The technological progression of modern times have forever changed the idea of immortalization. Gone are the days of stone and chisels as notable events, individuals, and works of art, are memorialized forever online. Now, Bibles have been made accessible to virtually everyone in the world through digitization, and companies are now looking to revive many endangered and "lost" Bible translations.
Spearheaded by MissionAssist, and joined by Bible Society and Wycliffe Bible Translators, a new digitization project seeks to revive dying languages by making the Bible accessible to hundreds of minority language groups.
An army of volunteers is currently being sought out to translate Bibles in minority languages previously only available in print to a digital platform. These digital translations can then be made available through online platforms and apps such as YouVersion to minority language groups all around the globe. Wycliffe's Executive Director commented on the project, noting "In a world where almost one in five people don't have access to the Bible in their own language, but where smartphone and internet use is growing rapidly, this is a really strategic initiative. Having digital Scripture in both readable and audio form can be transformative for churches and communities, and Christians here in the UK can make a real difference to this."
Ceo of MissionAssist Rev. Daryl Richardson also added, "A Bible cannot do much lying in a library storeroom covered by dust, but when people read or hear the Word of God for themselves then lives are changed."
The recruited volunteers will undergo training with MissionAssist on the keyboarding skills necessary to transcribe the Bible in languages they are unfamiliar with. One such volunteer is Christine Reynolds, who is currently translating the Psalms into an endangered language spoken by only 7,000 people in Nova Scotia called Micmac. She divulged, "I have to use keys I've never been near before. Some letters require four keystrokes. It's very satisfying because you're enabling someone to get access to the Bible. You're also helping to save an endangered language - the world goes wild about endangered species, but we forget that our own languages and cultures are disappearing."
The Bible Society's CEO Paul Williams noted the importance of the volunteers' work and the motivation behind why they have undertaken this ambitious project.
"We want to make them available as widely as possible so more and more people can read the Bible in their heart language. We're delighted to be working with other Bible Societies and translation agencies to make this happen. Keyboarding volunteers have a vital role to play in making God's word accessible today."
