In partnership with Global Nazarene Literature and the General Secretary’s Office, Asia-Pacific Regional Literature held the first 3 Manual Translation Summits on 13 November – 1 December 2023 attended by 70 total participants representing 18 languages. The Summit was held one month before the anticipated release of the 2023-27 Church of the Nazarene Manual.  

Dr. Gary Hartke, General Secretary, welcomed participants with a challenging fact that the “Church of the Nazarene worships in 198 languages, but the Manual is fully translated into 20 languages only.”  Dr. Scott Stargel, Director of Global Nazarene Publications, added that the “Statement of Belief and Articles of Faith are translated into 40-50 languages.” “Manual translation is critical to fulfill the desire of the General Assembly to acquaint Nazarenes worldwide with our history, beliefs, and governance.”  Dr. Hartke stated.

The first summit was held in Bangkok, Thailand from November 13-17 with 52 participants translating key Nazarene documents into 13 languages.  The first four-fold task set before the translators was to translate the Statement of Belief, Manual Lexicon, Articles of Faith, and Covenants.  Next each committee chose their goal and timeline for completing either the translation of the 2023 Church Member’s Handbook or the full Manual.  Committees were also given the option to translate from Global English or the original English of these documents.  By the end of the first summit week the Statement of Belief and Articles of Faith were completed and Manual Committees established for 13 languages.  Seven of these committees chose the Church Members Handbook as their next goal while six committees determined to complete the full 2023-27 Manual translation within the next 3-12 months.

The second summit was held in Kudjip, Papua New Guinea with 6 participants gathered from 21-23 November 2023 to translate the Statement of Belief into 4 local languages and to edit the Articles of Faith in Tok Pisin.  In addition, work has begun on the 2023 Manual Lexicon in Tok Pisin.  During these pivotal days, Tok Pisin’s vocabulary was clarified for “holiness,” “sanctification,” and “entire sanctification.”  

The third summit with twelve participants representing Bislama, Fijian, Samoan, and Tongan languages gathered in Suva, Fiji, from 27 November to 1 December, and completed their first draft translations of the Statement of Belief, Manual Lexicon, and Articles of Faith.  One of these language committees also began work on the Church Member’s Handbook before the week was finished. Daniel Latu, Fiji Literature Coordinator, summarized the summit’s importance for the South Pacific languages. “Communication is important.  If we communicate wrong people will believe wrong.  I thank the leadership for making this [translation] time available.” Daniel Latu shared.

The Manual translation summits are off to a great start in the Asia-Pacific Region, with the Statement of Belief drafted or completed in 21 languages and the Articles of Faith drafted or completed in 18 languages.  As a result of these first three summits, Manual translations have begun in 10 new languages in the Church of the Nazarene.