Prayer-Driven “More Than Words” Campaign Reaches Funding Target 

Lutheran Bible Translators is overjoyed to announce that the five-year More Than Words Campaign is fully funded!

Executive Director and CEO Rich Rudowske shared, “The More than Words campaign challenged us to dream bigger, think differently, and come to grips with our limitations and the reality that only God could make these goals happen. Our prayers became more focused, and we have watched the Lord do amazing things through His people.” 

When Lutheran Bible Translators leadership met over five years ago to establish guidelines for the More Than Words Campaign, God led them to create audacious goals. Many of these felt a little impossible at the time. Chief Development Officer Alyssa Petty reflected.  “But once we set prayer as the strategy, we were able to see God moving in ways beyond what we could have imagined. He led the organization to rely on him.” 

The focus on prayer was a momentum shift requiring full reliance on God and his plans for Lutheran Bible Translators. It also invited thousands of people to join the campaign through prayers, gifts, and advocacy. “It is humbling to see the number of partners and supporters increase over the past five years. The success of the campaign is theirs,” Petty said. 

Above and Beyond Expectations

And God certainly was moving. Here are the targets he took above and beyond: 

• 88 translation advisors trained or in progress (target: 77) 

• 11 doctoral students supported (target: 6) 

• 12+ regional planning exercises led and participated in (target: 6) 

• 60 literacy programs (target: 48) 

• 149 language communities served (target: 144) 

• 21 missionary teams equipped (target: 15) 

A Campaign Marked by Faithfulness

In addition, LBT assessed and supported ten languages, facilitated liturgy workshops in many communities, and celebrated the estimated 15 million people who were impacted by media and video production, many of whom are in sensitive locations. During the five years of the More Than Words campaign, five Scripture publications were dedicated: Gola New Testament, full Hadiyya Bible, Dhirayta New Testament, full Konso Bible, and Shekgalagari New Testament. 

The campaign was not without struggle. At times, full funding felt impossible. Yet, God was there at every moment. Petty observed, “Even when we thought the campaign was finished and the final goal wasn’t quite met, God once again did more than we could imagine. He provided, as He always does.” Our timeline for the campaign was over, but God still had more to show us. In late January, final pledges pushed the total gifts to 100.5% of the target amount, a total of $44.1 million. “What a joy to be part of a campaign that created a shift in how we go about expecting God’s faithfulness and also being in awe of it.”  

The Work Continues

The campaign is over, but God’s work isn’t finished. The vision of vibrant Christian communities, deeply rooted in God’s word, engaging fully in God’s mission, in this generation, is an ongoing effort. We celebrate God’s abundant grace through the More Than Words campaign and anticipate with joy what plans he has next.