Wycliffe Associates Departing from Wycliffe Global Alliance

(Orlando, Florida, USA)—Wycliffe Associates, an international organization that involves people in the advancement of Bible translation, has announced that it is not renewing its affiliation with the Wycliffe Global Alliance, a network of Bible translation organizations formed in 1991. Wycliffe Associates has been serving Bible translation since 1967.

The decision was made by the Wycliffe Associates board of trustees at their February 26, 2016 meeting, and announced by Wycliffe Associates President Bruce Smith on March 1, 2016 to staff and volunteers in Orlando, Florida. The decision is also being communicated to global partners in person, by phone, and by email.

Smith cited several reasons for Wycliffe Associates’ departure. The first is Wycliffe Associates’ commitment to support only Bible translations that use literal common language for Father and Son of God. The Wycliffe Global Alliance includes Bible translation agencies that do not include Father and Son of God in some translations of the Scriptures.

“For Wycliffe Associates, literal translation of Father and Son of God is not negotiable,” Smith said in his public statement.

Additionally, Wycliffe Associates plans to provide open-license Bible resources to its church partners to further accelerate the work of Bible translation and supports local church authority for translation quality.

Smith went on to say, “The local body of Christ has both the responsibility and authority as stewards of God’s Word in their language. Wycliffe Associates supports the Church’s authority in Bible translation.”

Wycliffe Associates will continue to operate under the same name, holding to the principles followed by its namesake, John Wycliffe, in accurately translating the Scriptures.

Today, the Orlando-based organization is accelerating the work of Bible translation in 75 countries with resources, training, and technology. Its vision is to see the entire Bible in every language by the year 2025.

About Wycliffe Associates

Organized in 1967 by friends of Bible translators, Wycliffe Associates empowers national Bible translators to provide God’s Word in their own language, partners with the local church to direct and guard translation work, harnessing their passion and desire for God’s Word, and engages people from all around the world to provide resources, technology, training, and support for Bible translation.

Because millions of people around the world still wait to read the Scriptures in the language of their heart, Wycliffe Associates is working as quickly as it can to see every verse of God’s Word translated into every tongue to speak to every heart. Last year, 6,279 Wycliffe Associates staff and volunteers worked to speed Bible translations in 75 countries.

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The video shows a new methodology of Bible Translation for mother-tongue languages – just remember, 4,000 languages do NOT have God’s word.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdw1oM9FY1o

Donn Hallman

How would you plan to start a Bible translation project in a country where conversion to Christianity is punishable by death?  By being innovative a brave…..

Let me know if you would like to schedule an interview on this.

Donn Hallman

Wycliffe Associates Planning Launch of at Least 10 New Translation Projects Where Persecution of Christians Is Severe

(Orlando, Florida, USA)—In a region where conversion to Christianity is punishable by death, Wycliffe Associates plans to launch 10 new Bible translation projects in the next 30 days. The projects will employ the MAST (Mobilized Assistance Supporting Translation) strategy, a breakthrough method of translating the books of the Bible in parallel.

MAST makes it possible for a full team of mother-tongue translators to draft a translation of the complete New Testament in as little as one year.

“Our breakthrough MAST strategy is accelerating Bible translation beyond anything we could have imagined, even a couple of years ago,” says Bruce Smith, president and CEO of Wycliffe Associates. “It’s not Westerners going into remote areas—it’s nationals being equipped to translate God’s Word themselves.”

While more new languages can be translated faster than ever before, the risk is great in areas where Christians are targeted for severe persecution. Wycliffe Associates cannot send trainers in for lengthy periods of time because Christians are hunted down, and vigilantes can sweep into an area without notice.

“Yes, it’s dangerous,” says Smith. “But so many people still have never seen God’s Word in their own heart language. We don’t know how long we have to train national translators before they’ll be on the run.”

Violence has forced Bible translators to evacuate their homes. Other translators have had to suspend their translation work due to the persecution.

“They have no one to support them in their work,” Smith says, “because it’s dangerous for outsiders.”

Wycliffe Associates is currently raising $400,000 to launch 80 translation projects in volatile areas of the world. The organization plans to launch the first 10 of these 80 projects within the next 30 days.

