Lausanne Report from the Higbys

Dear Friends,

In September, I (Doug) had the privilege of representing SIL’s Bible translation technology at the 4th Lausanne Conference. The first Lausanne Conference took place in Lausanne, Switzerland, in 1974, initiated by Billy Graham and John Stott. Its purpose was to unite Christians around the globe in fulfilling the Great Commission. Since then, gatherings have taken place in 1989, 2010, and now, in 2024, in Seoul, Korea.

Attendance at Lausanne is by nomination from mission and church leaders, and this year’s event brought together over 5,000 participants. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to showcase Bible translation technology. I was joined by a colleague, Anita Beniston from Wycliffe India, who managed the booth alongside me. Anita is a skilled language technology consultant supporting Bible translation projects throughout India and beyond. Together, we interacted with hundreds of church leaders and mission personnel at our booth in the Digital Discovery Center.

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In preparation for the event, my team and I created a digital display website at sil.tools. If you’re interested, you can watch the explainer videos on the site to see the types of tools we promoted. We designed the site to support the seven languages of the conference, so visitors could scan a QR code on our display, opening the site on their phones in their language. It was a lot of work to set up, but we were grateful to see people learning about these tools in their primary languages.

One highlight was sharing ScriptureEarth.org, a tool that helps people find available Scripture in various languages. It’s incredibly user-friendly; you can point people directly to an app or video with the Bible in their language. This tool quickly became a favorite among Lausanne participants, who saw its potential for evangelism. Two people even shared stories of discovering translations they didn’t know existed, and they left excited to spread the word back home.

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Each morning, I attended inspiring sessions from Spirit-filled speakers and heard powerful testimonies from persecuted Christians. These stories were humbling and strengthened my own faith. The conference was a kaleidoscope of different people and nationalities, and I had people from Brazil, Pakistan, and India in my small group, sharing in prayer and fellowship. It was deeply encouraging to see the vibrant and resilient church in the Global South taking a lead in reaching the world. The conference’s motto, “Let the Church declare and display Christ together,” was powerfully felt throughout.

Now back home, my team and I are carefully following up with each contact we made at Lausanne, providing the information they requested about tools that can enhance their ministries. We’re hopeful and prayerful that, through this technology, new Bible translation efforts will reach languages still waiting for God’s Word.

God's blessings to you as you continue to partner with us in the Gospel!
(Phil 1:5)