In the Beginning

By God’s blessing, I was born in a Christian home and raised in a church that stressed faithful reading, studying, and application of the Bible. My home congregation, Stillwater Reformed Presbyterian Church, offered many opportunities to learn the Bible and tools for understanding such as the Westminster Confession and Shorter Catechism. I realized early on that God’s love and salvation through Christ alone was for me personally, not as part of my family and not as a church attendee, but for me as a sinner in need of redemption.

As I approached middle school and high school, I was given more occasions to serve in church such as leading the singing in worship and hosting a “Missionary Minute” for the younger children before Sunday School. For this mission focus, I was given the book From Akebu to Zapotec: A Book of Bibleless Peoples which gives brief introductions to people groups around the world that do not have the Bible in their language. I would tell the children about the people groups and sometimes play a recording of the language or share something interesting about the culture. As time went on and I got further into the alphabet, the weight began to grow. Here were people after people who did not have the gospel. Here were those who would never know the name of Christ. As I began to help with door-to-door evangelism in the summers, this fact impressed itself on me. I did not talk to a single person that summer who had not known the name Jesus Christ. Many, most even, did not truly know who He is, but they had heard of them. In this one book were 26 people groups that had no access to God’s word in their heart language.

Romans 10 hits home here.

“But if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, ‘Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.’ For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For ‘whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’ How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent?

“As it is written: ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!’” Romans 10: 9-15

Combine these convictions with a love of language, culture, and people and I decided to pursue Bible translation.