Bible Translation
Kishelele (DR Congo)
The Mennonite Church of Congo, founded in 1912, currently has 110,000 members, drawn from the following ethnic groups: Pende, Luba, Chokwe, Bashilele and Wongo. AIMM (originally Congo Inland Mission), was the mission agency through which Mennonite Church of Congo was founded and maintains a strong partnership with the church to this day. The Pende and Chokwe were served as CIM (AIMM) worked to translate scripture into these languages. For the Luba, the Bible had already been translated by the Presbyterians. For the Bashilele and Wongo, nothing was translated. The Bashilele have been persistent in their desire for scripture in their language.
Kishelele Bible translation is essential for the long term rooting of Christian faith in this culture. For reasons of cultural incarnation and deeper assimilation of the message, scripture in the heart language is very important long term. Also, for the unity of the Mennonite Church of Congo, it is necessary that this neglected group be recognized and invested in. The Bashilele are estimated to be around 103,000, with their home territory located between the Kasai and Loange Rivers, beginning about 90 kms north of Tshikapa and continuing north until the city of Ilebo.
Mennonite Church of Congo has asserted the importance of the translation of the New Testament into Kishelele to Africa Inter-Mennonite Mission over the past decade. In 2016, Wycliffe Associates held a translation seminar in Kinshasa, and Rod Hollinger-Janzen, AIMM Executive Coordinator, was introduced to their accelerated, community based method of translation. Mennonite Church of Congo applied to Wycliffe Associates for help in beginning the Kishelele New Testament translation. With assistance from Wycliffe Associates, AIMM decided to administer and finance this work, and the process began. In July 2017, a group of 8 translators drawn from several church communities came together to receive training and to begin the translation process. The translators work on their own on assigned passages of scripture on a daily basis. They come together once per trimester for a two week period of intense translation work, redoing and strengthening what each came up with on his own. Africa Inter-Mennonite Mission so far has spent $25,500 on this effort, mostly for translators’ stipends and for rental of a room in which to hold the collective sessions.
The initial translation of the New Testament was completed in November 2018. A second phase of work must now begin. The ACTB (Association Congolaise de Traduction Biblique/Congolese Association for Bible Translation) is willing to supply a consultant for the corrections phase. The ACTB estimates that in general, correcting a New Testament translation takes a minimum of 20-25 weeks of the group working with a consultant. So for 2019 we are proposing a series of 7 3-week translation sessions accompanied by the consultant, in order to bring the Kishelele New Testament to publishable form. This is the phase for which we need your support in 2019.
Kishelele Translation Team Members
Pastor Joly Birakara, Vice President, Communauté Mennonite au Congo (Mennonite Church of Congo) ([email protected])
Pastor Muan-Nimy Imanya, District Leader, Communauté Mennonite au Congo (Mennonite Church of Congo)
Pastor François Shopo, Provincial Leader, Communauté Mennonite au Congo (Mennonite Church of Congo)
Pastor Jean-Paul Muyaki, Elder, Communauté Mennonite au Congo (Mennonite Church of Congo)
Pastor Jean-Pierre Lubara, Église de Réveil (Assemblée de Dieu)
Léonard Mamboko, Communauté des Églises Baptistes Indépendantes Évangéliques
Kikhas Kika, Apostle, Église de Réveil (Église de Jésus Christ de la vie Éternelle)
Robert Irundu, Youth Leader, Communauté Mennonite au Congo (Mennonite Church of Congo)
Kishelele Bible translation is essential for the long term rooting of Christian faith in this culture. For reasons of cultural incarnation and deeper assimilation of the message, scripture in the heart language is very important long term. Also, for the unity of the Mennonite Church of Congo, it is necessary that this neglected group be recognized and invested in. The Bashilele are estimated to be around 103,000, with their home territory located between the Kasai and Loange Rivers, beginning about 90 kms north of Tshikapa and continuing north until the city of Ilebo.
Mennonite Church of Congo has asserted the importance of the translation of the New Testament into Kishelele to Africa Inter-Mennonite Mission over the past decade. In 2016, Wycliffe Associates held a translation seminar in Kinshasa, and Rod Hollinger-Janzen, AIMM Executive Coordinator, was introduced to their accelerated, community based method of translation. Mennonite Church of Congo applied to Wycliffe Associates for help in beginning the Kishelele New Testament translation. With assistance from Wycliffe Associates, AIMM decided to administer and finance this work, and the process began. In July 2017, a group of 8 translators drawn from several church communities came together to receive training and to begin the translation process. The translators work on their own on assigned passages of scripture on a daily basis. They come together once per trimester for a two week period of intense translation work, redoing and strengthening what each came up with on his own. Africa Inter-Mennonite Mission so far has spent $25,500 on this effort, mostly for translators’ stipends and for rental of a room in which to hold the collective sessions.
The initial translation of the New Testament was completed in November 2018. A second phase of work must now begin. The ACTB (Association Congolaise de Traduction Biblique/Congolese Association for Bible Translation) is willing to supply a consultant for the corrections phase. The ACTB estimates that in general, correcting a New Testament translation takes a minimum of 20-25 weeks of the group working with a consultant. So for 2019 we are proposing a series of 7 3-week translation sessions accompanied by the consultant, in order to bring the Kishelele New Testament to publishable form. This is the phase for which we need your support in 2019.
Kishelele Translation Team Members
Pastor Joly Birakara, Vice President, Communauté Mennonite au Congo (Mennonite Church of Congo) ([email protected])
Pastor Muan-Nimy Imanya, District Leader, Communauté Mennonite au Congo (Mennonite Church of Congo)
Pastor François Shopo, Provincial Leader, Communauté Mennonite au Congo (Mennonite Church of Congo)
Pastor Jean-Paul Muyaki, Elder, Communauté Mennonite au Congo (Mennonite Church of Congo)
Pastor Jean-Pierre Lubara, Église de Réveil (Assemblée de Dieu)
Léonard Mamboko, Communauté des Églises Baptistes Indépendantes Évangéliques
Kikhas Kika, Apostle, Église de Réveil (Église de Jésus Christ de la vie Éternelle)
Robert Irundu, Youth Leader, Communauté Mennonite au Congo (Mennonite Church of Congo)