USA (MNN) — A high Forbes ranking can be a boost for any charity, but in this case, it may be even be a boost to fulfilling the Great Commission.
Wycliffe Bible Translators has over 1,500 projects going across the world to translate the Bible for people groups who have yet to hear the Scriptures in their heart languages. This year, Wycliffe's hard work has been recognized.
"Wycliffe has been named one of the top religious charities in the country, ranked #3 among religious charities with private support, and #5 overall as well," says Les Kline, Vice President of Advancement for Wycliffe.
The ranking came through an annual report compiled by Forbes. Even beyond the religious sphere, Wycliffe was ranked 108th among all U.S. charities, putting it in the top 0.01% of the nation's 1.2 million tax-exempt organizations.
Kline says the ranking has been a testament to Wycliffe's transparency and stewardship with their funds. Even before the Forbes report was released, though, it seems that many Christians were already keen to the ministry's reputation.
"We saw, in a very difficult economy, growth of 3% in support for our missionaries around the world, and we actually saw 39% growth over the year before in support for our projects," notes Kline.
Ultimately, the financial growth and stability of Wycliffe means great things for the Gospel.
"It really shows how valuable it is in people's minds that the Bible be made available all around the world in the heart language [of a people group], really as a ground-floor platform for any other ministry that is going to take place," Kline explains. "It is so very pivotal that the Word of God be made available in the language that people understand best."
As Wycliffe continues to grow and gain recognition as a reputable ministry, the completion of worldwide Bible translation comes increasingly into focus. Wycliffe's Vision 2025–a goal to begin a translation project for every single language on earth by the year 2025–is more and more plausible.
There is still an enormous task. "There are a little over 2,000 languages remaining in the world that do not have God's Word in their heart language," says Kline. Nonetheless, Kline says Wycliffe believes that God wants them to meet the Vision 2025 goal. God's overflowing blessing on the ministry seems confirmation of this.
As Wycliffe continues to move forward to make the Word available to all people in all places, need is still high for prayer, missionaries–people from translators, to teachers, to accountants, and funds.
To learn more about how you can help in any or all of those three areas, visit www.wycliffe.org.
