3 Ways to Pray for Translation Ministries

TEAM – The Evangelical Alliance Mission • Jun 01, 2021

It’s a Monday night, and 15 Kwong men eagerly fill a small classroom, waiting for the opportunity of a lifetime. Tonight, they’re going to study the Bible — in their own language.

The Kwong tribe first received the Gospel in the 1950s, but getting a Kwong Bible translation has taken much longer. Local pastors struggle to teach from Bible translations in other languages they barely understand. And for most Kwong believers, those sermons are the only biblical teaching they get.

But for nearly 30 years, a team of local believers and TEAM missionaries has been painstakingly translating God’s word into Kwong .

In 2017, they had enough of it translated to open a Bible school for pastors. Now, they’ve opened it to laypeople — men and women. And the students are sharing what they’ve learned!

“We are seeing more fruit from the laymen than from the aspiring professional guys,” says TEAM worker Mark Vanderkooi.

Read more about the Kwong Bible translation and how God is working in this community!

The ability to read and share God’s word in your own language is a powerful experience. But 1.5 billion people still don’t have any Scripture in their native languages. And in some languages, the only Bible translation uses such archaic wording, it’s all but useless to the average believer.

God’s word is a vital part of spreading the Gospel, so let’s pray for translation ministries around the world!

Click here to download a printable copy of this month’s Prayer Focus, with additional prayer requests from the field!

1. Pray for alert minds and accurate translation choices.

Sometimes it’s not the complicated words that trip up translators. TEAM Bible translator Gabe* shared about when his teammate realized that the word they’d chosen for “light” could, with the right suffix, become a word referring to manure.

“’I am the light of the world’ wouldn’t have had quite the same resonance if she hadn’t caught that,” Gabe says.

As translators work, they also put their translation through various checking processes. One crucial step is having the translation read by someone who has never read the Bible . If there are areas the reader can’t understand, translators go back and figure out how to make things clearer. In high-security nations, finding these readers can be a challenge.

“There are always safety considerations if authorities think Christians are proselytizing or preparing materials for evangelism,” says a translator working on a Southeast Asian translation. “COVID lockdown and social distancing conditions make the possibility even more difficult.”

Please ask God to guide translators and others working on these projects. Pray for clear, energetic minds that will catch mistakes and understand the best words to use in each situation .

2. Pray for unity and good communication on translation teams.

Good communication and unity of mind are critical for translation teams. As illustrated above, one mistranslated word can drastically change the meaning of a text. And sometimes the right choice is not so clear. As teams discuss their options, it’s key that their communication be filled with love — both for one another and for God’s word.

This can be challenging as more and more teams have members working from different cities and even different countries.

Pray for Translation and Linguistics Ministries

Today’s technology makes it easier than ever for teams to work long-distance, but good communication and unity of mind are still top prayer requests.

TEAM missionary Mark Vanderkooi has recently been working in a city 250 miles from his Chadian translation teammates. “I am preparing materials for the translation of the Gospel of Mark, and they are … trying to translate what I send them on lined paper, then type it into a computer, and then upload it to a server where I can see what they did,” Mark says.

Please pray for clarity and understanding as translation teams communicate and make decisions . Pray that they will grow in Christ and love one another as He loves them.

3. Pray for resources and opportunities to distribute new translations.

A translator’s work doesn’t end with translation. The work is useless if there’s no plan for distribution . In some places, translators are able to easily distribute their work through smart phone apps. In others, having a hardcopy is still vital. Both require fundraising, whether through personal supporters, churches or foundations.

Once the translation is formatted and printed (or uploaded to an app), translators have to decide how they’ll get the new translation to the right people. This is especially tricky in nations where it’s illegal to have a Bible in the first place.

Ask God to grant translators wisdom as they decide on the right modes and methods for distributing the Scriptures . Pray for adequate funding and open doors to get the work done.

* Name changed for missionary’s protection.

