The recently released State of the Bible report, which was written about here on en's website, reveals the exciting acceleration of Bible translation around the world today. But behind the statistics are personal, powerful stories.
This month, I want to share two: one from last Christmas, and one from Easter. Both speak to the wonder of hearing the gospel in your own language for the very first time.
Happy Christmas in Bhogongo
Last Christmas Day, the Bhogongo people of the Central African Republic (CAR) heard and read the story of Jesus’ birth in their own language for the first time.
In the run-up to Christmas, the Bhogongo Bible translation team recorded the nativity story in a makeshift studio. When the team coordinator finished recording, there was a stunned silence. Then the whole team broke into spontaneous applause. For the first time, they had heard the birth of Jesus read aloud from a portion of Scripture written in their own language.
Booklets of the story were also printed and distributed. Pastor Arnaud Yangbe, a member of the translation team, said when he first heard the translation: “It was so moving to hear this story in our own language. It’s going to have a real impact on our community.”
Then came Christmas Day itself, when Bhogongo churches were able to hear and read the story of the birth of Jesus in their own language for the very first time! Pastor Yangbe added: “Everyone was very happy to hear the story of Jesus’ birth in the Bhogongo language for the first time in history. They asked for more booklets and said that the recording was very interesting. It is very, very important to have this.”
Happy Easter in Bakweri
Three months later, the Bakweri people of Cameroon celebrated an Easter they would never forget. On 29 March, just three weeks before Easter Sunday, the New Testament in Mokpe was launched. It was the culmination of years of work, prayer, and perseverance.
The Revd Ekoka Molindo, who attended the launch, had this to say: “Reading God’s word in Mokpe has changed my life forever. I can preach and understand the word in totally new ways, and I know it will be the same for any Mokpe person reading the word in the mother tongue.”
Another community leader, Princess Lynn, reflected: “The New Testament in Mokpe is more than a translation; it is a powerful symbol of our identity, culture, and faith. It embodies the hopes and dreams of our community, and we firmly believe it will be a transformative tool for spiritual growth, healing, and empowerment.”
We often say that Christmas and Easter are more than dates on the calendar – and for the Bhogongo and Bakweri, there’s no doubt. These aren’t just seasonal stories. They are deeply personal messages, spoken by God in the very language people dream in, pray in, and use at the dinner table. The joy of hearing “a Saviour has been born to you” or “He is not here – He is risen!” in your own language cannot be overstated.
As we look ahead to Advent and come towards the end of 2025, these two stories remind us that God’s word is still arriving in communities for the first time. And our annual State of the Bible report reveals that the rate of translation is accelerating. But we know that there are one in five people still waiting to hear that they are loved, that they are forgiven, and that they are known by God. And when they do, everything changes.
Let’s continue to pray that more people can experience what the Bhogongo and Bakweri now know – and one day we can read in the State of the Bible report that everyone is finally able to know of God’s love for them in the language that they understand best.
