language learning

To Reach All Peoples

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7,244

This is the number that is before us every day: the number of people groups in the world who remain unreached (no churches, no Christians, no access to the gospel, no Scripture in their language…)

While the number 7,244 is approximate, it remains a daunting figure and motivates us daily. And to reach those people, we need to pray for the Lord of the harvest to send laborers–missionaries–to reach those groups.

The Lord is doing just that, and we’re excited that many of these laborers are being raised up from countries that used to be mission fields. Those churches now want to send their people to other unreached groups.

The reasons those groups are unreached are:

  • their language is unknown
  • their worldview is a barrier to understanding or accepting the gospel
  • they are remote and hard to access
  • they belong to other major world religions
  • they are in countries ruled by regimes that are hostile to the gospel

M.A.P.

Bill and his team are focusing on the first two: helping missionaries learn unknown languages and worldviews. To communicate God’s truth clearly requires a high level of fluency in the language, and deep insight into a people’s worldview.

Part of the online course we created for missionaries being trained remotely in closed countries include the “principles of communication” under the acronym M.A.P. “Know your Message, Know your Audience, and Know your Plan.” We’re including this in the materials we are working on how for a wide audience of missionary trainers and trainees.

KNOW YOUR MESSAGE: this one is obvious. A missionary needs to have a good understanding of the Bible! And they need to be able to explain how the plan of God’s redemption is one story from Eternity past to Eternity future.

KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE: (this is where Bill and his team come in!) Missionaries need to gain a high level of fluency in the people’s language, a deep insight into their worldview and the implications that has for presenting Biblical truth, and they need good relationships with people–a level of trust where they have earned the right to be heard.

KNOW YOUR PLAN: (this is where our church planting consultants take over.) A missionary needs to prayerfully compare Biblical truth (a Biblical worldview) with the people’s worldview. Then they can be very strategic in dealing with all the areas where the people are likely to misunderstand. Teaching without this kind of plan results in syncretism, where the people mix Biblical concepts with their worldview.

Engage and Stages

Bill’s team is gradually rolling out a new Culture and Language learning guide (called Engage), and an amazing app called Stages) that is integrated with Engage and makes planning, elicitation, and review easier, and helps the learner reflect on the worldview.

Recently we handed some of these materials to our translation teams in Latin America. They are translating all of Engage and Stages into Spanish and Portuguese so they can be used by missionaries from those countries. We’re just about ready to give them another bunch of documents to be translated.

Our training programs in Canada, the US, and other countries are using some of these materials already. They will soon be able to use the whole program and the app. A few months ago Canada actually used the Stages app in their language learning practicum as a good beta test for us.

Our training program in Germany plans to start using some of these materials in their next semester. Many other training programs will gradually start implementing Engage and Stages soon. And not only that, we’re excited that a number of other evangelical mission agencies and training programs are anxious to use our materials to help their missionaries become better communicators of God’s truth!

Most Recent Work

Most recently, Bill has been testing the more advanced features of the Stages app, and overseeing some other people who also doing testing. He’s letting our programmers know about any bugs or issues. As he tests the app, Bill is writing the user manual, including screen shots for each step.

In testing the Stages app, some great ideas have come to light to improve the way it works. So the programmers are making those minor changes, and Bill is updating all the how-to documents and the Stages User manual to be up-to-date.

Update on the Palawanos

Bill continues to be in touch with many of the Palawanos through Facebook. He gets to answer their questions and give counsel to the men who are leading the Palawano church. Recently he learned that a Korean pastor has moved into our area. He is with another denomination that many consider to be a cult. He has used financial incentives to lure some unbelievers and even some weak believers to get baptized and join his church.

The good news is that Bill heard from Arnel, one of his translation helpers, who is helping to lead the church. He said that many of the believers are standing firm and are refusing to join the other church. They won’t even let the other pastor into their homes. Not only this, but the Palawano church is conducting new outreaches and there are many new Palawanos who have come to Christ! These new ones have gotten baptized and attend the church.

