Tagalog Gospel according to John Published

It is with great pleasure that the Tagalog Gospel according to John has been published online. Tagalog is the language of thirty-five million people throughout the Philippines and its diaspora in the United States, Canada, Australia, Saudi Arabia, and other parts of the Middle East, Europe, and Asia.

Along with English, Tagalog and Filipino are the official languages of the Philippines. Tagalog belongs to the Austronesian language family. The language has borrowed many words from Spanish, Chinese, Malay, and English due to historical trade, colonization, and globalization. Before Spanish colonization, Tagalog was written using the Indigenous Baybayin script. However, today the Latin alphabet is used.

In addition to publishing the Gospel online, we eagerly anticipate its printing in the coming months. Distribution of the Gospel is anticipated through a circle of Baptist churches. Our translator has also worked very diligently in the rest of the New Testament and has completed the first drafts of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and Romans. Currently, he is translating the Acts of the Apostles. We give thanks for this very encouraging state of affairs after years of no progress in this language.

We gratefully acknowledge the support provided by a church in Canada for this project and give thanks that the Lord knows our pathway and that His hand is upon His people for their eternal good.

How to pray for this project:

• Pray for the translator as he continues to translate the remaining New Testament books.
• Pray for the printing process—that it would proceed quickly and smoothly.
• Pray for the distribution of the printed Gospel and that many more distribution avenues would be opened, and that it would be eagerly received by Tagalog speakers around the world.