Bible Translation - The Seed Company

Bible Translation
Unique By
Design
ANNUAL REPORT
[2013]
In this crucial time, every Bible translation
project is designed to meet the distinct and
urgent needs of each people group,
including those living in extremely difficult
and often dangerous regions.
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Dear Partners,
We are in a time like never before. The momentum … the acceleration …
the possibilities for this generation are as unique as the people groups
we serve.
colleagues expand their capacity for Bible translation is primary.
And, discovering ways to deepen the partnership experience for you,
our partner, is vital.
This Annual Report contains firsthand accounts of people receiving the
light of God’s Word in their language for the first time. Prepare to be
encouraged as you thumb through these pages.
As 2013 draws to a close, we have 1,000 beautiful and unique reasons
to celebrate. Thanks to partnerships in 1,000 Bible translation projects,
1.3 billion people have access to Scripture in their heart languages!
In this crucial time, each people group deserves its own unique approach
and strategy for Bible translation. This should not surprise us. Look at the
snowflake. The fingerprint. The uniqueness of DNA. Every creation of God
is complex and unique by nature. No widgets, no lookalikes.
Yet we still wake up every morning knowing millions of people will pass
into eternity without access to Scripture in their heart language. Our
question is this:
That’s why we identify the most urgent Scripture needs of each people
group. We take into account the culture, geographical location, spiritual
climate and church presence. Then, in partnership, we design a plan to
bring God’s Word to the people through the most effective media to make
rapid and lasting impact.
Together, through unique partnerships, inspired strategies and today’s
innovations, we are bringing God’s Word to every nation, tribe, people and
language — in this generation. Together, we are stretching out our arms
and embracing the unique peoples of the Earth, knowing that God’s Word
changes everything!
Peter Horree / Alamy
This unique-by-design approach is working.
By God’s grace, we have seen more than a 300 percent increase in Bible
translation in the past decade alone. Hundreds of millions of lives are being
transformed by God’s Word. At the pace He is leading, we envision this
same scale of growth in the next decade.
Our leadership and board have worked prayerfully to develop a 10-year
strategy that is aggressive, expansive and synergetic. Helping national
Why should they have to wait? This is the passion that drives us every day.
Till He Comes,
Roy L. Peterson
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Together, through unique partnerships, inspired
strategies and today’s innovations, we are
bringing God’s Word to every nation, tribe,
people and language — in this generation.
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Unique
[PARTNERSHIPS ]
Around His Word Are Powerful
The most effective way to bring God’s Word to each people group at the point of their
need is through vital local partnerships.
During fiscal year 2013, in an effort to see God’s Word impacting 647 people groups, we linked arms
with 792 field partners in 82 countries on six continents.
As significant as those numbers are, this is about something more. It’s about bringing Jesus into the
neighborhoods through His Word. It’s about Scripture that speaks to specific needs of unique people
groups. And that takes many different types of partnerships on the field and beyond.
» Prayer partners pave the way spiritually.
» Investors undergird local translation teams financially.
» Ministries like Faith Comes By Hearing bring Scripture to life for oral cultures.
» Translation organizations like the United Bible Societies and linguistic
specialists like SIL provide training for local translators.
» Churches — here and there — become involved on many levels.
Unique partnerships. The key to impact, acceleration and strategy. Our partners make it possible
for each and every people group to receive special treatment: a rapid-impact Bible translation
plan that will bring Jesus right into their neighborhood. From our beginning in 1993 through the
end of FY2013, these partnerships have made God’s Word available in the heart languages of
1.3 billion people.
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Open-Handed Partners Make Bible Translation Possible
Bible translation would not be possible without partners who give — partners of all ages
and from all walks of life.
“Bible translation is one investment that has an eternal shelf life,” one partner said. “There
is no downside.”
Major investors make long-range strategic planning possible. They may provide start-up
capital for new Bible translation projects. Others may support translation teams or national
consultants-in-training.
Young families, universities, churches and other organizations leverage monthly sponsorships
to support translation teams in fun and innovative ways. Even kids are jumping onboard.
Through the Vacation Bible School program, children sponsored Bible verses to help the
Bwaidoka people of Papua New Guinea translate the New Testament into their language.
In FY2013, because knees were bowed and hands open, 567 Bible translation projects were
operating at one time. During FY2013, 80 unique language translation projects were completed.
Our partnerships, with God’s guidance, make this scale of operation possible.
FY2013 Languages in Bible Translation by Area
Countries
Africa
Americas
Asia
Eurasia
Pacific
Completed FY13
TOTAL
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Total Languages
265
35
169
17
81
80
647
“The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.” — James 5:16
During FY2013 we saw God’s Word impact
people groups in
countries; we linked arms
with
field partners around the world.
