respect for your work, but today opened my eyes to its breadth… the level of intensity with which you operate… and the enormity of the task.  It was an honor to be a part of this ministry."  I think that many of our guests from Orlando and beyond would echo his words.   

We set out to honor God, spread the vision of Bible translation for the last languages, and commit ourselves to seeing the task through.  By God’s grace, I believe we accomplished that.  I am humbled and grateful for all of our guests, and for the dedicated staff here at headquarters that threw themselves wholeheartedly into producing a creative, God-honoring, vision-expanding event.  I praise Him for the outcome!

Looking beyond the event to the task before all of us – raising the resources and wisely using those resources to fulfill Vision 2025 – I share Zachary’s exuberance and Dr. Black’s conviction of the power of the Word.  I look forward with great anticipation to my journey with all of you towards the day when the Good News will reach the last language communities, in the words that touch the deepest levels of their hearts.

I close by wishing you a Merry Christmas.  May you celebrate the birth of Christ with joy and wonder as you contemplate God’s immense investment in this world… all because of his love for you and me… and the speakers of every language on earth.

Warmly,

Bob Creson
President
Wycliffe USA