and the word came with power by joanne shetler

(I like to say that in the US, college students rebel by dabbling with agnosticism or atheism. Some missionaries like to enter a community seeking out the youth because they are often the most ready to change.

All of this leads to elders/leaders in the community who are now Christians and also well-trained in the Scriptures.However, they were translators in his ministry long before they were followers of Christ.

Adoniram Judson would be another example of one in whom early converts of his were his translators. Be open to the possibility that God works backwards with some… where they are discipled before they are converted. Translators become experts in Scripture even before they become followers of Christ.It reminds me of the conversion of Iceland to Christ, that came after a vote of the clan leaders. Upon their conversion, the community is much more ready to change with them. As the elders were trained in the Bible through their translation work, they were slowly made ready to change and follow Christ. Getting the elders involved in ministry sets things up for group conversion.Getting their blessing is more than symbolic, it is also very tangible. Relatedly, the local leadership knows how to allocate resources and get things done.Initially, he utilized the local leadership. If one reads the book of Nehemiah one finds that Nehemiah strongly challenged the local leaders. There are times that one has to challenge the leadership…. It honors those that the people have already honored. Seeking the help and guidance of the elders supports the societal structure.But if one doesn’t have a good and clear label, eventually one will be given less desirable labels like… “foreigner,” “stranger,” “alien,” or perhaps even “troublemaker.” A great label is “Welcome Guest,” especially if the welcomers are the leaders of the community. When entering a community, any community, people will label those who dwell with them. Entering the community with the blessing of the elders gives one immediate status.Get the elders involved with the ministry- even before they have chosen to follow Christ.Seek help and guidance from the elders.Enter a community with the blessing of the elders/leaders.It seems to me that this expresses an ideal way to bring an unreached group to faith. Early on they began teaching others what they’d learned about God from the Scriptures.” They were naturals to become a new kind of elder, elders in the Balangao church. In the course of helping with the translation, they ended up with an unusually solid knowledge of the Word of God. I usually sought these older people to work with me on translation their status and their experience were invaluable. “Balangaos had always had village elders, older men informally chosen by group consensus to guide them. Joanne Shetler, a Wycliffe Bible Translator, in her book “ And the Word Came with Power,” says on page 108

And the word came with power by joanne shetler