As we reflect on 2025, I thank God for a year of remarkable progress across the Bible translation movement both worldwide and within Australia. Our members have been serving in diverse roles, such as translation consulting, Scripture engagement, literacy training, and leadership, along with contributing a range of other vocational skills. They often work in remote and challenging contexts, always in close partnership with local churches and communities.

A particularly encouraging trend this year has been the strengthening of local involvement in many translation projects. Increasingly, local translators are leading the work, with Australians contributing specialist skills, mentoring, and encouragement. This shift reflects both maturity in the global movement and the relational nature of Bible translation.

At home, we welcomed new enquiries from Australians sensing a call to serve. Volunteer engagement and membership applications remained strong, while our staff team invested in member care, safeguarding, and sustainable systems to support those we send.

We are deeply grateful for the faithful generosity of churches, supporters, and partners whose giving and prayer sustain this work. Significant gifts this year helped secure ongoing support for members and prepare for future growth.

Thank you for standing with us as we continue working toward the day when every language community can encounter God’s Word in a language that speaks to their heart.

Max Sahl

Wycliffe Australia’s biennial conference was held 2-4 May 2025 at our National Centre in Kangaroo Ground, Victoria. The theme for the 2025 Gathering was ‘Beyond 2025’, looking at how we are tracking with Vision 2025 − a goal ‘that by 2025, a Bible translation project will be in progress for every people group that needs it’. Kirk Franklin explained that, although the vision was not achieved, it is still an important goal to consider as, ‘It’s more than a plan − it’s a story of faith in a great God and a bold dream’.

The conference was opened by Wycliffe Australia CEO Max Sahl and daily devotions were led by the Wycliffe Global Alliance Asia-Pacific Area Director, Nicky Chong. Encouraging stories from the field were shared by Wycliffe Australia and SIL Australia members. The weekend also included the Annual General Meeting, with around 30 participants joining via Zoom.

Several prayer stations had been set up around Wycliffe Australia’s National Centre in Kangaroo Ground (Melbourne) as part of a week of prayer and fasting. Prayer Coordinators Wen Lee, Lola and Lindsay walked to the Chapel to pray at the ‘Asia’ prayer station. When they arrived, they met Swiner for the first time − one of many faithful intercessors who pray regularly for Wycliffe.

That meeting became a powerful time of praise, communion and intercession for the Wycliffe family and their work in Asia. Together, they caught a glimpse of Revelation 7:9 and what it will look like when we are all united before the Lamb, with Wen Lee from Asia, Lola from Oceania, Swiner from Africa and Lindsay of European heritage! Later that week, Swiner joined the Wycliffe Australia and SILA World Day of Prayer gathering. She brought her joy and exuberance as she helped lead worship and prayer at the Africa prayer station.

Swiner is one of well over 500 intercessors who faithfully pray with Wycliffe Australia for the precious work of sharing God’s Word with every language community. We thank God for each one of them and ask God to pour out the riches of his grace into their lives.

National Training Event is an annual conference in December run by the Australian Fellowship of Evangelical Students (AFES) for university students to deepen their understanding of God and his Word. Wycliffe Australia has been a longstanding mission partner with interactive stands in the ‘ACT NOW’ room. Our featured project for 2025 was to raise funds, prayer and awareness for the Auslan Bible project (Australian Sign Language) and Papua New Guinean Sign Language (PNGSL). A total of 55 students were taught a sign from John 3:16 in Auslan and these were then filmed and shown during the end of the conference. Many encouraging conversations took place throughout the course of the week, with a number of students expressing interest in volunteering, supporting, or joining a short-term trip with Wycliffe next year.

In November 2025, multi-language translation workshops for Indigenous Australian and Torres Strait Islander language communities were held at Nungalinya College in Darwin. The week was facilitated by one of Wycliffe Australia’s partner organisations, the Australian Society for Indigenous Languages (AuSIL). Seven language communities were represented and groups met to study Mark 16:2-6 and created translations in language and resources to take back with them to their communities.

