Does Wycliffe plant churches?
A. Yes…and no. As a Bible translation organization, we are focused on a specific part of fulfilling the Great Commission–providing people with God’s Word in their language. Our staff are not pastors; they do not organize large-scale evangelistic meetings or seek to start churches. However, they do review translated Scripture with people as a part of their work, and they often hold Bible studies or teach literacy with Scripture materials as well. God uses these efforts and the witness of translators’ lives to bring people to Himself. As national believers come to know the Lord and are instructed by His Word in their language, they form and oversee their own churches. The Tzeltal people of southern Mexico are a great example of this. In 1939, a Mexican anthropologist described the Tzeltal as “impervious to change.” At that time, there were no evangelical churches among them. Then in 1941 a Bible translator began working with the Tzeltal, and today there is an evangelical community of
A. Yes…and no. As a Bible translation organization, we are focused on a specific part of fulfilling the Great Commission–providing people with God’s Word in their language. Our staff are not pastors; they do not organize large-scale evangelistic meetings or seek to start churches. However, they do review translated Scripture with people as a part of their work, and they often hold Bible studies or teach literacy with Scripture materials as well. God uses these efforts and the witness of translators’ lives to bring people to Himself. As national believers come to know the Lord and are instructed by His Word in their language, they form and oversee their own churches. The Tzeltal people of southern Mexico are a great example of this. In 1939, a Mexican anthropologist described the Tzeltal as “impervious to change.” At that time, there were no evangelical churches among them. Then in 1941 a Bible translator began working with the Tzeltal, and today there is an evangelical community of
