Bible Translation Work in Chad Results in Muslim Converts
The unconventional approach taken by unfoldingWord uses unbelieving translators.
A recent Bible translation project in the African country of Chad has resulted in the conversion of Muslims to Christianity, reported Christianity Today.
UnfoldingWord partnered with a church growth project—Projet Croissance des Eglises au Tchad or PCET—in Chad to translate the Bible into the country’s minority languages.
“God brought this together in a way that created an open door that neither one of us really expected would be as effective as it was,” said unfoldingWord’s field operations manager Eric Steggerda. “What we learned was that this is actually a very effective way to bridge a gap with Muslims. Bible stories are understandable.”
PCET recruited translators through informational workshops with clear explanations that the materials were Christian. Muslims attended, interested in the pay.
But the Chadian people also thought the project affirmed the value and significance of their native languages, many of which aren’t represented in written works.
“[A]nything in the mother tongue resonates in the heart better than other languages, so they’re very receptive to the idea of the Bible stories, for example, translated into their mother tongue,” he added. It also helps overcome the perception that Christianity is just for Westerners.
UnfoldingWord generally starts with about 50 Bible stories to familiarize translators with Biblical content before they translate scripture passages.
The stories captivated the attention of some of the Muslim translators. Although some are similar to those in the Koran, others differ in significant ways and raised questions for the Muslim translators who were eager to discuss them, Steggerda said.
Two of the Muslim translators converted to Christianity through the translation process. Others have turned to Christ as well, including some Muslim leaders.
In one village, a PCET team prayed for the village chief who was very ill. He recovered and committed his life to Christ, urging his village to listen to and consider the team’s message.
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In another community, PCET presented audio portions of the translation and the local Christian missionary saw conversions among the community members and performed 10 baptisms not long after.
“People are getting enthusiastic about hearing the gospel of Christ for the first time in their own language,” Steggerda said.
The translation project began in 2018 but was interrupted by civil unrest in the country, including the assassination of the country’s president in 2021.
UnfoldingWord argues the accuracy of the Biblical translations can be achieved while using non-believing natives, who learn from the scriptures as they carry out the work.
Translators start with easier Bible stories to learn the basics, then receive additional training and direction as they move to key passages and eventually entire books of the Bible. Translations endure multiple checks—first by other team members, then by the team as a whole, and finally by pastors who check for theological errors.
UnfoldingWord says this method, along with the traditional method of experts learning a language and completing a translation, both have a place in the Kingdom work.
“God has blessed and needs to continue to bless [the established model], because we can’t finish this without them finishing what they started,” said unfoldingWord’s president David Reeves. “What the emerging model is doing is going into places that are some of the hardest left on the planet and mobilizing a much bigger workforce to be able to accomplish this [translation work].”
UnfoldingWord has four stars and an “A” transparency grade in the MinistryWatch database, and a donor confidence score of 100, meaning donors can “give with confidence.”
Main photo: Photo by Avel Chuklanov / Unsplash / Creative Commons
