Frequently Asked Questions
Learn about the ETEN Innovation Lab’s role as a catalyst for innovation in Bible translation.
ETEN Innovation Lab
The ETEN Innovation Lab is a catalyst within the Every Tribe Every Nation (ETEN) collective impact alliance. It exists to accelerate progress toward the All Access Goals by exploring, testing, and communicating to equip the scaling of emerging methods in Bible translation. The Lab takes strategic risks to test what is untested, equip the unequipped, and advance efforts that require focused attention and intentionality. Rooted in collaboration, the Innovation Lab works alongside ETEN and non-ETEN partners to identify barriers, experiment with new solutions, and broaden participation in trustworthy Bible translation.
The Innovation Lab is part of the Every Tribe Every Nation (ETEN) collective impact alliance, functioning as an experimental hub rather than an implementing agency. ETEN Implementing Partners carry out translation projects and related operational elements of Bible translation, exercising as much innovation capacity as aligns with respective board mandates and organizational calling.
The Lab serves as a dedicated environment to catalyze and sponsor exploration and testing that complements the work of Implementing Partners. Its shared goal is to help proven innovations reach broader adoption within ETEN implementing partners and others.
The Lab pioneers, tests, and communicates to equip the scaling of emerging methods, tools, and models to help achieve the 2033 All Access Goals. It works in close collaboration with Implementing Partners to radically broaden involvement, accelerate progress through the use of advanced technologies and open, accessible resources.
The Innovation Lab accelerates solutions in Bible translation through three current strategic priorities:
Assisted Translation Technology (ATT): Exploring and scaling Artificial Intelligence and commercial translation technologies.
Quality Assurance (QA): Development and scalability of flexible QA methods to suit emerging translation methodologies.
Translation Resource Ecosystem (TRE): Development of open-access tools, texts, helps, and data to equip church-based Bible translation.
Its primary goal is to accelerate global Bible translation efforts to meet ETEN’s All Access Goals by 2033.
ETEN’s All Access Goals aim to ensure that by 2033, all people have access to God’s Word in a language they can clearly understand. The goals include:
95% of the world’s population having access to a full Bible
99.96% having access to the New Testament or an equivalent portion of Scripture
100% having access to at least some portion of Scripture
Full Bible translations in the world’s 100 most strategic written languages
Challenges include reaching low-resource and high-security language communities, integrating emerging technologies without compromising trust or quality, and expanding church-based translation alongside access to open resources.
The Innovation Lab collaborates with organizations through a variety of partnership roles:
Content Contributors provide Bible translation resources under open licenses for use by the global Church.
Experimentation/Implementation Hosts connect church planting, disciple making, and church growth movements worldwide to emergent methods of Scripture translation in languages most relevant to your ministry purposes.
Technology Providers bring expertise in AI, machine learning, NLP, and related fields to explore new solutions for Bible translation.
Thought Partners offer experience and insight in Scripture translation to support specific Lab priorities or projects.
Prayer Partners commit to regular, focused prayer for the Lab’s efforts.
Investors support the Lab financially through cost-recovery and scaling of innovative outcomes.
If you would like to partner with the Lab, visit our Get Involved page to learn more.
ATT and Bible Translation
ATT uses artificial intelligence, machine learning, and scalable technologies to support human translators. It can generate draft translations, identify inconsistencies, and streamline the translation process, making it faster and more efficient while still relying on human oversight for accuracy and clarity.
AI is used in Bible translation to assist with generating initial drafts, accelerating revision and quality checks, and improving consistency across texts. It works best when trained on high-quality language data, allowing it to support faster and more scalable translation efforts. With human oversight, AI can help ensure translations remain accurate, clear, and culturally appropriate.
No, we do not believe so. AI serves as a support tool rather than a replacement. Human translators are essential for cultural nuance, theological accuracy, and contextual understanding.
