Saturday, November 07, 2009 Last Update:12:05 pm ET

Missions|Wed, Jul. 01 2009 03:49 PM EDT

Jobless Christians Invited to Join Bible Translation Teams

By Jennifer Riley|Christian Post Reporter

In a rocky job market, there is one field that has thousands of openings waiting to be filled.

Wycliffe Bible Translators, the world’s largest organization of its kind, is looking for workers with a range of skills to assist in the translation of the scriptures into the last remaining languages.

“Of course, a large number will go into translation,” said Chuck Michaels of Wycliffe to Mission Network News. “But for every translator team we send out we need three support personnel: people who are pilots, IT personnel, teachers that will teach missionary children, managers that will help us in our administrative work, government relations officers, and a whole host of other areas.”

The Bible translation organization estimates that 25,000 more workers are needed over a period of 10 years for its Vision 2025 effort that seeks to start translation in every language by the year 2025. Wycliffe aims to recruit 7,000 people from the U.S.

Some 200 million people, making up a third of the world’s language groups, still do not have the Bbile in their own “heart language.”

The goal of Wycliffe’s Last Languages Campaign is to provide literacy and life-saving health information along with the Bible to all the world’s small language groups in need of language development by 2025.

Besides Wycliffe, other mission organizations have also referenced the troubled economy in their missionary recruitment efforts. World Gospel Mission president recently reported that "the job market for missionaries has never been brighter.”

He noted that young adult Christians are showing increased interest in serving in the mission field on a short term basis. There has also been an increase in full-time missionaries.

Currently, Wycliffe is in the process of creating a financial support system to help families pay their bills between the time they commit to the translation project, or to full-time missions, and when they actually begin serving.

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  • Tue Jul 07, 2009 2:17 pm Agree: 0   Disagree: 0

    Flagged as inappropriate. show believer »Fri Jul 03, 2009 12:29 pm al, your post is valid to a point and that point is the eternal destiny of others. If your view of that ends at the grave then your point is 100% correct, but if indeed it goes beyond the grave and into eternity then it is imperative we get the readable Word of God to every language group in the world and thus this money is being used in the best way possible so that the lost peoples of this world can read and hear what they must do to not only gain eternal life but most importantly come into a personal relationship with God through Christ. -------------------------------------------------------- In response: Your position actually gets the folks to it more quickly than if they were given the choice once they could think clearly and without the desperation that allows the mind control to be instituted so readily and takes such a long time to cure. So you are saying let them starve and freeze cause they will get to heaven more quickly, yeah tell that to starving people.http://alockslee.blogspot.com/Truth and Reality!!TFR07/03/09Literacy is key to helping people work their way out of poverty and resist oppression by others," said the donor, who wishes to remain anonymous, in a statement released Wednesday. "Children who first learn to read in their own language are more likely to become literate and to stay in school than those who first learn in a different language." ----------------------------------------------------------- In response: Then it is absolutely imperative that the children and the people of the area be taught secular principles first and then once they have been properly immunized against even the possibility of brainwashing by fundamentalists/evangelicals, that they be shown any religious texts or exposed to any religious teaching. That will insure that they not be "oppressed", by any of the fundie/evangelicals rhetoric and be free from their mind control. So if this donor is serious about preventing oppression then they should make sure that the gift is used to carryout the donor's wishes and prevent the indoctrination of any of the fundie propaganda from being given, taught and/or even mentioned before the people are fully able to resist them in their entirety. That way the menace and world domination efforts of the fundies/evangelicals will be further stopped and fascism won't be enabled to spread, thus preventing and combating the 4th Reich which is the core of the secret cabal of the evangelical/fundamentalist movement. http://alockslee.blogspot.com/ The truth about the fundie/evangelical cabal is here!! TFR hide

