Why do we translate the Bible into the ethnic language of the unreached people group we serve? Why not just teach them English and give them a King James Version of the Bible?

This is precisely what many Christians feel is the way to evangelize the world in the shortest time frame. The question I would ask them is, “Does that really make disciples of all peoples?” I guess you have to start with a definition of a disciple. Rev. Stan Smith of Union University says that, “A true disciple is not just a student or a learner, but a follower: one who applies what he has learned.”

And disciples make disciples.

Leonce Crump is recorded as saying, “Something new is not what’s needed, rather we need to be reminded of our first priority: to make disciples who make disciples.”

One of the marks of a true disciple of Jesus Christ is a fondness for, or rather, a commitment to His Word and doing what it says!

James 1:22 “But be doers of the Word, and not hearers only deceiving yourselves.”

But in order to do what the Word says, the people have to have a clear understanding of the words and their meaning. This is where translating the Bible into the ethnic language, or heart language, comes in. One’s heart language is the one they know best, the one that grabs them emotionally, the one that they sense the Lord speaking to them when they read it, and the language they most often dream in.

Can you imagine trying to grow in your faith by reading the Latin Vulgate translation of the Bible after learning Latin in high school? I can’t. Then again, I had trouble in high school with all foreign language; it was just that—foreign.

That is why Global Serve International’s workers commit to the long-term task of translating the Bible, or at least portions of it, into the heart language of unreached people groups. It is the best way to make disciples who make disciples!

Going back to that first preposition of giving someone a KJV Bible and teaching them English, I would imagine that after the missionary left, the Bible would become a paper weight (or some other useful tool!) and the person would continue in the ignorance of their forefathers, living without an understanding of the gospel.

Please consider how you can partner with Global Serve International’s Bible Translation projects that are taking God’s Word to the world! We’re seeing Bible translation lead to life transformation among the unreached!