ORLANDO – Wycliffe Bible Translators USA has launched a new program, “A Call to Community.” A Wycliffe spokesperson explained, “We want to see ourselves—our very lives—reflect the liberating truth and grace that we have in Jesus Christ. And, as we step into that and respond in ways that reflect that grace, I believe that the Body of Christ is built up. Community is expressed as Christ is honored.”
The Wycliffe program reflects a fundamental principle shared by Gospel for Asia (GFA), recognizing that the Gospel and, therefore, the Body of Christ, is connected across cultures and countries.
The Gospel is not a conveyance for changing cultures different than our own. The love of Christ reaches across all boundaries, continents, countries, cultures, and so-called classes.
The Wycliffe program hopes to help believers understand that evangelism involves reaching not only those of different cultures in other countries but also those who migrate from other countries to our own communities. The latter we can meet face-to-face. We can connect with the global community through prayer. Either way, Christians are called to see all others as Christ sees us all. “When we have His heart for people, we are more likely to live like Him, too.”
One of the components of “A Call to Community” is an examination of “7 People Who Changed the World and Might Just Change Yours.” It contains the true stories of people from Martin Luther to Billy Graham and others whose names are not as familiar. The article is a reminder that “They didn’t set out to change the world, but their simple obedience had a worldwide impact.”
“A Call to Community” proposes the idea that the question of how the Lord wants us to change the world might be better posed as how to understand what God’s plan is and how we fit into it. The “7 People” story explains how, by stopping long enough to fix their eyes on Jesus and rendering their lives to be used for His glory, those people’s lives were transformed by the Lord and how He transformed many others through them.
The mission of Wycliffe Bible Translators is to have a Bible translation in process by 2025 for every language that is currently without one.
Sources:
- Mission Network News, A Call to Community: a global vision of the Body of Christ
- Wycliffe.org, A Call to Community, Discover your purpose in God’s global family
- Wycliffe.org, 7 people who changed the world, and might just change yours