As part of beginning a new language project, national translators are trained to translate the Scriptures using MAST, which reduces translation time while still producing an accurate translation.

Translators also are equipped with technology that allows them to work discreetly—and even on the run. In addition, they receive digital tools that facilitate collaboration, enabling translators to work simultaneously and share information instantly.

“These Christians are crying out for translator training,” says Smith. “Their people long for God’s Word in the language of their heart. The MAST strategy will mean a whole new day for them.”

About Wycliffe Associates

Organized in 1967 by friends of Bible translators, Wycliffe Associates empowers national Bible translators to provide God’s Word in their own language, partners with the local church to direct and guard translation work, harnessing their passion and desire for God’s Word, and engages people from all around the world to provide resources, technology, training, and support for Bible translation.

Because millions of people around the world still wait to read the Scriptures in the language of their heart, Wycliffe Associates is working as quickly as it can to see every verse of God’s Word translated into every tongue to speak to every heart. Last year, 6,279 Wycliffe Associates staff and volunteers worked to speed Bible translations in 75 countries.

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Not clay tablets, but smart one’s that help protect Bible translators working in the world’s hot spots of sectarian conflict….

Thanks

Donn Hallman

Wycliffe Associates Providing Local Bible Translators with Computer Tablets for Safety, Productivity in Volatile Regions

(Orlando, Florida, USA)—Wycliffe Associates is now providing mother-tongue Bible translators with computer tablets in an effort to give translators a safe and efficient way to work on Scripture translation projects in cultures that are antagonistic toward Christianity.

Tablet computers enable Bible translators to work discreetly and safely, which is critical in areas where persecution of Christians is intense—and where even owning a Bible can be illegal.

“A Bible in their hands is like a target on their backs,” says Bruce Smith, President and CEO of Wycliffe Associates. “Tablets are essential equipment for translators working in difficult, dangerous places.”

In a project called Tablets for National Translators (TNTs), Wycliffe Associates is providing Bible translators with tablets that have been fully loaded with translation software and essential apps. Not only does the technology contribute to the personal safety of Bible translators, but it also increases their efficiency because translators are no longer required to share one computer.

“There can be dozens of translators working on a single translation of the Bible, but if they all have to share a single computer, there’s soon a terrible data input logjam,” Smith says. “The process is painfully slow—until we provide these tablets for national translators.”

The projects are essential to the organization’s MAST (Mobilized Assistance Supporting Translation) program, a pioneering new method of translating books of the Bible in parallel. The first MAST program was tested in 2014, when 13 mother-tongue translators translated and checked a draft of half the New Testament in two months. Wycliffe Associates estimates that each MAST event requires at least 5 and sometimes as many as 20 tablets.

The organization has set a goal of launching 500 new language projects in 2016 using MAST, which will require as many as 2,500 tablets for participating Bible translators.

“If we provide the incredible new technology of tablets for national translators,” Smith says, “we can dramatically speed up their work—and bring the Scriptures to life for millions upon millions of people.”

The cost of each tablet, fully loaded with translation software and apps, is $300. Generous friends of Wycliffe Associates have committed to give to Wycliffe Associates’ Tablets for National Translators Challenge Fund that will double every dollar given up to $97,550.

Of the 6,901 languages spoken in the world, 3,377 languages still need a translation project started, and 2,195 languages now have a Bible translation in progress.

Currently Wycliffe Associates is accelerating the work of Bible translation in 75 countries.

About Wycliffe Associates

Organized in 1967 by friends of Bible translators, Wycliffe Associates empowers national Bible translators to provide God’s Word in their own language, partners with the local church to direct and guard translation work, harnessing their passion and desire for God’s Word, and engages people from all around the world to provide resources, technology, training, and support for Bible translation.

Because millions of people around the world still wait to read the Scriptures in the language of their heart, Wycliffe Associates is working as quickly as it can to see every verse of God’s Word translated into every tongue to speak to every heart. Last year, 6,279 Wycliffe Associates team members worked to speed Bible translations in 75 countries.

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