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This project encourages Christians in remote villages to seek Scripture’s wisdom in their daily lives. Gurija speakers can now access freshly-translated verses daily, while drafts of key Old Testament books move steadily forward.
Thank you! This project has been fully funded for the year!
Funds to meet this year's goals
the Need
Scattered in rural villages, the rhythm of life among the Gurija people revolves around seasonal drought. Skilled farmers grow just enough food to survive on their small plots of land. To support their families, many also work as day labourers in the fields of large landowners. Since most Gurija people cannot read or write fluently, they are cut off from reliable medical care. Children frequently suffer from malnutrition and preventable illnesses; many do not live to adulthood. Families struggle to access education, and economic opportunities, such as the increased yields that come with modern farming techniques, remain out of reach.
The few who follow Jesus attend churches that use Scripture in a national language. Wanting deeper understanding, the believers pursued training and translated the New Testament and are now working on the foundational Old Testament books.
The Project
Project team members trained by our national partner in South Asia have made a commitment to:
Translate the Old Testament. *Updated to full Old Testament in 2025
Make Gurija Scripture accessible in print, audio and digital format to those who want them.
Address the literacy needs of the community by completing a Gurija dictionary and holding literacy classes.
Lead an educational ministry, conducting Bible studies, youth and children’s programs, worship concerts, and showings of the “JESUS” film.
BIble Translation Progress
Drafted
33
Community-Checked
31
Quality-Checked
29
New! (2024-2025)
Faith Sustained
Shravan and his family decided to follow Jesus after a Christian brother visited their isolated community and shared the gospel with them. After this brother left them to continue his missionary work, Shravan’s family followed Jesus the best they could. They had no Scripture in their own language, and they couldn’t read the Bible in the national language, but they believed in their hearts and relied on the Holy Spirit.
For seven years, their faith was sustained through prayer, worshipping together, and discussing of the gospel message they had received. When a project team member arrived in their village to start a Bible study, Shravan and his family were overjoyed at the opportunity to learn more about Jesus. They listened to a reading from Luke’s gospel, which was all new to them. During the discussion, they asked many questions. Shravan was delighted to discover that there were so many stories of Jesus—and that they could experience them in their own language!
The translator encouraged them to keep attending the village Bible study. “Until now they did not know how many gospels there are in the Bible, they did not know how many disciples Jesus Christ has,” explains the translator. “Please pray that they can understand and learn God's word well."
A Christmas to Remember
The Gurija project team was overjoyed to give children from rural villages a chance to celebrate Christmas. The team did not know how many would show up, but more than 150 people joined in the celebration. Local kids brought their siblings, parents, and even extended family. The program featured the local children presenting skits, performing dances, and singing songs in the Gurija language. Once the children had finished presenting, the team put on a puppet show for the kids and handed out Christmas presents for each child. Afterwards, the project team shared the Christmas story in Gurija with all those present. The festivities wrapped up with free time for friends and neighbours to socialize over sweets and tea, where many people discussed what they had heard during the program in their heart language.
Bible Quiz Show
It was the middle of December, and the project team was excited to finally put their training to use. Earlier, they had taken a course detailing the best practices and pitfalls of providing a Christmas program highlighting Bible translation and mother-tongue literacy. At the first community event they ran, dances and singing were popular, but what generated the most excitement was the viewing of a section of a Bible film in the Gurija language and the interactive Scripture quiz that followed. When asked whether they would rather watch the next section of the Bible film in the national language, the crowd roared “We will watch in Gurija!”
At the next event in another village, local people left their work to come and participate in the program. After participating in the Scripture quiz based on the Bible film, one man who had not yet learned to read and write his language observed, “This program was very good for us illiterate people. We will keep praying for such a program in the future and will listen to and watch the Word of the Lord and meditate on it so that whenever such a Bible quiz comes, we will answer.” Everyone is looking forward to continuing the program next year.
“We praise God for his provision. We also praise God that anything we were able to do—God alone made it possible. He is at work, and we are only His servants. We want to give Glory to Him alone.”
Samuel, Gurija project team member
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