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Ways to Celebrate World Bible Translation Day With Our Kids
According to the Center for Bible Engagement, most American Christians have four Bibles in their home and have access to numerous English Bible translations. But possessing copious quantities of Bibles isn’t common. Many Christians around the world don’t even have their own copy of the Bible—much less several translations. Some believers must share a single Bible, while others read God’s Word in a second language because the Bible has yet to be translated into their heart language—the language one thinks, prays, dreams, and speaks in.
According to Wycliffe Bible Translators, 1.5 billion people don’t have a Bible translated into their heart language. While we can celebrate reading God’s Word in English—the heart language of many Americans—people around the world still lack access to the Bible in their heart language.
Given the excess of English Bibles and scarcity of access to the Bible for many Christians worldwide, this highlights the urgent need for Bible translation. But when we consider the need for Scripture in languages around the globe, we must not rely on our highly literate leanings to determine the best medium to translate the Bible into new languages.
FACTORING IN ORALITY
According to the International Orality Network, oral learners comprise 80% of the world’s population and navigate life best when information is delivered verbally. By contrast, Americans are vastly literate which means we navigate life better when we can read information.
In the days of Jesus, the culture was also oral learners. Jesus often spoke in parables to the crowds, the letters written by the apostles in the New Testament were intended to be read aloud, and even the book of Revelation was penned with the expectation to read “aloud the words” (Rev. 1:3).
While many literate endeavors have been made to reach oral cultures, ministry leaders have recognized the value of taking a verbal approach to sharing and teaching the Bible. With approximately two billion people without access to the Old Testament (some may have a New Testament), Oral Bible Storying (OBS) meets the needs of cultures who are oral learners—whose worldviews and principles are shaped by singing, chanting, or speaking—in ways written text cannot. The Word of God can be carried to the most remote locations or busiest street corners because the speaker knows it by heart and prefers to communicate in an easy-to-pass-along verbal form by cultural tradition.
Around the world, Christian ministries have implemented OBS to craft Bible story sets for specific cultures. Each Scripture story set in a people group’s native language will cover spiritual needs of that culture, what it means to follow Jesus, and the big picture of the Bible all told in sequential order. Around 70 stories are carefully selected to share the gospel in a meaningful way. Often these projects can take around three years to ensure faithfulness to Scripture. OBS is a powerful way to get the Bible into the heart languages of oral learners.
EXPANDING OUR VIEW
Since 1966, World Bible Translation Day has been held on September 30 to celebrate the translation work of St. Jerome, the man responsible for translating the Bible into Latin. The English Bibles we read today were first translated into English by John Wycliffe in the 14th century. Each year believers can rejoice in seeing the gospel advance around the globe as more Bibles are translated into new languages.
As we desire to see the gospel reach to the ends of the earth, we must realize what works for highly literate Americans, will not necessary be best for highly oral learners in other cultures. Translating the Bible into a written book for languages without it is immensely valuable. But translating the Bible into oral Bible storying sets is equally valuable.
As we pause to consider the Bible’s availability to people worldwide, we should expand our view of Bible translation beyond a written copy to also include OBS. Both mediums get Scripture into the hands of those who didn’t have access. But depending on the culture, one medium will benefit a larger segment of the population.
CELEBRATING WORLD BIBLE TRANSLATION DAY
World Bible Translation Day is a great opportunity to link arms for the sake of the gospel reaching the ends of the earth. We can participate in the work of translating the Bible into new languages across the world and bring our kids alongside us as we do so. Here are three ways to celebrate World Bible Translation Day as a family.
1) You can start praying for Bible translation work using Wycliffe’s Bible Translators children’s book, Around the World With Kate and Mack: A Look at Languages From A to Z. This book helps kids see the impact Bible translation has on communities around the world, and it fosters a heart to pray for the Bible to keep being translated into more languages.
2) Gather your family together and tell a Bible story verbally. For tips on how to easily do this, check out my article, “Use Your Words: How Oral Bible Storying Can Serve Your Family.” When you finish, have your family pray for more OBS sets to be crafted for oral people groups around the world.
3) Send your kids on a Bible scavenger hunt. Have kids find all the Bibles in your home. Then calculate how many Bibles, different Bible translations, and children’s Bibles your family owns. Share what you learned from this article with your kids. Take time to pray for both written and oral translations to reach people around the world without access to Scripture.
Both traditional Bible translation and OBS are vital to improving access to the Bible across the earth. And as we celebrate World Bible Translation Day, we can incorporate prayer for both avenues of faithfully translating Scripture in Bible deserts around the globe.