It will take you less than two minutes to read this summary. It describes how God can change the world with your help.
- Wycliffe is currently involved in more than 1,400 translation, literacy and language-development programs, touching nearly 600 million people in 176 countries.
- But there are more than 2,200 languages, representing nearly 200 million people, that still need the Scriptures.
- More than 2.4 million people die annually in these language communities without hearing or reading God’s Word.
- At the historical pace of translation, it would take nine generations before the last remaining language community would have access to any Scripture—the year 2150.
- If it took that long, over 350 million people might never know of God’s love.
- That is why Wycliffe and its family of organizations has made a commitment to accelerate the pace and rate of new language translations.
- Eight years ago, Wycliffe made a commitment to begin the last Bible translation program by the year 2025. That was adopted as our mission. Our commitment. That is the essence of what Wycliffe calls Vision 2025.
- 592 new Bible Translation programs have been started in the past eight years. Wycliffe is involved in 490 of these (83%). This is an increase never before experienced in the 2,000-year history of Bible translation. Just this has reduced the timeline for reaching remaining language communities by 112 years.
- Think of it—112 years. But we must do better.
- Wycliffe now faces unprecedented resource needs (people, prayer and finances) to sustain our present translation commitments and continue to accelerate new language translation starts.
- Expenses for all remaining language programs will exceed $1 billion. You will read about this in the pages that follow.
Wycliffe Bible Translators and its affiliates are dedicated to focusing all of its resources, prayers and energy to raise gifts and pledges of $1 billion by 2018. That is our commitment.