The Necessity of Adequate Training for Church Planting

What is the first thing that comes to mind when you read the words, “Isi mplyd ontun dersta ndathi ngiamrea ding.”  Does anything sound familiar?  Is there anything similar to what you may use in conversation?  Or is it totally foreign to you?

Sounds in an unfamiliar language can be downright confusing and utterly mind-boggling.  But what would you say if I were to tell you the above words are a part of our English language?   You would think I am crazy.  But take another look at the sentence and see if you can decipher what it says.

Did you catch it?  I’ve merely bunched up the letters of familiar words and nudged them together to create the illusion of misunderstanding.  If you haven’t figured it out, the sentence actually reads, “I simply don’t understand a thing I am reading.”  Got it???

The sounds of unwritten languages are about as unfamiliar to our missionary teams when they first hear and transcribe the words they are hearing.  What is even more difficult is figuring out the grammatical structure and parts of speech that are being spoken.  How do you make sense of it?

Here is where missionary training and equipping has prepared our personnel with the adequate language-science skills they need to reduce an unwritten language to writing. 

You see, you don’t learn these languages overnight, nor do you begin preaching the gospel when you first arrive.  It takes years of determined study to accomplish such a task.  …And not just with learning the language, but also understanding the culture and the worldview of the people –what makes them ‘tick.’

Indigenous languages are filled with complexities and nuances that may take years to figure out.  You need to be clear in your understanding of the language when it comes to teaching God’s Word to people who have no knowledge of God or the Bible.

…And that’s another place where our equipping pays off –giving the learner the edge to stick to the task with the end goal of one day being able to share the gospel in the heart language of the people and eventually establish a church.

Missionaries build relationships with the people while they advance in their knowledge of the language and culture.  They provide medical services as well as establish a literacy program to teach the people to read and write in their own language.

Why?  Because one day they will start translating the Bible into the heart language of the people, with the goal of completing the New Testament which will allow believers to grow as well as equip them to carry on the work of making disciples who will make disciples.