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Why This Version Includes Ministry Integration

Every step of translation — hearing, discussing, retelling, recording — is already something your church does. This is not work that must be finished before ministry begins. These steps ARE ministry happening right now. The green callouts connect what your team is already doing to the ministry of Scripture engagement. When you understand that translation is ministry, people join willingly, quality improves, and stories begin serving your church long before the project is complete.

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👂💟 Familiarization - The first step is called "Hear and Heart."

1. Tell the story 3 times in a storytelling format.
   1. The group should just hear the story—no reading yet.
2. Process the story by asking the following open-ended questions:
   1. What do you like in this passage?
   2. What do you not like or not understand in this passage?
   3. What words or phrases are confusing to you?
   4. What does this story tell us about God/Jesus/Holy Spirit?
   5. What does this story tell us about people?
   6. What is one practical thing I can do to apply this story to our lives?
   7. Who is one person you can share this story with?

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Suggested Ministry Integration:

During discussion, listen for who needs this story. Plan to share it with someone outside the team this week — family, a prayer group, neighbors, or youth. Your team is already doing Scripture engagement work.

🗣️ Oral tip: These discussion questions work perfectly for any faith gathering where people are learning by listening. No reading materials needed.

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🎨 Internalization - "Define the Scene"

1. Make a Story board of what you understand from the story. Focus on the characters involved, the scenes in the story, and what is being done to help you remember the story.

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Suggested Ministry Integration:

Invite someone from your church (a leader, an elder, or a family member) to see your storyboard. Ask what they notice about the story. Their eyes help you see if the scenes are clear and meaningful.

🗣️ Oral tip: Storyboards help memory work in oral communities — people can "read" and remember the story through pictures.

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⏺️ Articulation - Retelling and Recording

1. In small groups of 2-3 practice retelling this story each in your own words
2. After each time the story is told ask these questions (from Form & Meaning):
   1. Was any meaning added that wasn’t originally there?
   2. Was any meaning left out?
   3. Was any meaning changed?
   4. After you listened to the story, which parts did you like most? Please tell us specific words or phrases you think best showed the real meaning or feeling of the story.
3. Combining the chosen words and phrases from question d, as a group build a complete draft and review the draft for Discover the Principles of Translation using Open Bible Stories

   1. Good Bible translations have four important qualities:

      Translation Quality #1:  The meaning is not added to, changed, or missing anything

      Translation Quality #2: The language is understandable and clear

      Translation Quality #3: The language sounds like it was written or spoken by a good speaker of the language

      Translation Quality #4: The Church evaluates the translation and decides it is trustworthy. They will trust it, use it, and love it, because Spirit-filled believers translated and checked the translation.

      Each quality is important. These qualities help people trust the translation. Before starting translation work, the team must agree on these important ideas.

   2. Teams should agree on terms to remember these ideas while they translate.

   3. After each story is told:

      1. Assign one quality to different people.
         1. 8 members on the team: have 2 people per quality
      2. Listen to the story, thinking about the quality
         1. Discuss among the team any words or phrases that conflict with the quality
         2. Decide as a group the best way to represent the quality with the words or phrases that you use
4. Publish - choose a single person to tell the complete story. Record their complete retelling on an audio device.

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Suggested Ministry Integration:

The recording you just made is ready to use — do not wait to finish all stories first! Immediately share this recording with listeners outside the team: a prayer group, Bible study, children's class, or family gathering. Listen to their questions. Their feedback improves the next revision AND serves your church right now.

🗣️ Oral tip: One recorded story, heard by your community today, is already ministry. Stories reach people who learn by listening and do not have written materials.

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What is Next →

Return to the main menu to decide what resources you need next:

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No credit to us required. Please attribute The Word Collective as the source and keep it open for others (CC BY-SA 4.0).

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