Faith Comes by Hearing

Today, as we sit in our offices with stacks of bibles, commentaries, and devotions, at least 2000 languages are still without one word of Scripture. God has revealed His character, His plan, and His promises to us through His Word, but for more than 1.5 billion people around the world, access to reading or hearing about this God of love in a language they can understand is not yet possible.

We are thrilled to announce that this will change forever as we launch our new Bible translation project for the Taposa people of South Sudan in the new year.

After a decade of persevering, unconditional love, our national missionaries have laid a firm foundation of trust and respect, developing the relationships to make this new work possible. Preparations have been made for a translation team of tribal elders, educated youth, and outside language advisors to begin co-laboring on the Gospel of Luke.

Because the Taposa have no written history and no value for literacy, they rely on oral stories to pass down traditions and impart wisdom throughout the generations. This would make a written Bible translation totally inaccessible to most of the elders, who lead their communities and shape their entire culture.

Thankfully, through the tireless self-sacrifice of our missionary parents, God has been preparing a handful of discipled teenagers who are highly literate and devoted to serving Jesus with their education. After we create a written Taposa text of the book of Luke, these teens will read it to the elders, who will be recorded reciting the scriptures.

For the first time in history, the Taposa will have an audio Bible spoken in their own heart language. This new audio Bible will be put onto solar charged devices that can be carried around and listened to in hundreds of villages, home to some 250,000 Taposa people scattered throughout a vast unreached desert. As God’s Word breaks through the darkness, cultures and communities will be forever changed.

To complete this exciting new work, we will need to build a handful of rooms for the translation and recording project, along with a half-dozen huts to accommodate the translation team while they are working out in the village. The book of Luke will be our first priority, then we will begin translating hundreds of key stories in the Old Testament.
Our vision is to have the entire Bible translated in 10 years or less. For the first year, the estimated project cost of $25,000 will cover the equipment, salaries, and room and board for our team of 25 people.

The magnitude of this project is a new step of faith for us, so we ask you to stand with us and our translation team in constant prayer and financial partnership as we endeavor to bring God’s word to an unreached people group waiting to hear for the first time.

We wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Pastor Rob Douglass