Please pray with us for the Palawano church. Pray for Arnel and Joseph, another church leader, as they do outreach and shepherd the flock. As for that other church, please pray with us that people will not be deceived. Pray that that Korean pastor will pack up and leave like many before him have done in the past.

Health Update

We’re thankful for those who have been praying for us!

The good news is that Bill’s heart has been staying in rhythm for almost a year and a half. His knee replacement a year ago was a huge success and he can easily do things he hasn’t been able to do for over ten years! One weekend he was up and down ladders all day installing screens on our rain gutters and the next day the only thing that DIDN’T hurt was his knee!

Bill’s sinus issue continues to be an issue. Write us if you want more details, but in a nutshell, for 28 months and counting, he has had excessive sinus issues. Two surgeries and lots of treatment options have not resolved this. It’s exhausting and very annoying! It affects how much we can do out in public (ever since COVID, if you cough or clear your throat in public, people can get concerned). We’ve heard people in a restaurant ask their server to move them to another table.

We try to keep our focus on the fact that it is a trial allowed by the Lord. We’re asking him to teach us through this. Bill has a video conference with his doctor on May 5.

We have some potential upcoming ministry travel to Brazil and elsewhere, but it’s hard to see how international travel or all-day teaching sessions would work. We’d appreciate your continued prayers for grace under trial, and for God to provide healing and to give the doctors wisdom in dealing with this.

Joint Projects

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Enjoying creation… checking out the spring flowers
in the nearby Borrego desert

Here’s a quick update to mention some “joint projects” we’re involved with in our ministry.

Joint Project #1: Reaching the World

Seeing the Unreached People Groups of the world reached for Christ will require a lot of effective missionaries being sent out. So that’s our main focus–developing tools and training missionaries (and training those who train missionaries). We want to multiply ourselves, and see thousands more workers go out into God’s harvest field, well-trained and able to clearly communicate God’s truth effectively cross-culturally and in a previously unknown language.

Here are some things Bill and his team have been doing recently:

  1. We’ve been busying continuing to develop the Stages mobile app that missionaries can use to learn language and culture. We’ve been fixing bugs and adding some requested features. Lord willing, we’re hoping for a new release with wider beta-testing in a month or two.
  2. Bill has been working to finalize the instructional materials for the Engage CLA (culture/language acquisition) program to be used globally by our mission and others.
  3. Bill attended the ICLL (International Congress on Language Learning), collaborating with and learning from others who help missionaries learn language and culture.
  4. At ICLL, several other mission agencies and training centers have expressed great interest in using the tools (Engage and the Stages app) that Bill’s team is developing! Some will even help with beta testing the app.
  5. Bill has recently been part of a discussion group working to better coordinate language learning, linguistics (grammar and discourse analysis), worldview discovery, evangelism, and church planting throughout Ethnos360 and all of its 30+ Global Partners worldwide.

We’re thankful for the chance to keep serving God in this phase of life, and that he’s given us an opportunity to have a part in seeing his kingdom expanded until he is worshipped by people of every tongue, tribe, people and nation!

Joint Project #2: Partnering with YOU

Seeing the Unreached People Groups of the world reached for Christ is a team effort.

We’re thankful for your part in this ministry through prayer, giving, and all kinds of encouragement. We couldn’t do this without you!

Joint Project #3: Keeping these old bodies going

The last “joint” project we wanted to mention is that Bill will be getting a total knee replacement at the end of this week, on Friday March 29.

His right knee has been an issue for years, gradually getting worse. Recently it reached a point where a new MRI confirmed that a knee replacement is the answer. Ministry travel has been on hold while he knee has flared up a few times recently, so we’re working remotely through online collaborative technology. We’re looking forward to being able to go up and down stairs easily and to painlessly walk the length and breadth of international airports soon, once he’s past his recovery period and weeks of physical therapy.

We thankful for excellent health care providers, good insurance, and most of all, an all-powerful, loving God who directs our steps, heals our bodies and encourages our hearts.