  • Tue Jul 07, 2009 2:14 pm Agree: 0   Disagree: 0

    Flagged as inappropriate. show Cameron »Sat Nov 15, 2008 7:41 pm I salute to the anonymous donor who gave a huge sum of $50 million to Wycliffe Bible Translators. Money is the dearest thing after one's life, giving such sum for the path of Almighty The-God "That is absolutely Credible". ----------------------------------------------------------- In response: No offense intended but money is not the next "dearest thing" after life. Your priorities are askew. As for "The-God" comment, why do so many make statements as if they speak for and on behalf of God? When did you become appointed as spokesperson for God? Where was the world event that proclaimed you as becoming such? Far too many fundies/evangelicals run around proclaiming/witnessing, blathering and not one of you folks ever show any interest in reporting the truth. You are not the spokesperson for anyone but perhaps yourself and being a fundie that is dubious since the mind control inherent in your ideology prevent rational thought and then to make statements that it is this or that like YOU know somehow something others don't and then need to release it on the rest is quite absurd indeed. Save the proclamations for Sundays and the rest of the zombies who parrot the same babble and focus on what is real and what is needed. Not Bibles, or ridiculous fundie propaganda, but food, shelter, medicine and especially the science and education of real things not fantasy based conjecture that the people don't need or they would already be aware of it because God would have already done it. Sorry no offense meant just sick and tired of people wasting time and money when there are needs more important and in priority above hawking ideology when the folks are dropping from disease and malnutrition and fundies want think that bibles will cure them of needing to eat, cure aids, and fix them entirely, well it it did then lets see the fundies pray disease away, pray away world hunger, etc. http://alockslee.blogspot.com/Truth and Reality not fundie conjecture TFR hide

  • Mon Jul 06, 2009 12:25 pm Agree: 0   Disagree: 0

    I would think It very tough to find inside the USA persons qualified to do the actual translation. Even in English the Bible has language that's difficult to sort through. English has been the de facto business language for some time, the international phonetic alphabet was design to help English, and non English speaking persons to exchange pertinent information, so I'm not sure the pool of expertice is as large as Wycliffe hopes it is. But credit goes to them for trying first. Peace

  • Mon Jul 06, 2009 7:31 am Agree: 0   Disagree: 0

    al, actually they need both, for the short term they need their physical needs met but for the long term they need their spiritual needs met as well and to do the latter requires God's Word to be available in their language not only for the sake of seeing them saved but also so once they become a Christian they can grow in their relationship with Christ and be able to live their lives in a way that is pleasing to God and will allow them to be an effective witness to their people. Plus, as I said in an earlier post their a many Christians serving as missionaries throughout our world who God is using in meeting both their physical and spiritual needs.

  • Sun Jul 05, 2009 11:03 pm Agree: 0   Disagree: 0

    Flagged as inappropriate. show believer »Fri Jul 03, 2009 12:29 pm al, your post is valid to a point and that point is the eternal destiny of others. If your view of that ends at the grave then your point is 100% correct, but if indeed it goes beyond the grave and into eternity then it is imperative we get the readable Word of God to every language group in the world and thus this money is being used in the best way possible so that the lost peoples of this world can read and hear what they must do to not only gain eternal life but most importantly come into a personal relationship with God through Christ. -------------------------------------------------------- In response: Your position actually gets the folks to it more quickly than if they were given the choice once they could think clearly and without the desperation that allows the mind control to be instituted so readily and takes such a long time to cure. So you are saying let them starve and freeze cause they will get to heaven more quickly, yeah tell that to starving people. http://alockslee.blogspot.com/Truth and Reality!! TFR hide

  • Sun Jul 05, 2009 11:02 pm Agree: 0   Disagree: 1

    Flagged as inappropriate. show The very same money could be immediately put to use by using it to buy food and housing for the poor instead of translating the Bible. People need immediate help not another translation that has already been done. Typical among those who want to force their ideology on the rest of the world instead of helping people with what is really needed. People need food, clothing and housing first and they can learn about religion once their immediate needs are met and they can sustain their existence and once that is accomplished they will be in a better position than reading a book while starving and freezing to death or dying due to lack of adequate care leaving no one left to push the ideological agenda which serves little in the way of survival nor replaces the everyday needs of people who need real food and housing BEFORE they worry about another fantasy that offers nothing to sustain the real needs of daily existence. So, use the money for real life needs and leave the people free from having to add another level of self pity in addition to trying to just survive. If the promoters were that serious about the translations let them spend the money on the items above and pray the translation into existence and see which is accomplished first. http://alockslee.blogspot.com/ Truth & Reality in 1 Blog TFR hide

  • Sun Jul 05, 2009 9:43 pm Agree: 0   Disagree: 0

    rev, I like the paraphrase and I kind of sensed a touch of insincerity as well in plea's post, but I decided to give him/her the benefit of the doubt as well, thanks.

