There is a pressing need to translate the Biblical Eldership Resources website into Spanish, the second most-spoken language in the world (only Mandarin ranks higher).
Translation is crucial in our mission to strengthen the universal church by promoting biblical eldership globally and equipping elders worldwide.
Generous donors are already funding translation into German, Hindi, and Arabic; our next priority is Spanish and Italian. We have a team of Spanish speakers from Argentina, Colombia, Mexico, and the United States who are committed to this project and ready to begin.
Why Spanish next?
- The size of the Spanish-speaking population worldwide. More than 572 million people speak Spanish—7.8 percent of the world’s population—and that number is projected to increase to 754 million by 2050. Spanish is the official language of twenty countries and the unofficial second language of many others, including the United States.1
- The dramatic growth of evangelicalism in Spanish-speaking countries. Today, evangelicals compose nearly 20 percent of the Latin American population, compared to a mere 3 percent thirty years ago.2 In Spain, sixteen new evangelical churches opened every month in 2018.3
- The growth of the Spanish-speaking population in the United States. By 2020, the U.S. population will be nearly one quarter Hispanic. Three-quarters of Hispanics in the U.S. are under 40 years old, and 34 percent are 18 or younger. Many of these young Spanish speakers are the future leaders of our churches; equipping young, up-and-coming church leaders with resources in their native language will impact the health of the churches they lead.4
It will cost an estimated $50,000 to translate our entire website into Spanish, and we invite you to prayerfully consider helping us fund this project.
When you donate to BER, you are helping churches around the world become healthier and more effective as they align themselves with God’s prescribed design for church governance.
Shared leadership provides protective accountability against damaging sin; peer relationships that offset the weaknesses of individual leaders; and protection from the burnout that results when one man has to shoulder the shepherding burden alone.
The results? Strength, health, and longevity for churches around the world as they seek to know Christ and make Him known.
For joining us in this mission, we say, “Muchas gracias”—many thanks!
If you would like to donate, please visit our donation page on BiblicalEldership.com, or contact us if you’d like to learn more.
1. Speakeasy Language School: https://www.speakeasybcn.com/blog/how-many-people-speak-spanish/
2. New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/17/opinion/evangelicals-politics-latin-america.html
3. Evangelical Focus: http://evangelicalfocus.com/europe/4122/Spanish_evangelicals_opened_16_new_worship_places_every_month_in_2018_
4. Yale University: https://reflections.yale.edu/article/who-my-neighbor-facing-immigration/latino-transformation-american-evangelicalism