Our mission
Bible Society’s Remote and Indigenous Ministry aims to see Indigenous people come to a relationship with God through his word and to live committed and growing Bible-focused lives.
To reach this goal Bible Society Australia:
- Publishes Indigenous Bibles;
- Supports the recording of Indigenous Scripture into Audio;
- Develops culturally appropriate Scripture resources;
- Provides support to those translating the Bible into local heart languages; and
- Distributes Scripture resources to communities through our Scripture Grants program
Acknowledgement of Country
We acknowledge the First Nations People as the Traditional Custodians of this land we now called Australia on which we live, work and call home. We pay respect to all the First Nations people, we recognise and respect the rich cultural heritage, beliefs and spiritual relationship with Country, passed down through generations. We acknowledge the creator of this beautiful land, God and acknowledge the Elders both past and present who have cared for this creation with respect and reverence. We pray that God (our Creator) would lead us down the path of Reconciliation for all Australian people as we live together in unity and harmony.
Updates from the field
News from the Pitjantjatjara Old Testament Translation team
New Revised Pitjantjatjara Shorter Bible out now!
The new revised Pitjantjatjara Shorter Bible is now available in Koorong book stores around the country. Tjulyata Tjilya (Pitjantjatjara translator) visited the Adelaide Koorong store and was so excited when she saw the new Bible she rang her friends to share the good news.
New Indigenous Bible translators being equipped at Nungalinya Bible College
An Introduction to Bible Translation training workshop - a new inclusion in the Nungalinya Diploma of Translation course – was held in Alice Springs in November. Paul and Ann Eckert attended as teaching support for the Pitjantjatjara participants. Between 6-11 participants attended each day from five different central desert language groups (Pitjantjatjara; Pintupi-Luritja; Alyawarr; Western Arrarnta and Anmatyerr). This is the second 'In Community' workshop that Nungalinya has ran this year and the College is planning to run two workshops each year in different communities. Gunbalanya and Groote Eylandt are likely to host this exciting new initiative next year.
Monthly Prayer letter
One of the best ways you can support our indigenous ministry is through prayer. Our monthly prayer letter includes the latest prayer requests for our RIMS work as well as other Bible Society initiatives.
Language Resources
A lot of work is taking place to capture Indigenous languages and integrate them with Bible resources. While this important work is very much still underway, we are blessed to have the following resources available:
Website:
- Parts of the Bible are available in over 47 different Aboriginal languages at: http://aboriginalbibles.org.au/
Apps:
- The Tjukurpa Palya - Pitjantjatjara Bible is available via Google Play and the App Store.
- The Tjukurpa Palya - Pitjantjatjara version is also available through the YouVersion Bible app.
- Search ‘Kriol’ in the google play store.
- Luke's Gospel in Nyoongar via Google Play.