Articles for tag: Pioneer Bible Translators

October 25, 2017

Christian Standard

Discerning the Body

By Marsha Relyea Miles  If you were to worship with tribal Jesus followers in the jungle of Papua New Guinea, you might find yourself sitting on a rough-hewn log rather than a comfortable pew or chair. The typical church building has a thatched roof, woven bamboo walls, a dirt floor, and “windows” that are open to the jungle (no glass or screen); the church is graced with calls of tropical birds and shaded by giant palms and lush foliage.   Imagine this setting . . . the sultry, equatorial breeze wafts in, carrying with it the sweetness of exquisite rainforest flowers.

November 22, 2016

Mark A. Taylor

Good Smells, Great Lives

By Mark A. Taylor I got to the Lexington Center at 1:15 Saturday afternoon, a little before I”d promised to be there. We were planning a special 2:00 event in our International Conference on Missions booth, and the attendant had promised to be there at 1:30 to help us get ready. But as soon as I entered the exhibit hall, I knew she was already on the job. I could smell the popcorn popping. Soon the aroma was filling the whole, huge facility. And even before our announced start time, we relented and allowed the people lining up to grab

April 3, 2016

Christian Standard

We”re Making Great Strides in Missions

By Justin Horey “If you have no churches, and you have no Scripture, you have no hope.” With those sobering words, Greg Pruett explains why he has made Bible translation his life”s work””to bring hope to those who have none. Pruett, president of Pioneer Bible Translators, says there are still about 1,775 languages worldwide without a written copy of the Bible. Pioneer Bible is one of many organizations committed to reducing that number to zero by translating the Bible into every language on Earth. Pioneer Bible”s passion for cross-cultural evangelism is shared by several missions organizations with roots in the

November 21, 2015

Christian Standard

ICOM: A Conference with Eternal Value

By Rick Jett I used to feel sorry for the away team. When I ministered in Marion, Indiana, in the mid-1980s, the Marion Giants were the dominant high school basketball team in the state. They were state champions three years in a row. On game day, everyone in town wore purple and gold to support the home team. Nearly 7,000 fans would fill the high school athletic arena. The ceremony before each home game was designed to intimidate the away team. After everyone stood for the national anthem, the announcer would introduce the starting lineup for the visitors. The cheerleaders

November 12, 2015

Christian Standard

Mobilize and Accelerate

By Mike Schrage Go and make disciples. This 2,000-year-old command from Jesus is just as compelling and encompassing as ever. It”s a command for obedience. It”s a command for commitment. What must we do today to obey the command? Robert Coleman said, “Evangelism is not an optional accessory to our life. It is the heartbeat of all that we were called to be and do.”1 How”s the American church doing with this command to go and make disciples? Let me share a heart that”s full of concern for the bride of Christ found within our nation”s borders. We”re living in

May 15, 2015

Christian Standard

Evangelism for Introverts

By T.R. Robertson Believers want to share their faith. According to a 2013 study by the Barna Group, 73 percent of born-again Christians say it is their personal duty to share their faith. The bad news is, only 52 percent said they had actually done so at least once in the past year.1 Experience tells me many of those Christians don”t share their faith frequently or regularly. That same study breaks down the results by age group, socioeconomic group, and denominational affiliation. I”ve yet to see a study, though, of the frequency of evangelism as it breaks down by personality

April 19, 2015

Christian Standard

God Had Other Plans

By T.R. Robertson In the summer of 2012, Nathan and Amy Tuley publicly announced they felt God was calling them to full-time ministry. Over the preceding months, all the details had begun falling into place for Nathan to put his information technology training to work for Pioneer Bible Translators. And then, that September, they heard the words that rearranged their lives, “Your son has a brain tumor.” The Tuleys were taking back-to-school pictures, with all four of their kids lined up. Looking at the photos, they noticed 10-month-old Josiah was always tilting his head slightly and looking up at an

January 15, 2015

Christian Standard

A Healthy Church Has a Robust Missions Program

By Rob Maupin My wife and I entered the local sub shop and began to order. The young man serving us noticed our tired, but happy faces and asked what we had been doing. We told him our church had packed 500,000 meals for hungry kids in Haiti, and it took us (and more than 1,000 volunteers) well over 11 hours of really hard work. We explained that even though it was tiring, we had a truly wonderful experience. “Why did your church do that?” he asked quietly. As we conversed, he said, “I”d like to be a part of

January 1, 2015

Christian Standard

2014 ICOM: Nothing Like It!

By Reggie Hundley The 2014 International Conference On Missions (ICOM) was an outstanding gathering.  Dave Butts, president of Harvest Prayer Ministries and the 2014 ICOM, selected “Vertical” as the theme for the 2014 gathering, and it permeated every level of activity. Butts wrote, “So much of missions is horizontally focused and rightly so. But if we want maximum impact horizontally we need to start with a vertical focus. It”s all about Jesus.” Scripture repeatedly emphasizes the need for a vertical focus. For example, Hebrews 12:1, 2: “Let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do

November 19, 2014

Christian Standard

Journeying Together

By Jennifer Johnson I”m really excited about the 2015 International Conference on Missions. One reason is the president, Jim Tune, asked me to speak. My first sermon was to 1,800 Indian teenagers in a building that could seat 600, the second was for a group of jaded New Yorkers, and now my third will be to a convention hall of a few thousand. I like to focus on easy audiences. But I”m especially looking forward to the convention after talking to Tim Cole at the Virginia Evangelizing Fellowship and learning more about both the church planting emphasis at next year”s

November 15, 2014

Christian Standard

How Are We Doing with Missions?

