Behind the Scenes

In every type of ministry there are up front people and people behind the scenes. In church we recognize that the person running the sound booth is just as important as the person leading worship. We need everyone in order for the service to run smoothly.

However sometimes on the mission field it’s easy for the behind the scenes people to get missed. In a translation project we think about linguists, translators, literacy workers and scripture use workers. But an accountant? An IT expert? Operations manager? We don’t necessarily think of those people as being critical to a translation project but they are crucial, especially for a cluster project working with several languages.

I can personally testify that our project would not continue without those people and the Bible would not get translated. It takes money to operate an office, simple things like paying for supplies and paying the employees. Who will do that so we can all work at the office? As well we require money for trips out to the village to check the Scriptures or for paying for workshops. Who knows about project funds and is able to get us the money we need? These aren’t simple tasks and not just anyone can fill that role. We all love the current accountant although she might not say the same about us.

Then there is the area of computers and other types of technology. What happens when we need to update translation software or there is an issue on a translator’s computer? Work grinds to a halt until the IT person can come fix it. Since all our work is done on computers it is absolutely essential to have someone who can help keep those computers running. But it’s not just computers; it’s also the server and the backups, internet and networks. There is much more but it’s beyond me so I won’t mention it here. All I know is that without our IT guy, work would probably come to a stop in a couple days or less.

Operations is also a critical department. It’s hard to run an office if the water and electricity bills aren’t paid or there isn’t paper to print on. Someone needs to be in charge of the practical aspects of caring for the buildings along with administrative tasks such as supervising certain employees. This is usually not the first area people think of when they consider missions but it’s very important.

When these crucial roles are overlooked the result is a lack of people to fill the roles or a lack of support for people in these roles. Accountants can work as missionaries almost anywhere in the world with Wycliffe because there is such a need. Ironically, it’s more difficult to raise support to work as a missionary accountant than as a translation adviser. It’s not always easy to explain to churches how managing the books makes a difference in the lives of people who need the Bible. But it makes a huge difference and the sooner we realize this the sooner we can begin to support those people who work behind the scenes.