647
792
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Partners Who Bow Their Knees Pave the Way
P R AY E R — for each translation project and people group — is crucial to the success
of translation efforts.
Two years ago, 64 percent of Seed Company projects lacked prayer partners. Today,
only 8 percent of existing projects still need prayer partners. In addition, prayer partners
will be needed for more than 100 new translation projects in 2014!
We’ve discovered effective prayer is all about making unique connections.
As congregations, individuals and prayer networks make heart connections with specific
translation teams and people groups, raised voices and bowed knees pave the way for
transformation through God’s Word.
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Different people groups have
different needs. That’s why
individualized Bible translation
strategies are most effective. Oral
Bible Storytelling, the “JESUS” film,
and Sign Languages for the Deaf
are three unique strategies that
are gaining momentum. Whether
told in a listening group, viewed
on screen or signed to a friend,
translated Scripture makes God’s
Word come alive for people in their
heart languages, and lives are transformed more rapidly than ever.
Unique
[STRAT EG I ES ]...
Increase Interest, Immediate
Use & Impact
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Oral Bible Storytelling (OBS)
(As of September 30, 2013)
Active Languages —
103
New OBS Projects in FY2013 —
Potential Population
Reached by All OBS —
Around the World, Oral Bible Storytelling Makes Sense
45
633.8 million
“Bible storytelling
Of the people groups still waiting for even one verse of Scripture in their language, approximately 60-70 percent are oral cultures.
in oral cultures is
Around the world, oral Bible storytellers are taking God’s Word into their villages. Listening
groups spring up as they share dramatic presentations of Scripture. Church plants often
result and lead to further Bible translation for discipleship.
the quickest path to
“Bible storytelling in oral cultures is the quickest path to Scripture engagement and personal
impact,” said Sineina Gela, of the Bible Translation Association of Papua New Guinea (PNG),
and lead trainer for Oral Bible Storytelling in PNG. Sineina should know. The remote islands
of PNG are home to people speaking 830 unique languages! Of these, 231 are without even
one verse of Scripture.
and personal impact.”
Scripture engagement
— Sineina Gela
The gap is closing as translators use Oral Bible Storytelling to draw people closer to God.
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Jesus comes right into the neighborhood
when the popular “JESUS” film is shown in
the heart language of a people group.
In Many Regions, the “JESUS” Film Opens the Door
Jesus comes right into the neighborhood when the popular “JESUS” film is shown in
the heart language of a people group. Translation of the Gospel of Luke, from which the
film is scripted, may be the first project for mother tongue translators.
People are captivated as they watch the film in their own language. They say, “Jesus
speaks my language! He is one of us.”
Millions become Christ-followers through this powerful presentation. They hunger to
know more about His Word … which leads to the next translation project.
In FY2013, more than 10 percent of Seed Company Bible translation projects were Luke
Partnerships, in which the Gospel is translated, and from that a script is written and
recorded by The JESUS Film Project.
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“The message has gone throughout the earth, and the words to all the world.” — Romans 10:18
In India, Kenya & Paraguay … Sign Language
Means the Deaf Are Hearing
Imagine just for a moment that you can’t hear — not the birdsong in the morning, not the
laugh of a child in a swing, or the rain-drum on a porch. Now imagine that the only thing
you know about God is what someone else communicates to you through Sign Language
— and they don’t have Scripture in the language you understand.
That’s the reality for millions of Deaf people around the world. Sign Language differs from
country to country, or even region to region. This artistic form of communicating is as
unique as people themselves.
In Kenya, India and Paraguay, the Deaf are “hearing” God’s Word in their heart languages,
thanks to Seed Company partners.
God’s Word is coming to people groups
more rapidly through audio/video, the Web,
mobile devices and social media.
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Bible translation
brings life transfo
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that meets the need
formation faster.
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Meeting specific needs of a
changing world requires thinking
outside the box. Innovations
such as Video/Audio Strategy
for Translation (VAST), Crowdsourcing, and leading-edge mobile
technology are yielding surprising
results for Bible translation and
Scripture use.
Unique
[I NNOVATIONS]
Good News Travels Fast
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“For the word of the LORD holds true, and we can trust everything he does.” — Psalm 33:4
VAST Takes Off
VAST Results for Oral People Groups
Oral cultures are benefiting from Video/Audio Strategy for Translation (VAST) — an
innovative method that speeds up Scripture translation.
Here’s how VAST works. By translating the “JESUS” film orally into their mother tongue
from the film recorded in a common language, the completion time for the entire Luke
Partnership, including the translation of the Gospel and the production of the film, is
reduced from 3 years to 18 months.
