The Bible says that faith comes from hearing the Word of God (Romans 10:17). The purpose of the Word of God is to raise up and equip disciples across the nations (2 Timothy 3:16-17; Matthew 28:19-20). 

Where the Word of God has gone and been lived out, the result has been salvation, revival, discipleship, and transformation of individuals and whole societies. This is the goal of Ending Bible Poverty Now. This is the goal of the BTS!

There are more than 1,200 languages groups across the earth who have never had even 1 passage of the Bible in their mother tongue. This represents over 100 million people without access to God's Word. Most of these people are from unreached and unengaged people groups. The Shepherd that leaves the 99 to find the 1 that is lost doesn’t want them to have to wait any longer. He wants ALL language groups to have access to His Word and the knowledge of Him! (Revelation 7:9). It is key to seeing the Great Commission fulfilled.  

Why translate the Bible orally? Oral communication is the primary, and often sole, form of communication for roughly 80% of people worldwide. Being an oral learner or from an oral culture is not necessarily an issue of illiteracy. It is a way people perceive the world and interact with information. There are also many languages with no Bible translation that do not actually have a written language, only a spoken one. Oral transmission of the Gospel and Scripture is essential for oral learners and has the benefit of bypassing hurdles where illiteracy is present.  

The Bible Translation Seminar will equip you to find and serve OMT and OBT Bible translators. It will prepare you to serve in various roles required for a successful Bible translation project. Greater understanding of the Word of God and the diversity of cultures where the Bible has yet to go will be gleaned. You will also gain understanding of oral cultures, the importance of language, the impact of the Bible on societies, how to facilitate a Bible translation project and various Bible translation methods. The training is very hands-on and does not require previous degrees or specialisations.  

A primary focus of the course is to train students to pioneer new projects among language groups with no Scripture access and to meet the request from many language groups requesting oral Bible translation. You are encouraged to come to the BTS with a team, or prepared to build or join a team, and begin projects once the course is completed.   

Important information about the BTS: 

-Students should come to the BTS with a proposed project for at least one specific language group (can be more than one language group) or a willingness to take on one of the language groups already requesting Bible translation. 

-Upon application, a request will be sent for information regarding the intended project you would be coming to the course with and which outreach option (listed below) you are interested in. 

Important Outreach Information: 

-Outreach participation is required for successful completion of the course and/or UofN recognition.  

-Outreach dates are subject to change. Please contact us so we can keep you updated. 

Outreach Options: 

-3-4 week Bible Translation Project in the Kimberley, Western Australia or Northern Territory (dates, location & costs to be confirmed, dependent on translators) 

-3-4 week placement with an existing oral Bible translation project (details to come) 

Topics include: 

Ending Bible Poverty Now and YWAM Values 

Intercession and Pioneering 

Language and Cross-Cultural Missions 

Oral Cultures and Storytelling 

Bible Translation Principles 

Bible translation Processes 

Bible study and Methods of Internalizing Scripture 

Equipment & Recording Tools 

Servant Leadership 

OMT Bible Translation Projects 

OBT Workshops 

Unity and Partnership 

Tairuma Translator Testimony from Papua New Guinea: 

"I [said] the first draft of Ruth in church...as soon as [they heard] the book of Ruth in Tairuma, their eyes popped open, the elderly people leaned forward, and you could see tears trickling down their faces because as long as they can remember, they have been hearing Scripture and stories from the Bible in someone else's language, but never, ever in their own Tairuma language. ...One day [my people] will acknowledge God in heaven and have relationship with him and not see him as a God that is so foreign. He is our Tairuma Christ and he is coming to us as a Tairuma Christ. He knows our sufferings, not as an outsider, but as a tribesman and as a clansman."  

(Bible Translation Agencies, PNG - Mandang Province)