About Pioneer Bible Translators
Our Story
Churches using Scripture to grow, mature, and multiply in every language community on Earth by 2050 — this is the vision of Pioneer Bible Translators. Working in unity with other organizations in the Bible translation movement, we envision the day when there will be no more Bibleless people.
Our part in this unified work is to translate Scripture and make disciples among 300 least-reached language groups — people in places where there is no Scripture and no church. Already God has placed us in over 100 of these languages. Many of the remaining languages are spoken in hard-to-reach places where North American missionaries are not welcome. Or they are signed languages used by marginalized Deaf communities.
God is positioning us to step into this future.
- Pioneer Bible Translators is now a global movement with sending partners in Canada, Brazil, Ukraine, and Poland.
- God is building our capacity to minister holistically in ways that open doors that are otherwise closed.
- He is bringing refugees from Bibleless places to locations where we and our partners can serve them.
- He is equipping Deaf and hearing teammates to communicate His Word in Deaf communities.
- He is expanding opportunities to come alongside national believers who have a passion to translate Scripture and make disciples.
As we continue to pray and follow God’s lead, we move into our future with confidence that He will “do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine” (Ephesians 3:20).
Pioneer Bible Translators: A Timeline of Firsts
1974 Pioneer Bible Translation and Recruiting Service established primarily to recruit Bible translators
1976 Pioneer Bible Translators established to recruit, train, and send missionaries
1977 First missionary families arrive in Papua New Guinea
1980 First missionary family arrives in Africa
1988 First missionary family arrives in West Africa
1992 First complete book of the Bible published
1996 PBT Canada founded to send our first non-U.S. missionary family
1997 First missionary family arrives in East Africa
1999 First missionary family arrives in Eurasia
2001 First complete New Testament published
2012 First full Bible published
2014 First oral translation project begins
2014 First diaspora ministry begins among refugees from a Bibleless people group
2015 First translations by the future PBU begin for Roma people in Ukraine
2016 Bible Translators of Ukraine (PBU) established
2017 Missão Pioneiros da Bíblia (PBT-Brazil) established
2018 Deaf Ministries established to serve Bibleless Deaf communities
2018 Pioneer Bible Translators Poland established
2022 First missionary sent by MPB to West Africa
2022 First MPB translation project in Brazil begins
2022 Fifth full Bible published