Print On Demand Equipment is “Missing Link” for Bible Translation Teams Facing Intense Persecution

(Orlando, Florida, USA)—Wycliffe Associates, an international organization that empowers mother-tongue Bible translators and partners with local churches in the advancement of Bible translation, is using technology to protect and empower Bible translators working in regions of intense persecution for Christians.

By using high-capacity, Print On Demand equipment, Bible translators can quickly print the Scriptures from a flash drive, whether a few or many books, and then distribute them. Wycliffe Associates also trains workers to operate and maintain the equipment once it’s installed.

“This is the missing link for national Bible translation teams who have been working tirelessly, risking their very lives, translating God’s Word in some of the most difficult and dangerous places on earth, places where Christianity is against the law, and national Bible translators have had to work in secret,” said Bruce Smith, President and CEO of Wycliffe Associates.

Wycliffe Associates plans to deliver high-capacity, Print On Demand equipment to national Bible translators for hundreds of language groups, which will make it possible to discreetly produce thousands of copies of the Scriptures.

“They want to be able to read, study, and absorb the Word themselves, in the safety of their own homes, or share the Scriptures quietly, discreetly, with those they love,” Smith said.

The Print On Demand units are critical tools once a Bible translation is completed. With over 1,350 translations currently in progress using the MAST (Mobilized Assistance Supporting Translation) translation method, Bible translators will need a way to print and distribute the Scriptures once they have finished the translation process.

MAST accelerates the Bible translation process as mother-tongue translators work collaboratively to translate the Scriptures into their language. When Wycliffe Associates first piloted a MAST program in 2014, a team of 13 translators working 12-hour days drafted 48 percent of the New Testament in two weeks.

Today, 318 New Testaments have been completed using MAST.

“In some places where translation is already complete, we’ve seen how God moves when we provide Print On Demand units,” said Smith. “Response was so great—hunger for the truth of the Word was so strong—that we quickly needed to print not just a few copies, but thousands of copies of the Scriptures.”

The cost for each Print On Demand unit, installed, is $25,000. Wycliffe Associates is raising funds to respond to three new requests for units.

About Wycliffe Associates

One of the world’s leading Bible translation organizations, Wycliffe Associates was organized in 1967 by friends of Bible translators to accelerate the work of Bible translation. Wycliffe Associates empowers national Bible translators to provide God’s Word in their own language, partners with the local church to direct and guard translation work, harnessing their passion and desire for God’s Word, and engages people from all around the world to provide resources, technology, training, and support for Bible translation.

Because millions of people around the world still wait to have the Scriptures in the language of their hearts, Wycliffe Associates is working as quickly as it can to see every verse of God’s Word translated into every tongue to speak to every heart. Wycliffe Associates is directly involved with speeding Bible translation by providing technology, training, resources, logistics, networking, expertise, volunteers, discipleship, church planting, and support. Wycliffe Associates staff and volunteers are currently accelerating Bible translations in 108 countries. For more information, please see www.wycliffeassociates.org.

# # #