Kinds of Ministry
Pastors who have studied in a language other than their mother tongue can have difficulty using the local language Scriptures. When they preach, they sometimes borrow words from the language in which they studied, rather than thinking about the word that will communicate best in their local language.
For this reason Bible Institutes, seminaries and churches should encourage those who study the Bible to use the translation in their own language and investigate how important terms were translated.
On completing this 43 lesson course, a speaker with the Scriptures in their own language will be able to:
- identify how key terms in their language are translated;
- use the terms when they teach or preach;
- better understand the doctrine based on or related to the key term;
- attach greater value to the Scriptures in their language since they know that there are appropriate ways to communicate key terms in their own language and that it may change according to the context;
- use the Scriptures with more confidence and motivate other people in their ethnic group to do so.
The course is also available in Spanish and Portuguese. [more...]
This book - 'Bible Translation and the Church: Issues and challenges for Francophone Africa' - was written as part of the Francophone Initiative in collaboration with CITAF (Conseil des Institutions Théologiques d’Afrique Francophone) - a consortium of evangelical theological institutions in Africa.
The aim is to introduce into the programme of every theological college a course on the importance of Bible translation and the role of local languages in the mission of the church.
The chapters are divided into five main sections:
- Pourquoi traduire la Bible dans les langues locales? (Why translate the Bible into local languages?)
- L'histoire de la traduction de la Bible depuis Néhémie jusqu'à nos jours (The history of Bible translation from Nehemiah to today)
- Théologie et traduction de la Bible (Theology and Bible translation)
- Traduction de la Bible: contexte, structures et méthodes (Bible translation: context, structures and methods)
- Bible et héritage colonial francophone (The Bible and the colonial heritage)
The pastor will find that not only can his congregation read the Scriptures in their own language, but they will show a greater depth of understanding God’s Word and show growth in their Christian lives.
Community literacy projects have been running in Ghana since the 1970s. Pastors, however, were not using the mother-tongue Scriptures in their churches. To address this problem, Pat Herbert describes how they developed Scripture Guides to accompany literacy primers. The program is now known as Literacy for Life (LFL). The article includes a sample of a Scripture Guide lesson, and discusses various issues, including training of teachers to use the materials, making it a church-based program, and funding for the primers and Scripture Guides. It compares the normal literacy programs to the LFL program and describes the impact the program has had. [more...]
The Micah Network is a group of 300 Christian relief, development and justice organisations from 75 countries. Micah Network was formed in 1999 with the aims to:
1. Build capacity
Strengthen the capacity of participating agencies to make a biblically-shaped response to the needs of the poor and oppressed
2. Encourage integral mission
Speak strongly and effectively regarding the nature of the mission of the Church to proclaim and demonstrate the love of Christ to a world in need
3. Advocate [more...]
Downloadable resources, books and study guides for Bible study and Bible memory (the Topical Memory System).
Navigators invest their lives in people, coming alongside them one to one to study the Bible, develop a deepening prayer life, and memorize and apply Scripture.
An interdenominational, nonprofit organization, The Navigators is dedicated to helping people navigate spiritually, to know Christ and to make Him known as they look to Him and His Word to chart their lives.
"S.A.L.T. makes people thirsty for the Word of God!"
S.A.L.T. is a "Scripture Use" program that (1) equips national pastors and leaders to effectively use the translated Scriptures in their ministries; and (2) inspires a love, wonder and understanding of God's Word in the vernacular. [more...]
Working with the churches, Scripture Union aims to make God's Good News known to children, young people and families and to encourage people of all ages to meet God daily through the Bible and prayer.
So that they may
- come to a personal faith in our Lord Jesus Christ,
- grow in Christian maturity and
- become both committed church members and servants of a world in need.
PILLARS Guides provide practical, discussion-based learning on community development. The Guides are designed for use in small community groups such as youth groups, church groups, women’s groups, farmer groups and literacy groups. A trained leader is not required; just one literate person. The Guides aim to increase the knowledge, skills and confidence of group members by drawing out and building on existing knowledge and experience, and empowering members to take charge of their own development. There are between 20 to 24 topics in the Guides. [more...]
When the Bible remains silent about certain cultural features, the Church... should assist the Christians to think through their traditions by digging deeper.
In the Tharaka society of Kenya, female circumcision has held a prominent place. In recent years Christian Tharaka people have questioned whether the rite should continue. The Bible Translation and Literacy agency has had a part in helping the society look at this rite from a biblical perspective. This article chronicles the history of the rite, including both its positive elements and problems, and some alternatives are presented. [more...]
...to ensure the Mazatecs understood a bit of doctrine, we needed to put it in a hymn.
The concept of “limited good” means there is only so much good (including knowledge and love) to go around, so someone’s advantage implies someone else’s disadvantage.
The Mazatecs of Mexico hold this belief. One result is that they are reluctant to teach people directly for fear they will lose their own knowledge, so all teaching is indirect. This article looks at how this affects the spread of Christianity, and the important role missionaries, hymns, gospel recordings and mother-tongue Scriptures have in spreading the gospel. It also outlines Scriptures that speak of God’s unlimited goodness and kindness. [more...]