Imagine reading a book, watching a show or listening to a podcast when suddenly the story just stops mid-sentence. Maybe the previous reader has ripped out a page, the series was canceled before the showrunners could wrap up the plotline, or the producer distributed the episode before realizing it was incomplete.
How incredibly frustrating to not experience the full story from start to finish! It can leave us emotionally unsettled, frustrated or even distraught, because at our core, we desire completion. We want to know how things start and how they end. We don’t just want a taste, because it feels like a tease. We’re left wanting more.
And we’re not alone in that desire! The same is true for communities around the world who are still waiting for the full counsel of God’s Word in a language and format they clearly understand.
For some, they’re still waiting for the first verse of Scripture to be translated into their language. Others might have a few verses, chapters or Scripture portions. Still others are blessed with a complete New Testament but are waiting for the Old Testament so they can understand everything from Genesis to Revelation. They get a teaser of God’s great story — perhaps enough to understand who Jesus is and that He died for them — but they don’t have the full context as to why His sacrifice was so significant.
The Bible changes everything, and together with our partners, Wycliffe believes that everyone should have access to the whole of Scripture. But don’t just take our word for it! Explore these Bible translation stories from our friends around the world who have personally experienced individual and community transformation as a result of encountering God through His Word.
Want a glimpse of what it’s like to only have a portion of God’s Word? This “H ly B bl: Incomplete Scriptures” digital booklet helps you see what it’s like to have gaps in your understanding of the Bible.
The Full “Outfit” of God’s Word
Caroline always had access to a Bible growing up. But watching the Chonyi people of Kenya receive the New Testament in their language refreshed her passion for Bible translation, a mission she’s actively engaged in through SIL Kenya, a partner of Wycliffe.
“They took a couple of Bibles, wrapped them up like a child,” she shared. “And there was a woman who was carrying the [Bibles]. And they were swinging and dancing, lifting up the [Bibles] and saying, ‘This is our child.’ Calling people, ‘Come,” in the Chonyi language. ‘Come and celebrate the child that has been born in us.’
“That is how the Chonyi people have taken the Bible — the New Testament — in their own language. That it is their child and they’re taking it seriously, making it bear fruit.”
People gathered to hear Scripture read in their language, Bible studies began and the impact spread: 300 adults and 50 children gave their lives to Christ!
At the celebration, the local pastors shared that now that the New Testament is complete, it’s like they have a shirt. But a shirt isn’t enough; they want a pair of pants (the Old Testament) to complete the outfit! Now work is underway to translate the Old Testament into Chonyi so that they can have the full “outfit” of God’s Word. Praise God!
Watch how the Chonyi community celebrated the dedication of the New Testament in their community!
Listening to an Audio Bible Sparked a Church
In one Nepali community, an elderly woman who couldn’t read or write listened faithfully to a solar-powered audio Bible while working in the fields each day.
As her neighbors listened alongside her, they became captivated by the story of Jesus. One day, someone from the community called the local translation office with a request.
“We have been enjoying this Jesus story from this elderly woman, and now it has broken. So could you please send this device so that we could finish the whole story?”
The translation team happily sent a new one, and found out that some of the people in the community gave their lives to the Lord as a result of hearing the gospel shared through this audio Bible. Now, a church has even been established there — all as a result of one woman’s initiative to listen to the Scriptures while she went about her daily work!
The First Song In Their Own Sign Language
In the Pacific region, Deaf individuals are often marginalized in their communities. But today, that’s changing through Yumi Tugeda Wosipim God Project, named after a Solomon Islands Pidgin phrase that means “we, together, worship God.” This project is engaging 14 sign language communities across the Pacific through Bible translation, so that Deaf people in those communities will come to know God and worship Him together.
In the Solomon Islands, everything changed on the very first day of one community’s Bible translation training. The training team invited participants to “sing” a worship song in Solomon Sign Language. But their response stunned everyone: They had never worshipped in sign language before.
Mele serves as a field coordinator for projects in the Pacific and reflected on this experience as a hearing person. “For me, that’s the first step of our Bible translation — translating a song for them, for their sign language — for their Solomon Sign Language.”
So that’s exactly what they did. In the following days, the team watched them singing joyfully, as if they had been singing in sign language for a long time!
“God uses Bible translation in sign language to give voice to our Deaf community to sing,” Mele shared. “I think in the future, all the Deaf people in the Pacific can be able to sing in their own sign language to God!”
Get a taste of the importance of sign language Bible translation through this immersive story, developed for both hearing and Deaf audiences in mind.
Experience a visual Bible translation brought to life →
Four New Testaments in Four Years
Some 10 years ago, the churches in Madagascar came and said, “We have this need to make the Bible available to our people — not in 50 years but now, in all 23 language communities, so that they can grow in their walk with the Lord. And as a result of that, we — the Church — are coming to you.”
Serge is a local Malagasy, working in Bible translation with our partner organization SIL Global to see Scripture translated not only for those in his home country of Madagascar but also for other communities across Africa. As he recalled this encounter with Malagasy pastors a decade ago, he shared that the pastors were, in essence, saying, “Are you down? We want you to understand that we will go ahead with the translation whether you help us or not.”
So there Serge and the team were, thinking and praying. They decided that 23 at once might be a little ambitious, so could they start with four? The church pastors and local Bible translators agreed to work on four New Testaments in four years.
“I saw the impossible options along the way,” Serge shared. “But as God would have it, now in hindsight, all four New Testaments are completed and out in the community, [being] used in the community.”
This audacious goal wasn’t possible without God’s hand at work. “It takes God to help the Church to translate four New Testaments in four years. It takes God to make an organization agree to support that sort of out-of-control, big, huge vision,” Serge reflected. “But even more so, the fact that they have produced high-standard translations in four years — that’s unheard of!”
God has done amazing things in and through local churches in Madagascar as they work to see Scripture translated for use in their own communities.
See what God has done in Madagascar →
No Incomplete Stories: Scripture for Every Heart, Everywhere
Today, more people than ever before have access to at least some of the gospel story. And you are a part of making that possible!
With each verse that’s translated, people get a clearer picture of who God is. With each chapter, they understand a story, a teaching or a psalm. With each book, they encounter a moment in Christian history that portrays a part of God’s plan for humanity. Through a complete New Testament, they understand who Jesus is, and through a full Bible, they discover God’s full redemptive plan for His people.
This is the end goal — God’s Word for all people, so that no one has an incomplete story of His love, redemption and purposes for His people.
Let’s continue to step out in bold faith and ask God to go before us and advance the mission:
- To see Bible translation start for every language still needing it
- To equip the Church for evangelism, discipleship and church planting
- To make Scripture available so that every man, woman and child can encounter Jesus personally and understand His love in a way that transforms their lives forever
Imagine the indescribable joy that we will experience one day when we’re worshipping together before the throne! There, we will see people from all corners of the world, praising God in the languages that He uniquely gifted them and used to capture their hearts. What a glorious, joy-filled day that will be when God’s ultimate story of redemption for His people is fulfilled!