Despite many of the participants feeling anxious about Cyclone Fina as it ripped through the region, one of the translation consultants pointed out that the name ‘Fina’ in Hebrew means ‘God will increase’. And that is certainly what God did in the midst of a cyclone!

Some groups were able to complete a full translation of the Mark passage and get it consultant checked, along with a number of other resources to take back to their communities.

For more information about AuSIL, visit ausil.org.au

Wycliffe Australia sent 12 people on a ‘Discovery Trip’ to Papua New Guinea in September. Friends from SIL PNG enabled them to experience a range of important work that supports Bible translation. The team enjoyed visiting translation departments, schools, a village clinic, and meeting the communities in lowlands villages. Unfortunately, they also got to experience a medical evacuation when one of the team members became extremely sick.

One of the team leaders, Helen Sahl, shares:

We thank God for the great help of the community, clinic staff, aviation workers and for the prayers of the people for our dear team mate who was in good hands and is recovering well. Undoubtedly, we will all go home changed by this incredibly full and moving two weeks – sharing in the joys and sorrows of life and ministry with many people.

The year 2025 was filled with some exciting translation milestones for Australian Sign Language (Auslan). Wycliffe Bible Translators Australia, Bible Society Australia and Alpha Australia formed a partnership to create the first eight episodes of the Alpha series in Auslan. There were events in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane to launch the evangelistic series and the new resource was met with great enthusiasm. We also celebrated the launch of the new Auslan Bible website, the result of a partnership with Bible Society. Along with Alpha and ongoing filming of Scripture, Wycliffe Australia helped to create a ‘picture-in-picture’ (PiP) translation of The Jesus Film. A screening took place in Melbourne on 28 May. The audience was filled with tears and applause as many Deaf Aussies got to understand the good news of the gospel for the first time.

Click here to read more about this.

*SAIL is a collaboration between Nungalinya College, AuSIL, WBTA, YWAM, BSA, and Coordinate.

The Journey is an immersive experience designed to help people understand God’s heart to reach the nations. Participants pass through various ‘steps’, simulating subjects covered when preparing for cross-cultural mission service, such as language and culture learning, Bible training, and partnering with local churches and mission organisations. The highlight is visiting another country, meeting people from a visiting culture group and experiencing some of their language and culture.

The program was held in Adelaide on 20 September 2025, in collaboration with the Austral-Asian Christian Church. An event was also held in Melbourne on 27 September, in partnership with the Mission Resources Centre (sponsors), the Chinese Christian Church of Victoria, Gospel Hall and Evangelical Community Church. Over the two events, there were a total of 346 participants in nine Cantonese groups and four English groups. Program organisers, Robert Love and Jessie Wei, received encouraging feedback and requests from two new churches to run the program. Robert shares:

We thank the Lord for the partnership, hard work and generosity of all the churches, along with the culture groups, presenters and debriefers, and all who upheld The Journey in prayer. For more information, or to run The Journey program in your church, head to /eventtype/the-journey.

Membership
240 Members (Incl board and assigned retired members)
11 New members (roles in Aviation, PEV, Teaching, Member Care, TreeTops, Scripture Engagement, ESL and Finance)
7 Members released to first assignment
26 Assignment changes
3 Retirements
7 Resignations
0 Leave of absence requests (Total of 12 at the end of 2024)
6 Sabbaticals
10 Health/compassionate leave request
9 Membership applications in process at the end of 2025.

Volunteers
63 Volunteers assigned to WBTA admin, property, membercare, advocates, IT, website translation, Tree Tops, Seed Company, WRDF, SILA
36 New volunteers
6 Volunteer resignations
9 Volunteer applications in process at end of 2025

Employees
7 Employees, roles in personnel, projects, finance, communications and retreats
1 Resignation
2 New employees