call2all.connect – call2all

Finish Line #2 – The Bible in Every Language

If you’re reading this post you are among the 1/3 of the world’s population who communicates through the written word. And unless this is a translated version you’re also in an even smaller group that considers English their heart language– the language that they know well enough to truly connect with the message they’re giving or receiving.

As of today there are approximately 7,000 known languages in the world, yet only 2,883 have a translated version of the bible. Active projects lead by Organizations like Wycliffe and the Seed Company have accelerated the pace of translation, but there are still thousands of languages with no written record of the Bible. How are we to win the world for Christ when there are still 1.3 Billion people in the world without access to the full bible in their first language?

And those numbers only reflect the literate, or those individuals for which the written word is easily understood and shared. When Jesus called the disciples to reach the ends of the earth, He meant everyone. Even (or particularly) those who live in cultures who rely on other forms of communication. The way humans share information, express emotion, and tell stories is rich and complex. But so is the Gospel.

Many of the highly relational cultures use stories, chants, songs, dramas and dance to share information. While in the West these modes are seen as artistic expressions or religious rituals, in many cultures they remain a primary (and highly accurate) source of communication and information flow. They often allow for more creativity in storytelling and allow a broader audience to understand the message, not just those who speak the same language.

So even if we successfully translate the bible into every language on earth, we’ll still fall short of the finish line set by Jesus through the Great Commission.

So where do we go in the midst of so great a challenge? For starters, we can help ensure that the bible is translated into every language on earth. While translating the bible into a tribal language is not a task to take on alone, we can help ensure the organizations tackling this challenge have the resources they need. Visit Wycliffe and The Seed Company to see how you can help accelerate their work.

But there are other ways to help ensure the bible is available to everyone. You can join a missions trip and take the Gospel to the unreached through drama, song, and other forms of expression. And there is a community of people connected to the call2all movement who share your passion and can help you make a difference in your community and around the world.

The Bible for Everyone is one of the five Finish Lines of the call2all movement— the Finish Lines are a biblical framework that, collectively, define the core elements of the Great Commission. Our role is to help provide tools and resources to equip the Body of Christ to see the Great Commission fulfilled, from identifying the needs to reporting on progress to connecting people to the community and the opportunities that best fit their passion and skill set.

We are working on several things that we hope will help connect you with the opportunities that best match your passion and calling, including opportunities to help take the bible to those who have yet to hear. Stay tuned to the blog and other call2all channels for more information. And consider this your official invitation to take a leadership role as we help fulfill our calling as followers of Christ.

Finish Line #1 – Reaching the Least, the Last, and the Lost

We can all relate to the feeling of disappointment, even frustration or anger, when someone fails to share important information with us. Maybe it was an event we were never invited to but would have loved to attend. Or maybe it was an important detail that would have changed a decision we made. Whatever the subject, when these omissions are unintentional we may find them relatively easy to forgive. But what happens when we discover that the person withheld this information intentionally? When the offender actually knows the information could help us yet decides not to pass it along, the offense seems somehow unforgivable.

This is the case for the estimated 24 million people in the world whom no one is trying to reach. We as the Body of Christ have the most important message ever told, yet we are either unable or unwilling to share it with these individuals in over 506 Unengaged, Unreached People Groups (UUPG). That’s a staggering number when we think about the importance of the news and the eternal impact of the response.

This is the focus of the first Finish Line— Engaging Every People Group on the planet.

Although the number of people in this population is significant, it doesn’t mean they are easy to reach. There are significant communication, cultural, and logistical challenges to overcome. Not to mention the skills and time required of the people sent to make the connection, often at significant personal risk.

The size and nature of this need demands a highly organized and strategic effort by the collective Body of Christ. This is not something we can rely on a few missionaries to solve, and it’s a task well suited for the call2all movement as we come together to complete the Great Commission.

Engaging Every People Group is one of the five Finish Lines of the call2all movement— the Finish Lines are a biblical framework that, collectively, define the core elements of the Great Commission. Our role is to help provide tools and resources to equip the Body of Christ to see the Great Commission fulfilled, from identifying the needs to reporting on progress to connecting people to the community and the opportunities that best fit their passion and skill set.

Stay tuned for more detail on the progress of the call2all movement as we work with you and others to reach the world with the Gospel. And if you’re ever wondering how important this Finish Line is, think about those who could learn about Jesus a bit too late.

The Finish Lines

The power of God to change lives is undeniable. The story of His interaction with humanity found in the Bible applies across all cultures and generations. The Bible helps us understand the deep things of God that would otherwise be beyond our ability to comprehend. One of the most poignant examples of this is the link between our lives (or more specifically our spiritual walk) and an athletic competition. It works on so many levels, from the role of perseverance to the unpredictable and unavoidable obstacles that are placed in our path. Hebrews calls us to “run with endurance the race that God has set before us”, a race centered around our charge to take the Gospel to the ends of the earth.

Welcome to the new call2all

Call2all exists for a single, hugely important purpose…to see the Great Commission fulfilled. But that unwavering mission needs to evolve and adapt to the cultural context within which we work. This new call2all “preview site” is one of many new and upcoming initiatives we’ve been working on to better equip and empower the Body of Christ, both individually and corporately, to see the Great Commission fulfilled in our lifetime. We believe the Lord has called Christians to come together like never before, and we want to respond in a big way.