SPRINGDALE — Mark Thrash is an information technology specialist, not a linguist or translator. Yet he knows how to speak the language that matters - the language of the heart.

“I’m a computer geek.

But I speak human,” said Thrash, keynote speaker Monday during the Wycliffe Associates banquet at the Springdale Holiday Inn.

Thrash spent a couple of years as a missionary in Malaysia, managing computer operations for the Summer Institute of Linguistics. The institute is a sister organization to Wycliffe Bible Translators, a nonprofit group dedicated to making Bible translations in every living language.

Thrash shared his experiences with 85 banquet guests. Some were longtime supporters of the work Wycliffe does.

Others were hearing about it for the first time - some with an eye toward possibly volunteering with the interdenominational organization.

“I love my Bible,” said April Sann of Fayetteville.

“To think that there are people out there that are hungry for it makes me want to be part.”

Wycliffe has played a part in translating Bibles or New Testaments in 740 languages, reaching some 82 million people, according to its Web site. Related programs in community development, literacy and church partnership help pave the way.

Yet the job is far from done. Of the nearly 7,000 language groups in the world, about 2,400 remain without a Bible in their native tongue. Thrash unfurled a list printed on computer paper that could stretch from one end of the room to the other, he said.

“These are not just languages - these are people. ... Our job is to invite them (into the gospel message).” The Great Commission

The Wycliffe mission began with a summer camp in Sulphur Springs in 1934.

Former Bible salesman Cameron Townsend had tried to sell Spanish Bibles in Guatemala, only to learn that most of the natives didn’t understand Spanish. Neither did they have a written form of their own language.

Townsend abandoned efforts to sell Bibles and began living among the Cakchiquel, learning their spoken language and creating an alphabet for it. Within 10 years, he had translated the New Testament.

He returned to the United States and, with the help of several professors at John Brown University, began to train summer students to translate Bibles into other languages. He named the camp for John Wycliffe, who translated the Bible into Middle English in 1382.

Today, there are 95 translation projects under way in 48 countries, said Noel Davis, area director for Wycliffe Associates, a support organization for Wycliffe Bible Translators.

Wycliffe Associates hosts banquets in 150 cities nationwide to raise prayer support, money and volunteers.

“The Great Commission isn’t just a suggestion - it’s a command by our lord and savior Jesus Christ,” Davis told banquet guests.

“He wants us to give our time, our talents and our treasure.”

There are myriad ways to fit in, he said. Prayer is the most important place to start. There are also volunteer opportunities to fit a wide range of schedules and skills. Some 240 job descriptions detail the language-related and support work needed.

Local banquet coordinator Pat Hay and her husband, Roger, have been supporting Wycliffe work for nearly 20 years. Their daughter and son-in-law spent years in Burkino Faso, translating the Bible there.

Like all Wycliffe translators, they’re responsible for raising the money to pay their expenses. The Hays and fellow church members in Bella Vista are part of that team. Pat Hay also coordinates a quarterly prayer meeting to pray for Wycliffe missionaries worldwide.

“You have a real partnership when you’re contributing or praying,” she said. “They consider their prayer partners as important as financial support.”

Vision 2025

In 1999, Wycliffe did a self-review that showed there were more than 3,000 languages in the world that still had no Bible in their native tongue. At the current rate of translation, it would take 150 years to reach them all.

That was just too long, Davis said. Wycliffe leaders challenged the body of Christ to accelerate the pace. Its Vision 2025 calls for a Bible translation to be under way in every tongue on the planet by 2025.

Translation projects have multiplied since then.

Wycliffe administrators credit God. Other factors include a cluster approach, which encourages teams of translators to work on similar languages at one time, and collaboration with other missionary organizations. More native speakers also are getting involved.

Another major factor is computer technology, which has decreased the average time of Bible translation from 30 to 40 years to 12, Thrash said. Wycliffe estimates that, at the current rate of progress, it is on track to meet its goals by 2038.

Several other organizations also sponsor Bible translation, but Wycliffe is by far the largest, Davis said.

A promotional film shown at the banquet featured an African man who said he’d heard the Christian message, but it hadn’t touched his heart until he read it in his mother tongue.

“If I understand the Bible in my language, it will change my life,” he said.

Religion, Pages 9 on 11/07/2009

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