  • Sun Jul 05, 2009 4:32 pm Agree: 0   Disagree: 0

    Flagged as inappropriate. show believer: "plea, I'm sure there are many Christ-centered ministries in your area that would love to have you prayerfully consider serving with them". Paraphrasing Mathew 7:16 - "Ye shall know them by their posts". I think both you and I might have been trolled! hide

  • Sun Jul 05, 2009 4:20 pm Agree: 1   Disagree: 0

    plea, I'm sure there are many Christ-centered ministries in your area that would love to have you prayerfully consider serving with them.

  • Sun Jul 05, 2009 2:23 am Agree: 0   Disagree: 0

    I would love to work for a ministry!

    www.plea4help.com

  • Fri Jul 03, 2009 1:56 pm Agree: 0   Disagree: 0

    al, no not at all and in fact any mission ministry worth it's salt realizes until the physical needs of people are met trying to meet their spiritual needs prior to meeting their physical needs are often futile and could lead to false conversions if those being witnessed to come to believe if they agree with these missionaries there is a good chance their physical needs will be met. But in the Southern Baptist Convention we look to meet physical needs first in hope God will give us the opportunity to meet their spiritual needs as well, but it would be remiss on our part to meet their physical needs alone since the eternal destiny of these people is at risk.

  • Fri Jul 03, 2009 1:15 pm Agree: 0   Disagree: 0

    Flagged as inappropriate. show believer »Fri Jul 03, 2009 12:29 pm al, your post is valid to a point and that point is the eternal destiny of others. If your view of that ends at the grave then your point is 100% correct, but if indeed it goes beyond the grave and into eternity then it is imperative we get the readable Word of God to every language group in the world and thus this money is being used in the best way possible so that the lost peoples of this world can read and hear what they must do to not only gain eternal life but most importantly come into a personal relationship with God through Christ. -------------------------------------------------------- In response: Your position actually gets the folks to it more quickly than if they were given the choice once they could think clearly and without the desperation that allows the mind control to be instituted so readily and takes such a long time to cure. So you are saying let them starve and freeze cause they will get to heaven more quickly, yeah tell that to starving people. http://alockslee.blogspot.com/Truth and Reality!! TFR hide

  • Fri Jul 03, 2009 12:29 pm Agree: 0   Disagree: 0

    al, your post is valid to a point and that point is the eternal destiny of others. If your view of that ends at the grave then your point is 100% correct, but if indeed it goes beyond the grave and into eternity then it is imperative we get the readable Word of God to every language group in the world and thus this money is being used in the best way possible so that the lost peoples of this world can read and hear what they must do to not only gain eternal life but most importantly come into a personal relationship with God through Christ.

  • Fri Jul 03, 2009 11:23 am Agree: 0   Disagree: 0

    Flagged as inappropriate. show The very same money could be immediately put to use by using it to buy food and housing for the poor instead of translating the Bible. People need immediate help not another translation that has already been done. Typical among those who want to force their ideology on the rest of the world instead of helping people with what is really needed. People need food, clothing and housing first and they can learn about religion once their immediate needs are met and they can sustain their existence and once that is accomplished they will be in a better position than reading a book while starving and freezing to death or dying due to lack of adequate care leaving no one left to push the ideological agenda which serves little in the way of survival nor replaces the everyday needs of people who need real food and housing BEFORE they worry about another fantasy that offers nothing to sustain the real needs of daily existence. So, use the money for real life needs and leave the people free from having to add another level of self pity in addition to trying to just survive. If the promoters were that serious about the translations let them spend the money on the items above and pray the translation into existence and see which is accomplished first. http://alockslee.blogspot.com/ Truth & Reality in 1 Blog TFR hide

  • Fri Jul 03, 2009 8:00 am Agree: 0   Disagree: 0

    how do i get in touch with them i am also a spanish english translator im not sure what languages you need translated but i certainly could use the job

  • Fri Jul 03, 2009 1:34 am Agree: 0   Disagree: 0

    Where does a person contact them?

  • Thu Jul 02, 2009 4:48 pm Agree: 0   Disagree: 0

    How exciting! Wish I were younger to take advantage of this great opportunity!

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