Please pray with us that the surgery will go well, that the post-op pain will be minimal, and that Bill will be able to resume full activity quickly.

God Works Long Distance

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Africa (w/out the Trip)

If you’ve been following our recent saga, you know we weren’t able to actually go to Africa as planned. So we can’t call this an Africa Ministry Trip. But Bill was still able to do the ministry part.

He pre-recorded his main introductory two-hour session last Sunday, once his cough was a little better. That way the Africa workshop attendees could watch it first thing Monday morning their time. (To do it live over the internet, Bill would have been teaching it at 1 a.m. San Diego time!)

Throughout the rest of the week, Bill was able to teach several sessions live (see picture below), and to answer their questions which he was getting by email. One of Bill’s teammates covered for him and did another session since Bill’s voice was still tentative all week.

Bill teaching via the Internet

A total of 58 missionaries attended the workshop. These included both Africans and foreigners. Most are on teams working to reach Unreached People Groups, and some of them are also consultants (or “coaches”), who are experienced missionaries who help others learn language and culture in order to succeed in their ministries. Bill and his team were teaching some helpful ways to learn culture and worldview to an even deeper level.

We’re not sure why God chose to change our plans at the last minute. It would have been so nice to be there in person interacting with everyone all throughout the week. But we’re grateful for technology, and the fact that Bill was still able to teach those sessions from a distance. We received some gracious and encouraging positive feedback about the workshop.

And we are so thankful for you and your prayers! Bill’s sickness lingered on, but was never very severe except for fever the ninth and final day.

Please Continue to Pray

Please pray for Bill and his team and they finish the development of the CLA (Culture & Language Acquisition) training materials and the mobile app to go with them and prepare for the global launch of these tools.

Lord willing, there will be more trips to Africa–and elsewhere–throughout the coming year as part of that launch, to get these tools into the hands of missionaries and those who train and coach them.

Pray, too, as they prepare and record training videos using these materials to train missionaries around the globe to communicate the Gospel clearly and effectively.

Need a quick update of what we’ve been up to? Click here to get up-to-date.

If you’re interested in partnering with us in this ministry, click here for more information.

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Africa map photo by James Wiseman on Unsplash, text added

Talk is not Cheap

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Talking is Important.

Missionaries need to talk… fluently! They have an important message to communicate. And it takes years of hard work to gain that fluency.

That’s why Bill and his team are developing the updated Engage culture/language acquisition (CLA) how-to materials, and the Stages CLA app. We want to make the task easier by providing tools for missionary language learners and those who help them.

COVID Hasn’t Stopped the Talking

Recently Bill attended an online conference for those from many mission agencies who train or coach missionaries in the area of language and culture acquisition. ICLL (the International Congress on Language Learning) is usually held face-to-face. But COVID-19 didn’t prevent everyone from coming together virtually to learn from one another!

Over 280 people attended the conference. The attendees from our mission alone represented 8 different nationalities, and they minister in 22 countries. Many of them are training missionaries to reach even more countries where Unreached People Groups are waiting to hear the Gospel.

In a virtual break-out discussion room, Bill was also able to tell several other mission agencies about Engage and Stages, and there was a tremendous amount of interest.

Bill has been Talking (a lot)

In the weeks since ICLL, Bill has interacted with so many people as part of his consultant ministry.

We’d like to tell you about some of those conversations.

Bill has been communicating…

…with a German ministering in South America who helps missionary language learners.

…with an Australian who wants to keep her mission informed about the upcoming release of Engage and Stages.

…with a Brazilian who asked Bill for help and resources so his team can train their Brazilian missionaries to use Engage and Stages to reach the unreached tribes of Brazil.

…with our friends in South Asia, talking about how to help them use the Stages app as they train local workers to reach the unreached there.

…with the American computer programmers who are adding exciting new features to Stages even as you read this update.

…with some Americans in Papua New Guinea who are testing out an early release of the Stages app in order to give our team vital feedback.

