Christians in Southeast Asia Able to Read Gospel in Native Tongue for First Time in 128 Years

For the first time in 128 years, Christians in Southeast Asia are able to read the New Testament in their own language thanks to the tireless work of Wycliffe Associates (WA).

According to a report shared on the Wycliffe Associates, an organzation that accelerates Bible translation around the world by empowering national translators and equippingthe local church, nearly two centuries ago, missionaries came to Southeast Asia with the gospel. At the time, there was no translation of the Scriptures available, so they had to study God’s Word in a foreign language.

“Miraculously, they held onto their faith through hardship and persecution. God’s church in this remote region survived,” reads the report.

However, through the Wycliffe Associates‘ Mobilized Assistance Supporting Translation program, a pioneering method that enables mother-tongue translators to translate the Bible in an unprecedented time, the New Testament has now been translated, and translators plan to complete the Old Testament by the end of 2016. The Southeast Asia language group was one of 14 people groups in the world, representing 17 million people, who have never read the Bible in their own language. ….  Read More