An Overview of our Ministry with Pioneer Bible Translators
Happy New Year! We are excited about all that the Lord is doing in our ministry with Pioneer Bible Translators. Some of you are new to our ministry updates, while others have been with us for many years. We thought this would be a good opportunity to bring all of you up to date with a brief summary of our ministry.
After realizing that the Lord was calling him to use his Computer Science background as a missionary, Jeff joined Pioneer Bible Translators in 1986. He spent two years in Papua New Guinea, helping other PBT members to take full advantage of computers and software available for Bible translation work. Energized by this experience, he decided to become a Bible translator and returned to the States to earn his M.Div. During this time, he also developed PBT’s internship program and led teams of interns overseas each summer. He “recruited” Laura when she was a PBT intern in 1992!
After completing Laura’s linguistic training, our partnership development, and our study of French, we arrived in West Africa in 1996. We spent the next thirteen years working alongside the Toma people to translate the Scriptures into their language. With the help of PBT colleague Rondalyn Ohrenberg, we also launched a literacy program to teach Toma people to read their own language.
By late 2009 we had about half of the Bible thoroughly checked and revised, with the rest in rough draft. We had printed Scripture portions and literacy materials, and had produced audiovisuals in the Toma language in collaboration with organizations such as Campus Crusade for Christ, the Navigators, and Gospel Recordings. We had trained nationals as translators and literacy teachers, experiencing the joy of seeing non-literate people not only learn to read, but teach others!
During our entire time in West Africa, the country in which we lived experienced continual political turmoil, resulting in our evacuation in early 2007. We returned later that year, but the instability continued to grow. In the meantime, our close friend and PBT President Greg Pruett had been asking Jeff to come and serve alongside him on the international level. After much prayer, feeling that our translation project was at a point where we could complete it long-distance with less cost to the health of our family, we returned to the States in November 2009.
We now live in the Dallas area, where PBT’s International Service Center is located. We continue to revise the remaining half of the Bible in Toma, corresponding by email with Pastor Jeremie, our West African co-translator. Jeremie is also continuing the literacy program, and is starting up Scripture reading groups as a part of our Scripture Impact initiative among the Toma.
As Executive Vice President for Pioneer Bible Translators, Jeff shares many of the responsibilities of the President, leading a team of over 340 people translating the Bible for 19 million people in 53 languages in 11 countries. As Chief Operations Officer, Jeff supervises 24 people in PBT’s Information Technology, Support Services, and Media, Arts, and Communication departments. As Director of PBT’s International Resource Team, Jeff leads eight International Coordinators who provide help and mentoring to our missionary teams. The goal of our PBT team is to see networks of churches using Scripture to grow and multiply in every language.
In addition to working on the Toma translation, Laura continues to homeschool our two children, Kayla (age 11) and Eric (age 7). She is the Home School Advisor for PBT, and also serves on the editorial team for PBT’s magazine, The Latest Word.
Next month we will share some of the recent milestones in PBT’s worldwide ministry to the Bible-less. We are so thankful for your prayers and encouragement! We look forward to sharing with you how God’s kingdom is advancing around the world!
