The World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) announced that 2020 will be the Year of the Bible for Christians around the world.
Speaking at the Jesus Global Youth Day in Manila, Philippines, Secretary General Bishop Efraim Tendero urged Christians to engage with the Bible every day. He pushes for the translation of the Bible in various languages so many people could have access to the Scriptures, reports Premier.
Properly understood, the Bible points us to the Creator whose Word is true, righteous and endures forever. —Bishop Efraim Tendero, Secretary General of World Evangelical Alliance
“Properly understood, the Bible points us to the Creator whose Word is true, righteous and endures forever,” he said. “We will highlight the importance of the Bible as the enduring foundation for fostering unity, freedom, development and quality of life today and for the years to come.”
The year-long preparation will culminate in the program’s launch at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, DC in September. WEA has partnered with several ministries, including Wycliffe Bible Translators, YWAM, American Bible Society, and Call2All for this initiative.
Translating God’s Word
This summer, Wycliffe Bible Translators started a campaign to translate the Bible in six new languages. Three groups have joined the ministry of translating and spreading God’s Word in Indonesia, South Sudan, and another country in Central Asia. Wycliffe USA hopes to provide a translated Bible to 5 million believers in these countries, reports Mission Network News.
Pixie Christensen from Wycliffe USA shared that the organization is also working in Papua New Guinea and Southeast Asia to train local Christians in translating the Bible. “We’re actually printing an entire New Testament with Genesis, Exodus, Ruth, and Jonah in South Sudan.”
Translating the Bible is vital in a believer’s faith, especially to those who are new to Christianity.
Christensen said a Christian in South Sudan was given a Bible translated in his native language. “This believer said, ‘Now I begin to understand the word of God better. Now I can get the meaning of some of these scriptures very [clearly] and in a better way.”