We asked five missions leaders in the Christian churches to answer several key questions about missions progress, obstacles, and opportunities: Reggie Hundley is executive director of Missions Services Association, Knoxville, Tennessee. Doug Lucas is president of Team Expansion, Louisville, Kentucky. Doug Priest is executive director of Christian Missionary Fellowship, Indianapolis, Indiana. Greg Pruett is president of Pioneer Bible Translators, Dallas, Texas. Tony Twist is president of TCM International Institute, Indianapolis, Indiana.  What are the most hopeful signs regarding international, cross-cultural evangelism you see in our movement today? Greg Pruett: Many are valuing working among the unreached peoples of the world,

November 13, 2014

Christian Standard

One Convention, Seven New Churches

  By Jennifer Johnson “You know, if we”re going to spend all this time and effort in planning a convention, it would be great for it to have a long-term impact,” remarked Tim Cole in a planning meeting for the 2015 International Conference on Missions. Cole, director of church planting at Virginia Evangelizing Fellowship (VEF), says he can”t take credit for what happened next; some members of the team suggested the churches in Virginia plant a church, then some others suggested they plant one on every continent, then someone else mentioned Antarctica might be a challenge. Today the plan is

August 25, 2014

Christian Standard

The Lego Principle

By Matt Proctor Several years ago, two of my nephews accompanied their mom on a visit to a friend”s house. Ben was 8. Brian was 6. Their mother”s friend was a very neat lady, to the point of being obsessive-compulsive. (I have a friend who says, “I have OCD, only I like to call it CDO because then it”s in alphabetical order.”) This woman had a place for everything and everything in its place. Though childless, she did have a few toys and handed Ben and Brian a bucket of Lego bricks: “Here boys, you can play with these.” What”s

July 24, 2014

Christian Standard

Thanks, but No Thanks?

By Marsha Relyea Miles (From our series “The Best or Worst Advice I”ve Ever Received.”) One of the best pieces of advice I ever received came from Walter Birney, longtime coordinator for the National Missionary Convention (now known as the International Conference on Missions). During the year I served as president of the NMC (2007), many people contacted me with creative suggestions about how they thought the convention should unfold. Of course, in designing such a convention, broad involvement and teamwork is a great thing. The ideas of some folks were extremely insightful, but some others, less so! Now and

May 11, 2014

Christian Standard

Megachurches and Missions

By Chris DeWelt Suspicious of missions? Uninterested in missionaries? Disengaged from foreign fields? Not the megachurches I interviewed for my doctoral thesis and this report. Actually, I found just the opposite. The American megachurch is interested in missions! The advent of the megachurch is a phenomenon unique in church history. The fact that the megachurch is here is hardly a news item, but the growth and influence of megachurches is a significant part of our current story.1 Just 53 years ago there were only 16 Protestant megachurches2 in America. The Hartford Institute for Religion Research lists about 1,500 megachurches.3 Currently,

November 9, 2013

Christian Standard

Are We Being Paternalistic When We Talk about ‘Missions’?

By Michael Sweeney There are problems with the word, and many are beginning to talk about them. We do well to understand what some hear when we say “missions.” But that doesn”t mean we should curtail cross-cultural evangelism. “That”s not “˜PC”!” Have you ever had to deal with that “politically correct” criticism after saying or writing something that inadvertently offended someone because of a set of connotations you did not share? My reaction, when this has happened, has ranged anywhere from frustration to despair to paralysis. How does one even begin to keep up? As a missionary and teacher of

March 17, 2013

Christian Standard

A Global Partnership

By Keith Keeran Commonwealth International University was conceived in 1992 as a partnership between Kentucky Christian University and Crimean College in Simferopol, Ukraine. Under the leadership of its current president, Dr. Georges P. Carillet, and its original founder, Dr. Keith P. Keeran, CIU continues to serve the purposes of God for the benefit of the Ukrainian people and other least-reached and underserved people groups throughout the world. Since the beginning, CIU has been faithful to its mission to educate students for meaningful careers while introducing them to the fundamentals of the Christian faith, equipping them to be servant-leaders in the

March 7, 2013

Christian Standard

Institute a Chance to Match “˜Passion and Gift Mix”

By Jennifer Johnson For more than 35 years, Pioneer Bible Translators has offered opportunities for people from the Christian churches and churches of Christ to gain an in-depth understanding of taking God”s Word into new contexts through translation, church planting, and community development. The Pioneer Mission Institute began on the campus of Lincoln (IL) Christian College (now Lincoln Christian University) and is now held at the International Linguistics Center near Pioneer Bible”s main stateside office in Dallas, TX. This year”s weeklong event is scheduled June 9-14. In addition to the discovery program that introduces people to the ministries of Pioneer

March 3, 2013

Christian Standard

ASL Version of Bible Released as Mobile App

By Jennifer Johnson Deaf Missions, producer of The Bible: American Sign Language Version, recently released this Bible translation for the deaf as a mobile application for smartphones and tablets. The free app, Deaf Bible.is ASL, was developed by Faith Comes By Hearing, a leading audio Bible ministry based in Albuquerque, NM, using the video content translated and produced by Deaf Missions. The entire New Testament and 22 books of the Old Testament currently translated into American Sign Language (ASL) are included, along with the 2001 English Standard Version text of the whole Bible. The mobile app also features the sign

December 11, 2012

Christian Standard

Spiritual Gifts

By Jennifer Johnson In February we wrote about the history, goals, and current projects of eight missions agencies supported by Christian churches and churches of Christ. (Visit Christian Standard”s website to read the articles*.) As the year comes to a close, we invited each organization to share its “Christmas wish list.” Here are their most pressing needs and how you can help during this season of giving.   Christian Missionary Fellowship International (CMFI) Christian Missionary Fellowship works with a variety of missionaries and leads a number of programs around the world, from developing international campus ministries to improving the lives

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