Innovation Brief 1: “When the church takes ownership of translation, it becomes a ministry. “
Stories of emerging Bible Translation in practice
This is the first in a series of articles documenting progress and process within the Eubuone and Wanbel clusters supported by Global Partnerships. Information was compiled by the Mission Mutual Progress and Data Improvement Coordinator during a recent evaluation visit.
The United Church, Papuan Islands Region (UCPIR) represents the Milne Bay province and the many outlying islands of Papua New Guinea. Covering over 300 congregations and 80 languages, UCPIR declared in 2021 that “it would be sin” for the church to ignore the translation needs of its people. Since then, the church has worked alongside Global Partnerships, the ETEN Innovation Lab, American Bible Society, and SRV to build a sustainable church and community centric translation model owned and implemented by the church.
In May 2023, a group of international visitors watched two UCPIR translation teams to learn more about the work. During that time, the church clearly communicated their desire and vision for translation as a ministry it owns. Rev Nebo Toudili, the UCPIR translation coordinator, explained why having translation as a ministry of the church was important to him.
“The Word is in the Church and God worked in the church in the beginning so I believe we are revisiting the history, Biblical history. We need to get the Word in the church, it is rightful, it is proper and rightful for the church to take hold and ownership of this translation, and when the church takes ownership of it, it becomes a ministry”
In practice, this looks like the church leading each part of the translation process. In the planning stages, the church identified priority languages that had no scripture, as well as other translation needs including hymnals, liturgical texts, and revising existing scriptures.
A choir opening the translation session
The need for hymnals may seem of secondary importance from a distance, but everyone who traveled to Dobu island immediately understood the church’s reasoning. From early morning to late into the dark of night, there was singing. Choirs singing hymns were a critical expression of faith, part of each prayer, each service, each meeting. Hymnals weren’t a luxury, but a necessity for this church.
During implementation, the chuch’s leadership becomes even more obvious. The church managed the all-volunteer translation teams. The church identified the passages to translate, when the translation would occur, and the tools to be used. The church provided team leaders and scripture authentication elders who engaged more deeply in the text and provided exegetical background to translators. The church organized community checking events, ensuring the community understood their role, engaged with scripture, and spoke into the translation. It was local church leaders who decided together that a passage was ready for initial use within their congregations after checking. And it will be the church who will finally decide whether a translation is trusted.
One tension the church feels is how to participate in translation given existing translation projects run by other agencies. However, the church experiences an acute need for new scripture. One visitor from a local community highlighted this urgent need.
“We are trying to translate the language, but we are also trying to pass the gospel, bring the gospel to the huts, so we are not going to use words we don’t understand. We need words that we can understand so the gospel can be understood and read and preached by everyone, that’s what we are trying to do. We don’t want to put all our languages in the Bible, and then see that the Bible will not be read.”
Another neighbor added,
“The language is becoming harder with the new generation. They cannot even understand the old language, so it needs a new language to be used for the new generation to understand their day-to-day language.”
One concern many hold about the local church having the final say in accepting scripture is how quality will be maintained. During the visit, it was clear to all involved that UCPIR is heavily invested in the quality of the translations produced. In 2022, the church was uncomfortable with how quality assurance would occur, so it decided to collect all the laptops distributed for the project to ensure no additional translation could continue. It wasn’t until months later, when the church felt confident that the translation process would accurately communicate God’s Word, that work could begin again.
The translation team internalizing the text
For UCPIR, church ownership is therefore much bigger than participating in meetings or picking staff for outside organizations. The church saw translation as a key priority for how they will disciple their people into the future.
The secretary of the region, Rev Sakaio put it this way:
“The difference between the church leading the translation and an organization leading the translation is the church is where the people are. We are the church and when we think about translation, it’s the people themselves who are involved in the work.”
For Rev. Nibo, translation is a way for his community to be transformed. “This is my dream I want to see: transformation in the lives of individuals, in the family, in the community, in the church.”