The potential of the VAST method was realized by the FY2012 pilot and confirmed by six
VAST language projects in FY2013: one ongoing and four new in India, and one new in Brazil.
The VAST pilot was successful
in FY2012. By the end of FY2013,
VAST was being employed in
six langauge projects.
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INDIA — 4 new
BRAZ I L — 1 new
INDIA — ongoing
Total Population
—
1,934,000
Four more are strategically planned for 2014.
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With 39 percent of
the world’s population
connected to the Internet,
the potential for Web-based,
crowdsourced Bible
translation is high.
Crowdsourcing Draws A Crowd
Crowdsourcing leverages the knowledge and skills of many people. Earlier, the CrowdSeed
pilot in India stimulated local ownership of mother tongue Scripture during the translation
process. Barriers disappeared as men, women, young, old, upper and lower castes gathered
together around computer workstations.
TM
In FY2013, an innovative project in a geopolitically sensitive Eurasian country began,
using crowdsourcing to translate audio Scriptures. The method adds an additional level of
security for local participants, enabling work in a previously unreachable people group.
SIL, the United Bible Societies and The Seed Company also collaborated to develop a Webbased tool for broader participation in translation checking.
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Nearly
7,000 LANGUAGES are spoken on EARTH. Fewer than
“Pray that the Lord’s message will spread rapidly and be honored wherever it goes, just as when it came to you.” — 2 Thessalonians 3:1
God’s Word Going Mobile
Today, a higher percentage of people in Africa and Asia own mobile phones than in either
the U.S. or Europe. The world is going mobile, and developing nations are leading out.
As smartphone use increases, so do the options for Scripture distribution through SD cards
(for broadcast), Internet data plans, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth (wireless phone-to-phone transfer).
Now audio and digitally formatted heart language Scriptures are available for smartphone
use. People can plug in their earphones and listen to God’s Word without drawing suspicion in regions where Christians suffer persecution.
Digitally formatted Scriptures are effective evangelistic and discipleship tools that are
spreading rapidly across the world.
600 have the WHOLE BIBLE in their HEART LANGUAGE.
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Global Need for
BIBLE Translation
6,900
2,000
Languages spoken on Earth
Languages with translation
in progress
1,900
Languages with need to
begin translation
2 Billion
People living in Bible poverty
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Real stories of life transformation demonstrate
how God’s Word changes everything.
[ Partnership ]
Prayer Partners Here Make
Prayer Possible There
“At the Bible translation workshop, I was hit hard
that I couldn’t even talk to God in my own language.
I went home and told leaders that if we don’t
encourage people to pray to God and know His
Word in our own language, the Abuten people will
be lost as a people.
“At a recent church service, we dramatized the
history of how the Gospel came to the Abuten.
Children danced. We experienced God in a whole
new way by worshiping Him in our own language.
Then we took communion. ‘This was wonderful!’
an elder said. ‘Thank you for the experience of
receiving communion in our language! It made
me realize I can pray in our language. I had never
done that before!’”
— Abuten pastor/translator, Southeast Asia
[ S t r a t e g y ] —Oral Bible Storytelling
The Power of the Story
As a 12-year-old boy sat with a group and listened
to a Bible storyteller, his mother barged through.
“I’ve been searching for you all morning,” she said.
“Where have you been?”
“Ma,” he said, “I’ve been listening to this great
story, and I want to tell it to you.”
Word for word, the boy retold the story. That
day, mother and son had an opportunity to know
Jesus Christ.
In oral cultures, tell a story to a few folks, and it goes
viral — 50 people will hear it in a very short time!
[ I n n o v a t i o n ] —CrowdSeed
An Indirect Route to an
Eternal Destination
“We think CrowdSeed is a good way to share
the Gospel with people who do not want to
hear about Jesus directly; but when they come
thinking that they are going to discuss about
their heart language, they read the Word of
God and then ask pastors about what they do
not understand.”
— Pastor in India
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[ The Seed Company ]
F I N A N C I A L S
Translation
Expenses
81%
Administrative
Expenses
19%
Eighty-one percent of all gifts to Seed Company translation projects
are used for translation expenses, including 6 percent to start new,
or sustain existing translation projects.
Contribution Income
[ in millions ]
21.4
19.2
17.7
14.7
13.6
9.9
7.7
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009
2008
2007
2006
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God Provides, by His Grace
Because of His great love, God is working in mighty ways to get His Word into
the hands and hearts of people around the world. Thanks to the generosity of our
partners, we saw an incredible 11.5 percent increase in contributions from FY2012
to FY2013. The leap from $19.2M in 2012 to $21.4M in 2013 exceeded expectations
and enabled us to start translation in 88 new languages.
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THE WYCLIFFE SEED COMPANY, INC.
