Finishing the Task is a coalition of churches, agencies, denominations, and believers from across the globe working together for the fulfillment of the Great Commission. Today, we’re honored to share the testimony of John Pudaite, President and CEO of Bibles for the World.
I’m John Pudaite, President and CEO of Bibles for the World. We’ve been blessed to provide God’s Word in over 126 countries around the world, primarily for evangelism, and especially with a focus on unreached people groups.
That’s part of our own story: my own people, my tribe in Northeast India, were an unreached people group. At the turn of the 20th century, a single copy of the Gospel of John was sent to the chief of my grandfather’s village, and that started a complete transformation of our people.
At the time, we were known as one of the fiercest group of head hunters in the British Empire. But when that gospel John came, and that missionary came to follow up on it he was able to share the amazing story of salvation through Jesus Christ, and that transformed our people. My grandfather and his other early Christians took that message, that Good News, from hut to hut, from village to village, even reaching out to the neighboring tribes with the message of salvation through Jesus Christ.
This work continued even through my father, who was dedicated by my grandparents, to translate the whole Bible into our our tribal language. And that commitment led Dad on a journey out of our hills, remote village hills, and into other parts of India, to Scotland and eventually to the United States. Along the way, God put people in his path that helped him move from one level to the next level and to the next step in the journey. That included people like Dr Bob Pierce, who went on to found World Vision and Samaritan’s Purse, and Dr Billy Graham, who brought Dad to study at Wheaton College Graduate School of Theology.
Dad finished the translation of the Bible and then asked God, “What next?” That was when God gave Dad the vision to provide his word, not only to his own people in India, but to people all across India, to neighboring countries, and now 126 countries around the world.
Our people have been completely transformed from headhunters to heart-hunters for Jesus Christ! The work in India continues reaching out to the unreached people groups there and all around the world as we provide God’s Word and help equip nationals to reach their own people with the message of salvation.
We’d like to encourage everyone to get involved in whatever way they can in spreading the gospel, spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ, whether it be through ministries and missions like ours that are involved in providing God’s Word around the world, helping support those who are reaching unreached people groups around the world, or even just getting involved in sharing the message of Jesus Christ to their neighbor, or to people in their own community.
We need all of us. All of us are called to respond to the Great Commission. This is a command that each one of us as follows of Christ was given. It is not “the great suggestion.” It is the Great Commission. This is for every one of us to do in whatever capacity, in whatever way we can, wherever we are, we need to keep reaching out with the life changing, and life saving message of Jesus Christ.
