Translators Send Bibles Abroad

Workers at the JAARS Center have translated the New Testament into hundreds of languages for people who live in remote areas across the globe.

JAARS President Jim Akovenko said that many groups still living in tribes around the world are isolated. He said for them to receive a Bible in their language is essential to leading a spiritual life.

“Each of us, I believe, has a sense of understanding of who God is, but we need to have that communicated,” Akovenko said. “We need to understand the breadth and depth of that from the Holy Scripture, in a language we fully understand.”

Akovenko says volunteers at the JAARS Center get a chance to travel. He just returned from the Philippines.

“We witnessed a finale New Testament dedication, a dedication in which about 5,000 people, a remote people group, received a New Testament for the very first time,” he said.

JAARS’ next trip, to Papua New Guinea, is scheduled for the middle of this summer.

The New Testament has been translated into many different languages at the JAARS Center in Waxhaw.

JAARS volunteers do not need a background in linguistics, although it is helpful. Akovenko said volunteers are needed to help with packaging and shipping and information technology, too.

For those who do not have time to volunteer, the JAARS Center has two museums that people can visit.

“Each month we have a tour, an open house—usually the first Saturday of every month—in which we open our doors,” Akovenko said. “We welcome people to take tours and to be given seminars to show the effective use of technology in Bible translation.”

Aircraft rides are also available during the tours, and guests can listen to speakers to have traveled far and beyond to deliver the word of God.

Anyone who would like more information on the tours and airplane rides can call 704-843-6000.