Out of 7,300 languages spoken around the world, less than half have access to Scripture in their language. In 1942, William Cameron Townsend recognized this gap and had a vision for people from every language to understand the Bible and be transformed. That’s when he founded Wycliffe Bible Translators. Since 1942, Wycliffe has been serving the global body of Christ to advance Bible translation and work together so people can encounter God through his Word.
In places where the church doesn’t exist, the result of making God’s Word accessible to individuals in their heart language is heart-level transformation. As a result, individuals, families, and communities are also transformed and given new hope. Many people in the church who know of Christ but don’t have the Scripture in their language have lamented how spiritual formation discipleship has been hindered. Providing them with God’s Word nourishes the church and strengthens it, enabling the Christian community to better communicate, teach, and equip the local congregations in Biblical truths.
Translating Scripture requires a strong commitment to partnership with the local church. When Wycliffe translation teams start working on a new translation, they desire to see the local church take ownership and responsibility for the work. Translators work to develop deep, trusting relationships with local church communities, technical partners, investors, and prayer partners. Local partners are heavily involved and invested in the translation process, but they also begin the work of discipleship and evangelism in their communities and continue that work once the translation is complete. This is where the transformative power of God’s Word is seen.
The vision of Wycliffe Bible Translators is closely aligned with the mission of Tyndale House Publishers, which was named after William Tyndale, who translated the Bible from Greek to English in the 1500s. Since the founding of Tyndale House Foundation in 1963, royalties accrued from sales of the Bible have been given away to Christian ministries like Wycliffe Bible Translators to continue making God’s Word known and understood so lives will be transformed. Learn more about the work of Tyndale House Foundation at www.tyndale.foundation.