Imagine sitting in church one Sunday when the pastor asks you to pull out your Bible and open it to a specific passage. You go to do so, but that verse is in a language you don’t understand. Or worse yet, that verse is completely missing — the page is blank.
This is the case for many believers around the world. They either don’t have access to any Scripture in a language and format they clearly understand, or they don’t have the full counsel of God’s Word.
God’s Word is foundational for churches. Without it, evangelism, discipleship, church planting and more are hindered, as the community is left with an incomplete view of who God is and how He wants them to live in relationship with Him. That’s why Bible translation is a mission of the Church.
The mission started when Jesus gave His disciples this final command, often referred to as “the Great Commission”: “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).
But how can you make mature disciples if people have no meaningful access to the Scriptures? How will they learn about Jesus and how to follow Him? For the Church to carry out the Great Commission effectively, Bible translation must be central to its efforts.
So what does this mean for us practically? We’re so glad you asked! Let’s take a look at how God’s global Church is changing the landscape of Bible translation.
United in Christ and Mission
For more than 80 years, Wycliffe and like-minded organizations have led efforts to advance Bible translation worldwide. Linguists, exegetes, biblical scholars and many others have worked together to bring God’s Word to thousands of communities and billions of people.
In recent years, another exciting shift has occurred; today local churches are asking for — and sometimes even starting — Bible translation themselves. And they don’t want to wait for the work to start; they want God’s Word as soon as possible. These churches are playing a significant role in Bible translation for their own communities!
As a result, the work is moving faster than ever, and more and more communities are expressing this desire. At Wycliffe, we want to continue saying “yes” to every one of them, working alongside these churches to see the work started, sustained and completed.
It’s exciting to witness God’s global Church united in mission and motivated by the same hope — that as people encounter Jesus personally through Scripture, their lives will be transformed for eternity.
Want to explore how your church can get involved in Bible translation? Whether it’s through praying, giving, advocating or serving, your church can make an eternal impact today!
Partnering to Translate Scripture for the Jonam People of Uganda
Partnership that makes a global impact often begins with faithful leadership and a willingness to say yes. For Revs. Jim and Jennifer Cowart — pastors of Harvest Church in Georgia and leaders within the Global Methodist Church — that yes grew out of years of ministry alongside pastors in Uganda.
Through ongoing discipleship and pastor training just north of Entebbe, they saw firsthand the deep spiritual hunger in local communities — but also the critical reality that many Christians were still waiting for the Word of God in their language. One such community was the Jonam.
“For so long, we have never had any Bible in our own language of Jonam,” shared Rev. Alex Jotim, who serves as the chairman for the Jonam Translation Review Committee.
Instead, Jonam Christians have had to use a Bible in another language for sermons and personal devotions. As pastors struggle to read these Scriptures to their people, it hinders their teaching and the church’s understanding.
When the Cowarts learned about the opportunity to support Bible translation among the Jonam people, they invited their congregants to participate, initially through hosting an Adopt-a-Verse giving event and then through a deeper partnership with the Jonam translation project.
Not only did the partnership impact the Jonam people, but it also deeply impacted the people at Harvest Church. Seeing this, the Cowarts invited friends and fellow Global Methodist church leaders, Revs. David and Jennifer Thompson and Revs. Jimmy and Debbie Towson to explore how their churches might get involved. The three couples traveled to Uganda to meet face-to-face with the Jonam people.
“[During church services,] all the rest of the worship was in Jonam,” David of Dublin First Methodist Church of Georgia, observed. “They were singing, they were speaking and sharing in Jonam. But when they came to read the Word of God, they had to read it in a foreign language.”
Praise God, that reality was already beginning to shift! At the time of the visit, the Jonam community had completed the Gospel of Luke and was moving forward with translating other books, laying the groundwork for broader access and future tools such as the “JESUS” film.
Rev. Joseph Otim, a Jonam pastor and translator working to bring God’s Word to His people, shared, “We are so excited because [Scripture in] our own language of Jonam is soon coming out, because we are now translating it into our own language, where our people can understand when they read!” The local church is taking ownership and initiative of Bible translation for their community, and it’s transformational. “People treasure it because they know it is the real Word of God in their own language.”
Each couple returned home to their congregations convinced of the same truth: Partnering in Bible translation is one of the most strategic and eternal investments a church can make. It is a tangible way for U.S. congregations to participate in God’s global mission, strengthening the Church worldwide while engaging believers at home in something far bigger than themselves. It has also helped people avoid taking Scripture for granted. As Jimmy of Park Avenue Church shared, “I don’t know that we can truly understand the impact of what it means to literally have God’s Word in our own language.”
For all three churches, Scripture access has become more than a global cause; it is a shared mission that strengthens faith, generosity and vision.
Thinking about the Jonam church now having Scripture in their own language, Jennifer knows they’re engaged in something meaningful and eternal. “Because we know there’s a supernatural work that happens when you read and ingest God’s Word, it can happen for [them] now,” she said. “You might not be able to do anything that will multiply more than the Word of God in the hands of people who have never had it before.”
Jim agrees: “When you see the Scriptures in your language, it’s an affirmation — Jesus loves me! He came for my people, He came for me.”
Advancing God’s Mission Through Bible Translation Together
Today, the invitation remains. Churches across the U.S. have an opportunity to link arms with projects like the Jonam, ensuring that God’s Word continues to advance, lives are transformed and entire communities are reached. When churches invest together in Bible translation, they are not simply funding a project; they are helping write a story of faith, unity and eternal impact that spans generations!
It takes all parts of the body of Christ working together to see Scripture made available for all people. And for each one of us, that might look different! Here are a few key ways that churches can participate in Bible translation together:
- Host an Adopt-a-Verse Event: Adopt-a-Verse is a one-time giving event that invites people in your church to sponsor individual Bible verses to help fund a Scripture translation project. Every $35 gift helps translate one verse of Scripture and brings a community closer to having God’s Word. Explore Adopt-a-Verse →
- Bread of Life: The Bread of Life Church Challenge helps churches take a bold step into Bible translation project giving. The first year your church gives to a specific Bible translation project, your gifts can be matched, dollar-for-dollar, from $3,500 up to $50,000. Double your impact →
- Pray for the Work: Your church can make a difference through prayer, interceding on behalf of communities all around the world as they meet Jesus — often for the first time! — through Scripture in a language and format they clearly understand. Make a difference through prayer →
Your church can link arms with other churches around the world to see the living and active Word of God go out into every community. All it takes is one step, one yes, one opportunity at a time. Let’s be people committed to obeying Jesus’ final command to make disciples of all nations!