…with a South African who is overseeing the training of African missionaries who come from South Africa, Zimbabwe and Tanzania. He wants to be kept updated and to have Bill’s team provide help so those African missionaries can use Engage and Stages to reach the unreached peoples in Africa.

…with a Canadian in Ontario, and some Americans in Missouri. We’re planning to provide a week of training for them as they prepare to launch teaching Engage and Stages in their respective missionary training programs next semester.

This coming week, Bill will host two online video conferences to debrief our 40+ ICLL attendees to discuss how to apply what they learned in the online sessions.

We’re excited to have a part in providing help and tools for missionaries, for those who train them, and for the language coaches who enable them to succeed.

Jesus Told Us to Talk

All this is to enable more missionaries to…

…talk. To communicate clearly.

To “Go into all the world and make disciples of all nations.”

Talk isn’t cheap. It can mean a lot of hard work. But when the Gospel is what you want to talk about, it’s worth every effort.

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Fire & Ice

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Tomorrow, Bill is heading to our training center in Missouri where they teach our missionaries how to learn the language and culture of Unreached People Groups. He will take 3 days to update the staff there on the latest version of the CLA (Culture/Language Acquisition) program his team is developing.

He’ll also be meeting with a missionary who will be joining his CLA Development team full-time. We’re thankful for how this will enhance and speed up the project.

Fire

Taal volcano erupting
Taal Volcano

The Taal volcano in the Philippines is erupting. It is near where we studied Tagalog in Lipa City in 1982, so several of our former teachers live still in the area.

Two Palawano young people, a brother and sister named Risyal (“Resh”) and Melanie, are currently attending a Bible institute just outside the 11 mile “danger zone.” They are close, but safe, although they and their classmates are constantly having to clean up ash and concrete-like wet ash on their campus. Their school is also serving as a relief center, collecting and delivering clothing, water and hygiene kits to those who have been affected by the volcano.

We’re proud of them, and thankful to the Lord that he has them there, and for how he is using them to help others in His Name.

Pray for the safety of Resh, Melanie and their classmates. And pray for the relief efforts of their school.

Ice

Winter Storms

This morning, as the latest winter storm hits the US, American Airlines notified Bill that his flight plans might be “affected” because of ice and wind tomorrow. They are offering free flight rescheduling. That’s nice of them! But changing his arrival date will mess up several of his planned meetings. So we’re going to push ahead and ask the Lord to keep the skies clear in Springfield, MO!

Please pray with us to safe and unhindered travel tomorrow!

Coming Soon!

Be on the lookout for our next update. Bill just received the first trial version of the new CLA App! He’s testing it out and looking forward to giving a report.

Worldview

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What Have Bill and Donna Been Up To?

Here are a few examples of what we’ve been doing recently…

  • Bill has been Skyping and emailing with missionaries in the Middle East, Mexico, Brazil, the USA, and a few countries in Asia, helping them work through their language learning struggles.
  • We spent a week in February and again in May at our mission’s HQ in Florida. Bill and his team made exciting progress in the development of the mobile app which will help missionaries learn language and culture.
  • Bill taught a 20-hour class on language and Bible translation to 37 missionaries at Radius International, and then we attended their graduation in June. Now they are all headed out to take the gospel to Unreached People Groups.
  • Bill attended on 2-week workshop on how to help missionaries better learn the worldview of the people they minister to.

Pray for us as we work to see as many well-trained missionaries as possible get out to the field.

And stay tuned for an update on the mobile app Bill’s team is creating to help missionaries learn both language and worldview!

Because everyone deserves to hear in their Heart Language.

What’s the big deal with worldview? If you want to learn more about that, keep reading…

Worldview

Over 7,000 people groups have never heard of Christ. We need lots of missionaries to go. But how can we train missionaries to be effective at communicating the Gospel and making disciples once they get there? One answer: Worldview.

As you know, a big part of the training Bill is providing for missionaries is “How to learn an unknown language on your own.” We talk about that a lot.

