April 12, 2023
Pioneer Bible Translators has planned a Discovery recruitment event for June 4-7 in Dallas, Texas. Plus news briefs from RENEW.org, Kentucky Christian University, First Christian Church in Sullivan, Ind., and more.
November 1, 2022
The Testimony of the First-Known Somali Gospel Preacher
“My whole life has been divided into two parts—before and after February 24,” says Yulia, who lived with her 84-year-old father under Russian occupation in Kherson, Ukraine, before they escaped to Haus Edelweiss (near Vienna), where she will be teaching at TCM International Institute.
May 4, 2022
The war has affected all citizens of Ukraine, even those on the fringes of society, such as the Roma people. Christians in southeastern Ukraine have been working to create a Bible translation in several of the Romani languages . . .
February 1, 2022
Duane King, who founded Deaf Missions in 1970 “to reach Deaf people with the Gospel of Jesus Christ,” died Jan. 25.
November 23, 2021
As you look over your Black Friday list, consider these ideas for giving a meaningful and tangible donation to a mission organization this year.
November 1, 2021
By Greg Pruett Consider the chaotic world around you. You might conclude we live in dark times. But in the less visible world of God’s kingdom, this could be God’s finest hour! We live in that historic moment when God’s Word will soon reach every language community on earth. In the 1940s, the visionary originators of the Bible-translation movement first started gaining traction with the idea that everyone should have Scripture in their own language. They had no idea the coming generations would document more than 7,300 languages in the world. Brave men and women gave their lives in rural
September 23, 2020
By Jim Nieman Deaf Missions has completed the American Sign Language Version (ASLV) of the Bible—a 38-year project that started in 1982. CEO Chad Entinger said the feeling upon completing the project was something like “a runner crossing the finish line of a marathon. We are beyond exhilarated . . . that now, finally, Deaf people have all of God’s Word in our native, heart language.” “Words in printed English cannot explain the depth of the Bible to Deaf people,” explained Renca Dunn, a Bible translator with Deaf Missions, Council Bluffs, Iowa. “For many in the Deaf community, written English
February 20, 2020
Today we conclude this two-part article from 1940 explaining the “four aspects” of Alexander Campbell’s Bible study. Today’s article covers aspects three and four. _ _ _ Alexander Campbell’s Contribution to Bible Study (Part 2) By Howard Elmo Short, B.D. (Hartford);Minister, Church of Christ, Cuyahoga Falls, O.;February 10, 1940; p. 5 . . . There is no finer contribution that Mr. Campbell has made to Bible study than this insistence upon original thinking. How often we read, leafing through, just to find the “pet” verses which prove the point we are arguing at the moment! The admonition of Mr. Campbell
February 6, 2020
This article acknowledging the contributions of “denominationalists” received much positive feedback from readers in the weeks following its publication 55 years ago. _ _ _ Our Debt to Denominationalists By James G. Van BurenFebruary 6, 1965; p. 9 We are, much more than we sometimes realize, indebted to denominationalists. By “we” I mean those of us committed to the Restoration ideal, who delight in designating ourselves as “undenominational” and as “Christians only.” By “denominationalists” I mean those who have not been aware, as far as we know, of the sinfulness of denominational divisions and who would be considered by us
January 15, 2020
By Chris Moon Tom Nutt keeps getting requests. “Right now, I have sent out two so far this year,” he told Christian Standard. “I’ve got four that need to go out in the next few weeks and an additional one that I will ship in March.” He’s talking about the solar kits Good News Productions International, based in Joplin, Mo., has been sending around the world for the past 39 years. Nutt, vice president of operations for GNPI, says the organization has sent out nearly 800 of them in its historyall in an effort to enable missionaries to show evangelistic
October 1, 2019
By Greg Pruett When Al Hamilton was founding Pioneer Bible Translators in the early 1970s, William and Robin Butler were among the first missionaries he recruited. Al had heard William explaining a Greek assignment to a friend in the campus bookstore and, on his way out the door, tapped William on the shoulder and whispered in his ear, “Sounds like you would make a good Bible translator.” That comment planted an enduring seed. In 1975, at a snowy National Missionary Convention in St. Louis, William and his fiancée, Robin True, went forward to give their lives to the work of
October 1, 2019
