BTF Distinctives

Why Bible Translation?

Praise God for the work He has done in bringing His Word to many language-groups in the world!

However, there is much work to do:

• More than 6,500 languages still lack a complete translation of the Bible

• Many existing translations need revision

• Many language-groups have young Christians and young churches, and lack God’s Word in the language they know best

• Churches around the world still need missionaries to help equip them in both translating and ministering God’s Word.

Churches need God’s Word in the language they know best so they can fear, love, worship, obey and glorify God by submitting to His Word in their worship, life, and ministry together.

God commands His people to gather as local congregations (Heb 10.25) and minister His Word to one another. He commands congregations to covenant with one another: that they will follow the Lord together and fellowship (i.e. partner!) under the ministry of His Word by having it publicly read, preached, taught, prayed, sung, and seen (in the ordinances).

The public ministry of the Word in the gathering also serves to equip believers in their ministry to one another, and their ministry to unbelievers in their community, their neighboring communities, and the world.

Why Bible Translation Fellowship?

At BTF, we have several distinctives.

We believe that God’s Word should be translated primarily for the church, not the unbeliever.

We believe that God’s Word should be translated into every language where there is a local church that needs God’s Word in their language. The determination to translate Scripture is not ultimately the decision of mission agencies nor linguistic surveys, it is the decision of local churches. Wherever God’s people are, they need to gather into local congregations and have God’s Word in the language they know and use.

We equip church leaders in translating Scripture, so that churches are established and strengthened.

We understand the church’s mission to be the Great Commission: to make disciples by planting and strengthening local congregations (Matt 28.18-20; Acts 13-20).

The end goal in missions is not translations; the end goal is healthy local churches that have and minister Scripture.

We labor so that Bible translation is interwoven into the church’s work of planting and strengthening churches.

We want to see the next generation of church leaders, pastors, missionaries, and theologians bring God’s Word into every language, and then minister that Word in their language.