Similar to any new innovation, the Innovation Lab is thoughtfully engaging current challenges in the adoption of ATT. AI tools rely on quality data, so many lower-resource languages require a data collection process before translation can begin. Some communities also face practical barriers such as limited internet access, lack of devices, or high-security environments. These challenges highlight the need for local relevance, trusted partnerships, and thoughtful implementation.
For AI to support Bible translation effectively, it needs to be trained on reliable language data. ‘Smaller’ languages often lack the digital text needed to build strong models. To address this, the Innovation Lab is exploring approaches like data augmentation, synthetic text generation, and community-led validation to strengthen datasets and expand the reach of ATT to more language communities.
The Innovation Lab combines AI-assisted translation with intentional human oversight to ensure accuracy and theological faithfulness. AI-generated drafts are thoroughly reviewed, with input from trained reviewers and theological guidance rooted in the local church context. An iterative feedback process helps refine the translation, allowing the church to affirm its clarity, accuracy, and alignment with Scripture.
In Church-Based Bible Translation, AI supports quality assurance by helping detect inconsistencies, suggesting improvements, and automating grammar and style checks. This allows local church teams to focus on theological accuracy and community understanding. In Oral Bible Translation, AI also assists with audio transcription, voice masking, and pronunciation analysis to ensure clarity and consistency in spoken Scripture.
QA and Resources for CBBT
Church-Based Bible Translation (CBBT) is a model where the local church leads the translation process. It is at the center of decision-making, resourcing, and quality assessment in ways that are locally relevant, and is involved in every stage, including authentication. The CBBT cycle includes five key stages:
Capacity Building: Equipping the church with the skills and tools needed to sustain translation. Community Engagement and Conversational Drafting: Exploring, internalizing, and drafting Scripture through collaborative, often oral-first methods. Review by a Quality Assurance Community: Local church leaders test and affirm the translation. Regional Church Leader Authentication: Broader leadership verifies the integrity of the process. Iterative Publication and Revision: Scripture is published, used, and refined through ongoing community feedback.
Confidence in CBBT stems from several factors: Community Involvement: Active participation by the local church ensures the translation resonates culturally and linguistically. Training and Resources: Translators receive training and access to high-quality biblical and translation resources. Quality Assurance Processes: Rigorous checking procedures, including review by church leaders, ensure theological and linguistic accuracy.
Experimentation is essential to developing new methods and tools that can strengthen and scale Church-Based Bible Translation. It helps address the diverse realities of language communities around the world by testing solutions that are locally relevant, sustainable, and more effective. Through thoughtful experimentation, the global Church can lead trustworthy translation efforts and reach more people with God’s Word.
In Church-Based Bible Translation, external Translation Consultants and agencies play a supportive role. Consultants serve as coaches, offering training, mentoring, and guidance throughout the process. Rather than conducting final checks in isolation, they help build the church’s capacity for quality translation and support ongoing review and revision at the invitation of the local church.
Multimodal Bible translation uses formats like text, audio, video, and visual storytelling to make Scripture more accessible, especially in oral cultures. By starting with natural communication methods such as speech and story, it allows communities to engage with Scripture early and meaningfully. This approach helps accelerate translation and ensures the Bible is clearly understood and widely used.
Free and open resources remove barriers to translation efforts by ensuring that communities have unrestricted access to essential tools, biblical texts, and linguistic data. This enables church-based translation initiatives to thrive without financial, institutional, or process-related constraints and supports scalability by allowing for broader collaboration.
The Aquifer is a curated, open-access library of biblical and translation resources designed to support church-based Bible translation and AI-assisted tools. The platform prioritizes open licensing, integration with emerging technologies, and accessibility for communities with limited resources.
Partner Engagement
The Innovation Lab partners with those who are qualified, available, and aligned with the Lab’s commissioning. Whether through technology, content, prayer, or other forms of support, we welcome those ready to collaborate in helping every person access God’s Word by 2033.
To find out more about getting involved, please head to the Get Involved Page.
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For inquiries, email lab@eten.bible or visit our contact page for more information.