STATEMENT OF ACTIVITIES
“Bible translation
is one investment
that has an eternal
shelf life. There is
no downside.”
For the Year Ended September 30, 2013
With Comparative Totals for the Year Ended September 30, 2012
Unrestricted
Temporarily
Restricted
2013
2012
SUPPORT AND REVENUE
Contributions
$
Gift in kind contributions
4,115,280 $
15,192,450 $
19,307,730 $ 17,584,924
-0
456,000
456,000
-0
29,551
1,592,969
1,622,520
1,648,189
Member support
4,321,519
-0
4,321,519
4,046,936
Investment income
663,187
-0
663,187
650,313
38,255
-0
38,255
41,620
3,037,840
(3,037,840)
-0
-0
3,087,219
(3,087,219)
-0
-0
—Gary K., investor
Support from affiliates
WBT contributions
Other
Net assets released from restrictions:
Field operations assessments
Administrative assessments
(19% administrative & fundraising)
Satisfaction of program restrictions
TOTAL SUPPORT AND REVENUE
EXPENSES
Program services – Bible translation
General & administrative services
10,923,566
(10,923,566)
-0
-0
26,216,417
192,794
26,409,211
23,971,982
19,463,364
-0
19,463,364
16,782,053
1,942,303
-0
1,942,303
1,906,814
4,863,986
-0
4,863,986
5,012,141
26,269,653
-0
26,269,653
23,701,008
(53,236)
192,794
139,558
270,974
8,327,642
16,468,302
24,795,944
24,524,970
Fundraising services
(Includes communications, marketing)
TOTAL EXPENSES
CHANGE IN NET ASSETS
Net Assets, Beginning of Year
NET ASSETS, END OF YEAR
$
8,274,406 $ 16,661,096 $ 24,935,502 $ 24,795,944
Note: All financial figures cited in this document for FY2013 are unaudited as of press time. Audited numbers will be available after February 15, 2014
and can be viewed at theseedcompany.org/AR2013.
The Seed Company is a member
of the Evangelical Council for Financial
Accountability (ECFA) and complies
fully with their rules for Christian
ministries, including an annual
independent financial audit.
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[ The Seed Company ]
L E A D E R S H I P
Roy L. Peterson
Dal Anderson
President/CEO
Chief Operating Officer
[ The Seed Company ]
BOARD
Rick Britton [ 2009 - present ]
Chairman, Board of Directors
President,
Digital Monitoring Products
Joyce Williams [ 2010 - present ]
Vice Chairwoman
Board Member,
Cornerstone Trust
J. Todd Peterson [ 2005 - present ]
Chairman Emeritus
Chairman of the Board,
Pro Athletes Outreach
Larry Jones
Henry Huang
Scott Anderson
David Beroth
Senior Vice President
of Bible Translation
Senior Vice President
of Field Operations
Senior Vice President
of Partner Integration
Chief Financial
Officer
OF
DIRECTORS
Freddy Boswell [ 2008 - present ]
Jeff Johns [ 2009 - present ]
Executive Director,
SIL International
Vice President,
National Christian Foundation
Samuel E. Chiang [ 2011 - present ]
Jason S. Baker [ 2011 - present ]
Executive Director,
International Orality Network
Principal/Owner,
Baker Katz LLC
Bob Creson [ 2003 - present ]
President,
Wycliffe Bible Translators USA
Michael Stoltzfus [ 2007 - present ]
Bill Williams [ 2008 - present ]
President/CEO,
Dynamic Aviation
CEO,
National Christian Foundation
Jeffrey Brown [ 2005 - present ]
Lisa Cummins [ 2008 - present ]
Corporate Secretary
Corporate Private
Practice Attorney
President,
Urban Strategies LLC
Growth Projected at 300% in Next 10 Years
This has been a year of vision casting! At the Lord’s direction,
our leadership and board have worked tirelessly to develop a
comprehensive strategy for the next decade, with a projected
growth rate of 300 percent.
As FY2013 closes, Todd Peterson completes his ninth year
on the board, serving as chairman for the last three. We
appreciate his energetic, visionary leadership during a period
of record growth.
As we step into 2014, we welcome Rick Britton as chairman
and Joyce Williams as vice chairwoman. Their proven wisdom
and counsel will help guide us in the years ahead.
— Roy Peterson
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Our Core Values
» Honoring God in all we do.
» Partnering effectively.
» Managing for quality results.
» Valuing individuals & relationships.
» Encouraging creativity & innovation.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture
is from the New Living Translation.
“The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone.” — John 1:4
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“You are my refuge and my shield;
your word is my source of hope.”
— Psalm 119:114
God’s Word For Every Language— In This Generation
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Arlington, TX 76015
Toll free 877-593-7333
theseedcompany.org