By Laura McKillip Wood The 75-year-old, one of few literate Roma women in Ukraine, had read the Bible for years in Russian and Ukrainian. She spoke both languages, in addition to her own dialect of the Roma language. When translators presented to her the story of the prodigal son, newly translated into the Roma dialect, a smile spread across her face. With tears in her eyes, she said, “I have read this story many times, but this is the first time I have understood it!” This reaction underscores the importance of a new project underway that partners a Ukrainian college,
October 1, 2019
By Chad Entinger Pah is slang for “finally!” in American Sign Language. It is what Deaf people sign when something is finally finished or when something is finally changed and improved for the better in their lives. [This is a sidebar to “Deaf Missions (U.S.): Seeing God’s Word Come to Life,” by Mary Alice Gardner.] “Pah!” is exactly what Deaf people, including myself, have been saying more lately. For a long time, Deaf people have felt ignored and overlooked. Bible-based resources have primarily been developed for hearing people. But I personally believe God is turning the tide as more resources
October 1, 2019
By Mary Alice Gardner “Do not forget us, Lord; do not forget your Deaf people,” her prayer begins. She is in a huddle of a dozen people who watch her signs and nod in agreement. When the prayer concludes, each person stacks one hand in the middle of the circle. The top hand forms the sign for amen and on the count of three all hands rise, lifting the prayer to Heaven. So begins an ordinary translation day for the American Sign Language Version (ASLV) team headquartered at Deaf Missions in Council Bluffs, Iowa. While it might be an ordinary
August 22, 2019
By Laura McKillip Wood “We knew your father,” the old man said, “and we have heard about you for many years. We’ve been waiting for you.” Jesse’s lifelong dream had been to return to his father’s remote village, where he too had lived as a child. He had thought about his father’s people, the Jerwang, many times through the years, wondering when he would get a chance to return. But the Jerwang live in a very remote area where China, Myanmar, and Tibet share an ill-defined border area, and visiting them is difficult. To reach the villages, Jesse traveled from
January 29, 2019
By Emily Drayne Youth conferences, weeks of camp, training conferences for adults, and mission trips are all mountaintop experiences. Participants come home refreshed, revitalized, and more passionate about the things they spent time focusing on. But life inevitably slows down, the daily humdrum returns, and the fire inside begins to flicker. There is at least one Great Commission-focused event, however, from which there seems to be no post-event letdown: the International Conference On Missions. What makes ICOM different? I’m convinced it’s the on-fire vibe that permeates the conference. People attend ICOM to do something: win the world for Christ, find
November 1, 2018
How to share Scripture with immigrants in their language By Greg Pruett Weary from a long trip, I was tempted to ignore the Uber driver on my way home from the airport, but then I remembered missionaries are supposed to share the gospel. (Actually, we’re all supposed to do that!) A little reluctantly, I asked the man, “Where are you from?” “I’m from Dallas,” he responded. I could tell the story was more nuanced than that, so I probed a bit more: “Where are your parents from?” His answer intrigued me: “Ethiopia.” “What languages do you speak?” “I speak
April 28, 2018
By Emily Drayne In the six-plus years I’ve served with the International Conference on Missions (ICOM), I’ve learned that determining the total number of active missionaries is like trying to hold water in your hands. Both are difficult, slippery, and elusive, but I’ve found it’s possible to count missionaries if you do your research and find credible sources. The biggest challenges we face as we count missionaries include these: some serve in sensitive areas and closed countries (and the sponsoring groups are less apt to publicize information about them); some are transitioning to a new location; some are leaving the
October 31, 2017
By Greg Pruett It was my first day on the job back in 1994, and I was eager to get started. I walked onto the West African scene fully trained to translate the Bible””tomes of knowledge about Greek, linguistics, and missiology crammed into my mind. But when the sun rose on my first workday at Pioneer Bible Translators, my mentor didn”t escort me to a desk to show me how to translate. Instead, he walked me over to a well he had hand-dug for the village to show these Muslim people the love of Christ, and we started troubleshooting a
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