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There are 6,913 languages in the world. But only 2,300 have as much as one book of the Bible translated and available. With a mere 25 new translation projects starting every year (as of 1992), Wycliffe International, the famous Bible translation organization, knew a different approach was needed.

In 1999 Wycliffe came up with Vision 2025—to start a Bible translation "in every language that needs one" by 2025. At the time, they pegged the figure at 3,000 translations. Instead of beginning a new translation every two weeks, they needed to begin two each week.

With the project one-fifth of the way along, senior associate news editor Stan Guthrie sat down with Freddy Boswell, international translation coordinator for Wycliffe International, to talk about the progress and challenges of Vision 2025.

Your previous high mark of Bible translations was 25, in 1992. In terms of numbers, how are things going with Vision 2025?

We calculated that from 1999 to 2003, there was an average of more than 64 new translation starts a year worldwide, and in 2004 Wycliffe personnel were involved in starting 82 out of the 93 new projects—the highest in Christian history.

How has that remarkable acceleration been possible?

For one thing, we've implemented some creative strategies in the computer area. We have a new program, developed by one of our entrepreneur linguists in Papua New Guinea, called Adapt It. This program helps translate from one language to another closely related language. Instead of having a translator go through all of the exegesis, background, and training in order to get a good first draft, the software helps to generate a first draft. If the grammar is very similar, a translator can be trained to make substitutions. It doesn't give a finished translation, but it does give a greatly speeded up first draft that literally can take years off the translation process.

We also have a new emphasis on what we call the cluster approach. Historically, the Wycliffe model was one team, one language. "I, Joe Wilson, am attached to the xyz language." Things have changed now. Instead of him just working on one language, we are intentionally planning how to multiply the efforts of one individual.

Wycliffe translator John Nystrom asked us a few years ago to start praying for a few languages on the north coast of Papua New Guinea. He was working in one language, but we did not realistically envision another Wycliffe member living anytime soon among people of the other languages. So John now uses a workshop approach. He gathers people who live in each of these related language groups and, for two or three weeks, they go through the Book of Ruth, bit by bit, having them develop the first draft in their language. Afterwards, they can take this translation back to their communities, read it, get input, get corrections, and go from there.

What about people groups who do not have a written language?

They do need a written text; they do need a written repository. But many of these people are not going to learn to read in their lifetimes. This has been a hard realization for some of us. There are many millions of people in the world who are going to die before they can read. The Epic Partnership, which we are part of, works to impact primarily oral cultures. As Wycliffe has emphasized literacy hand in hand with translation over the years, we're now strategizing more intensely about how to deliver the Scriptures in an oral or visual capacity. You see us working closely with the Jesus film, for instance.

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February 2005, Vol. 49, No. 2