Use your gifts to serve
Christian Volunteer Opportunities for Translators
A Christian translator or linguist can serve Christ and neighbour by helping put the Scriptures and vital information into languages that still have neither, through Bible-translation organizations, literacy work, and interpretation for missions and refugees. Hundreds of languages still wait for their first verse, and the skill to bridge them is a rare and precious gift.
Your skill is needed
Thousands of languages still have no Bible, and behind that number are whole peoples who have never read a word of Scripture in the tongue they dream in. Translation is slow, exacting, humble work, and it is one of the purest ways a gifted person can serve. It also opens the door to literacy, dignity, and access for the overlooked.
Where this skill serves
Real organizations devoted to translation and the languages that still lack Scripture include:
- Wycliffe Bible Translators, the best-known Bible-translation organization, which recruits translators, linguists, and support workers for languages that still lack Scripture.
- SIL International, a partner organization focused on linguistic research, literacy, and language development among lesser-known languages.
- The Seed Company, which accelerates Bible translation by partnering with and funding local, national translators.
- Pioneer Bible Translators and Lutheran Bible Translators, additional established organizations engaged in translating the Scriptures for language communities that have none.
These organizations are named as information, not endorsement. The Living Bread is not affiliated with them, and does not post their openings. Missions, terms, statements of faith, and current needs vary, so look into each one directly for yourself before you commit.
How to begin
Start small and start near. Tell your own church what you can do and ask where the need is; most fellowships are quietly desperate for skilled hands and rarely think to ask. From there you can widen out to a wider work. When you are ready, these places on The Living Bread will help you take the next honest step.
Come and see
Before your work is a skill it is a gift, and gifts have a Giver. Whatever your trade, the same Christ who filled craftsmen with his Spirit still delights to use ordinary hands, and he is gentle with everyone who comes to him honestly. If you have never really met him, you can begin today. It costs you nothing but a little quiet and an open heart.
Read the Gospel of JohnWhy Jesus?Ask for prayerJesus Christ is Lord.
Frequently asked questions
- How can a translator or linguist serve Christian missions?
- Chiefly through Bible-translation organizations such as Wycliffe, SIL, The Seed Company, and Pioneer Bible Translators, and through literacy work and interpretation for missions and refugee ministries. These are named as information, not endorsement.
- Do you have to be a linguist to help with Bible translation?
- Not always. Translation organizations need linguists and mother-tongue translators, but also support roles in literacy, technology, media, and administration. Ask each organization what they currently need.
- How many languages still need the Bible?
- Bible-translation organizations report that many hundreds of languages still have no Scripture and thousands more have only portions, which is why skilled translators remain in high demand.