But another important part is “How to learn an Unreached People Group’s Worldview.” Bill just spent 2 weeks at a workshop about how to help missionaries learn the worldview of the Unreached People Groups they ministry to.

What’s Worldview?

A culture’s worldview is, well, how they view the world. It’s their assumptions about reality—what they believe is true about the universe; what they believe about themselves and about God (or the gods)… about morality… about the origin of everything… and about their final destiny.

God’s worldview—his version of reality as revealed in his Word—is the only one that is 100% true. Every human worldview is flawed; some are overflowing with error: evolution, no God, 3 million gods, ancestor worship, reincarnation, animism… these are parts of various major worldviews, but these strongly-held beliefs are not true!

Why is Worldview Important?

If human worldviews are full of wrong beliefs, why bother with them? When we bring God’s message—his truth—to an Unreached People Group, why do we need to learn their misguided worldview first? Why don’t we just give them the simple message of God’s truth?

BECAUSE EVERYTHING THEY HEAR WILL BE INTERPRETED IN LIGHT OF THEIR WORLDVIEW.

It’s like they are wearing glasses that have the wrong prescription, blurring everything they see. If we don’t understand their worldview, we will be unaware of all the ways they will misunderstand our message. We won’t anticipate all the ways they might blend God’s truth with their own beliefs (syncretism). They might reject the Gospel for the wrong reason, simply because they don’t clearly understand it. Or we’ll never know why they might seem to accept it when they really haven’t!

“The Bible tells us that God’s son died for our sins, and if we believe in him, we will go to heaven.”

Okay, if we were to give that version of the “simple Gospel” word-for-word to Palawanos, here are some of the many communication problems that would arise:

  • Bible: The Palawanos know the “truth” based on their ancestor’s stories, and what the spirits tell the shaman; Palawanos cite their ancestors’ legacy and say that those teachings are for them, but they believe that the Bible is the Americans’ ancestors’ stories, and is only for Americans.
  • God: Palawanos believe in many “gods” (rice god, river god…) The supreme creator God is thought to be uninvolved with the world, he’s not really loving, he isn’t the one who provides crops and blessings, he doesn’t really care about sin, and he has nothing to do with death or afterlife.
  • Death: Palawanos don’t believe that death is because of sin or because of a judgement by God. People get sick—and sometimes die—because spirits were offended; not by sin, but by trespassing, cutting down trees, etc. So the idea of a substitutionary death as payment for sin is confusing at best.
  • Sin: Almost everything Palawanos consider to be “sin” they see as offenses against people, not against God. Such “sins” are dealt with by simply avoiding the offended person until emotions calm down in order to avoid shame. Many Biblical sins are not considered by Palawanos to be sin. On the other hand, to become a Christian and therefore to stop offering to your ancestors would make you a bad (sinful) person.
  • Believe: It would be rude to tell you they reject your message, so to be polite, Palawanos will pretend to believe for the sake of their relationship with you.
  • Judgement: Most spirits can be manipulated by rituals and amulets, so Palawanos believe that they could manipulate God and avoid judgement.
  • Destiny: Palawanos’ main concern is health and having enough food in this life; everyone dies, but it’s not because of sin; after death, everyone goes to a backwards-but-nice place called Kelebegang.

Do you see any potential problems if the missionary did not take the time to understand the Palawano worldview?

Why is Worldview Difficult to Discover?

Much of a culture’s worldview is implicitly understood. The missionary cannot simply ask, “What are all your beliefs?” and expect to get a coherent summary. Only after very intentional investigation, and much prayerful reflection, can the missionary understand the worldview and its implications for clear Gospel communication.

It’s worth every effort. People cannot be saved unless the first understand the message.

But missionaries need to be trained to do this, and that’s where we come in. It’s not enough to simply know God’s message. Missionaries need to learn another language to the point of being able to communicate the message at all. And they also need to learn the worldview of their audience in order to communicate effectively.

 

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