Unreached Archive

Imagine opening your Bible and finding the following translation of the best known verse in the Bible: “God loved the world so much that He gave it to His only begotten Son.” Earlier today, as I prepared to write this article, I used Google Translate to translate John 3:16 from English to Mongolian, from Mongolian to Bangla, Bangla to Basque, and Basque back into English. Had everything worked as it was supposed to, we would expect the verse in English to be the same as when we started. The result was far different from what some might think!

We know that God’s Word changes individual lives as each Christian who has trusted Christ can attest to that fact. But the Word of God also has such power that it can change an entire people group—once they have it in their language. On January 8, 1956, five men stepped out of this world into eternity from the banks of the Curaray River in Ecuador and world missions have never been quite the same since. Yet the most significant change that took place within that jungle came because God’s precious Word was given in the language of the people there.

Bible translation is difficult. Everything about it is hard. It’s expensive. It’s time consuming. It’s a long-haul venture. It provokes intense spiritual warfare. And big picture problems like these don’t even address the day-to-day struggles that Bible translators experience. But when it comes to the big picture of Bible translation, I have observed two recurring problems in our local churches.

Since 2007 we have printed... 1.6 Million Whole Bibles 4 Million New Testaments 125.5 Million John & Romans That is equal to...

1.5 billion people 20% of the world's population has zero access to Scripture in their first-language. Languages lacking both a New and Old Testament Americas 686 languages, 9.3 million first- language speakers Africa 1,518 languages, 155 million first- language speakers Europe 192 languages, 35.7 million first- language speakers Asia 1,789 languages, 472 million first- language speakers Pacific 959 languages, 1.3 million first- language speakers

“I prefer dying to running away” Solomon Ginsburg "Firebrand of Brazil" 1867-1927 Born in Poland to a Jewish Rabbi, Solomon converted to Christ and mentored in London. While studying Isaiah 53, he bought a New Testament and the Savior was revealed. “I realized I must cast my lot with Jesus! I was forgiven and accepted! My load was lifted! My sins were washed away!” Announcing his conversion to his uncle, young Solomon was ultimately cursed, rejected and disinherited by his entire family. Giving testimony to others, particularly Jews, Ginsburg’s testimony reads like that of the Apostle Pau...

As I reflect on the Missions Conference here at First Baptist Church, my heart and mind race back to my childhood. Missions Conference was the spiritual highlight for our church every year. In fact, this is still true for our church today. It was not just another time set aside for preaching. It was a time set aside by our church for God to work in the midst of our congregation concerning missions. I always anticipated who God was going to call out from among our body to go to the mission field.

The Five World Belief Systems The 10/40 Window is an invisible rectangular area of North Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and parts of the former Soviet Union. It is located approximately between 10 degrees north and 40 degrees north latitude. Sadly, this needy part of the world is often referred to as the “Resistant Belt” of the Gospel. This region of the world is crowded with two-thirds of the world’s population. Most of the poorest people in the world can be found there. Many live on less than $2.00 a day and have little money for food or health care. Life expectancy is lower than in many...

Woman, how divine your mission, Here upon our natal sod; Keep—oh, keep the young heart open Always to the breath of God! All true trophies of the ages Are from mother-love impearled, For the hand that rocks the cradle Is the hand that rules the world. ~ William Ross Wallace ~