By Suzanne Pearson 19 Mar, 2024
Previously on the TEAM blog, we sat down with Justin Burkholder (pictured above at left, with TEAM's Executive Director of Communications, Aaron Catlin). Justin will become TEAM’s next International Director on July 1, 2024. Justin shared about his background, family, and the journey that led him to TEAM. Check out that interview here . Today, we pick up the conversation as Justin shares how God called him to the role of International Director, and what he sees for the next chapter in TEAM’s work in the global Church. Q: How and when did you first consider applying for the position of International Director? How did the Lord reveal Himself to you as this opportunity presented itself? A: For some time, I have been evaluating how God wants me to use the gifts He has given me. Jenny and I have had a fruitful ministry in church planting in Guatemala and would happily continue doing so as God leads. However, as God blessed my efforts in TEAM leadership, there were friends and family who expressed that I should consider using my gifts in the International Director role. I don’t believe that everything necessarily rises and falls on leadership, but I do believe that it is a core component in the body of Christ. Using the gifts God has given me is a way that I want to bless the body of Christ in TEAM, making my contribution to the global purposes of God’s mission. Jenny and I spent a lot of time praying about this and decided that I should put my name in for consideration, trusting God’s guidance. We had a tremendous amount of peace throughout the entire process and were blessed by the prayer-filled process that the board undertook. Q: This is a key role in a large and complex organization, and I’m sure this was a big decision for you and your family. What were your fears or concerns? Why did you ultimately decide to accept the position? A: You say “were” like the fears have passed! I still am quite aware of my youth and inexperience - of the responsibility and weight of this role. Mostly, I’m afraid of leading an organization like TEAM in the flesh. Many of the fears that I have faced have been fears rooted in fleshly desires and concerns. I have no desire to succeed in the world’s eyes and fail in the Kingdom of Jesus. Why did I ultimately decide to accept the position? I’m convinced that the Good News about Jesus is true. The tomb is empty, Jesus is King, and the world needs to know, because Jesus is coming back. He will put things in order. He will establish righteousness, peace, and justice for all mankind, and He has commissioned His Church to proclaim and demonstrate His rule and reign. I want to use my gifts to do whatever I can to amplify the proclamation of this message and the multiplication of His Church around the world. Q: What are your goals and vision for the future of TEAM? A: This is something that I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about. I’m certainly not ready to present a fully-shaped vision and goals for TEAM’s future without the input of other people in different contexts in TEAM. But, I will share a few things that I think are important: First, we need to model God-Dependence . I am hopeful that as leaders in TEAM, we can continue to model God-Dependence. As Hudson Taylor said years ago “…God’s work, done in God’s way, will never lack God’s supplies.” I am hopeful that we can increase our sense of faith in God, prayer, and seeking direction from the Spirit. Secondly, we must strengthen our relational fabric . Due to the changes that we have experienced by decentralizing our home office functions, and the challenges from the pandemic, we have experienced a loss of relationships. It is imperative that we intentionally prioritize the building of relationships with one another. I plan to visit our workers and staff, and I am expectant that other key leaders and staff will be doing the same. Third, we must pursue the greater presence of the global Church. The Kingdom of Jesus Christ doesn’t look like any single geopolitical, ethnic, or racial culture. If we want to truly see the Kingdom of Jesus come on earth as it is in heaven, then we as citizens of this Kingdom must learn from one another, submit to one another, and grow with one another. The missional potential of the global Church has been unleashed by God’s Spirit since Acts 1, and we have an opportunity to learn from many brothers and sisters in Christ who can help us to better model and proclaim the Kingdom of Jesus to those who have yet to believe. Lastly, we must increase our Gospel boldness . There are still many places of great spiritual blindness and spiritual brokenness around the world. The apostolic impulse of cross-cultural organizations should call us to the to the edges of where the Kingdom of Jesus is not penetrating. Whether spiritual blindness and brokenness exists because of lack of access, idolatry, injustice, or any other myriad of reasons, I prayerfully hope to see more and more TEAM workers continue to move into spaces of great Gospel need.
By Suzanne Pearson 08 Mar, 2024
Through God-ordained partnerships and creative connections, TEAM worker Keith Moore sees the global Church advancing in amazing ways. In the global missions landscape, a phrase that comes up often is “from everywhere, to everywhere.” God is calling His global Church in literal new directions, as He raises up cross-cultural workers to be sent from places that were once on the receiving end of missions work. We call this movement “polycentric sending.” TEAM workers Dawn and Keith Moore have seen first-hand this transition taking place. Their story involves the unlikely but beautiful intersection of Charlotte, North Carolina; Tegucigalpa, Honduras; and Memphis, Tennessee...and beyond. The Path to Honduras Keith and Dawn joined TEAM in 1991 and served as church planters for nine years in Bogota, Colombia. After safety concerns precipitated their return to the States in 1999, they knew they wanted to continue serving in Latin America. The Moores felt called to Honduras but wanted to connect with a strong missional church to help send them. The Lord orchestrated a collaboration with Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis, Tennessee. “Some people asked, ‘Why Honduras? Missionaries have been there for 100 years. It’s already reached,’” Keith says. “But there’s a whole section of Latin America that had not been reached - the upper crust.” Keith goes on to explain that he and Dawn felt called to reach college-educated professionals in Honduras – a ministry vision that resonated with the missional goals of Bellevue Baptist. Impact and Growth With the support of this new church partnership as well as another sending church in Birmingham, Alabama, the Moores embarked on their next adventure. Keith and Dawn started Impacto Honduras Church from scratch, and in less than 20 years, the church grew into four locations with 1600 total members. The Moores and other TEAM workers also created a “Bible school” type training program to help professionals who feel a call to ministry to make that transition. Throughout this period of explosive growth, church partnerships played an integral role. “It’s such a different vision when you have a church that says, ‘OK, this is our deal, we want to make this happen,’” Keith explains. “They helped us with everything. They took away every single obstacle to growth. Every time we needed something, they were there.” In 2017, the Moores once again found themselves on the verge of another decision. Was it time to leave Honduras? “I had no desire to leave,” Keith recalls. “People were coming to Christ every week! It was just so amazing.” However, back in the U.S., Keith and Dawn’s parents were in their 80s and would soon be in need of more care. “We realized that either we would leave in a crisis, or we would leave strategically,” says Keith. The couple began to implement a careful succession plan. By the time they left, the four churches were established with strong, Honduran leadership ready to carry on the work of the Gospel.
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