International (MNN) – Approximately 1300 languages still lack God’s Word, but that number is shrinking at a faster rate with every passing year. In 1999, new translation projects were begun every two weeks on average. Now, the pace has accelerated to every 17 hours, according to Wycliffe USA.
John Chesnut, President and CEO of Wycliffe USA, recently visited a church translating Scripture in Madagascar.
Chesnut says, “They drafted four full Bibles in four years. And then they said, ‘Hey, we want to get the quality better. Can you come help us?’”
They will dedicate four completed New Testament translations this summer. The translations are part of a goal Wycliffe USA set 25 years ago and hopes to complete next year. They called it Vision 2025 and started praying for Bible translation to begin in every remaining language.
“It was really a God-sized prayer saying, ‘Lord, what would we need to do in order to see all these languages started by 2025?’” says Chesnut.
The number of languages isn’t the only challenge. Chesnut says that the remaining languages are yet to be started for a reason.
“They’re in some of the hardest places globally. That may be the remoteness aspect of it, or behind political barriers, or often major religions. And so access to a lot of these areas has been very difficult,” he says.
Praise God that churches like in Madagascar are stepping up to the challenge. Wycliffe USA reports more and more churches are engaging in Bible translation for their local languages.
“An answered prayer is that God is raising up His Church around the world within these contexts,” says Chesnut.
“We’re seeing God move already in ways that we could not have even imagined just a couple of years ago. He’s raising up his global Church to carry this out.”
Pray that the remaining languages without Scripture will start translation by next year, including over 300 sign languages that are waiting for God’s Word.
Photo and caption from Kabwa Scripture dedication courtesy of Wycliffe USA. Two men hold the newly printed New Testaments at the Scripture dedication in Tanzania on March 14, 2023. Kabwa population: 14,000.
