Our website introduces ABT’s vision and purpose—what ABT is. To further clarify ABT’s function, let’s now look at what ABT is not.
A guiding principle for ABT is that we are neither the Church nor a church. We are committed to remaining a parachurch organization. The “para” in parachurch indicates “alongside” or “beside.” ABT serves the church’s mission by working alongside local churches who are willing to send their members into the field.
This means that ABT is not a sending organization. The Lord and His church send laborers. ABT helps when the sending involves Bible translation. We do not pull workers away from the local church and send them to “our” mission fields.
ABT encourages and equips churches to send and support their missionaries. We do not provide all the support for any worker.
Joining ABT includes a commitment to, not a release from, the worker’s home church. We facilitate only workers whose home church stands behind them.
In addition, ABT is not a church-planting organization. Yes, our goal for any people group includes a thriving local church, but it will not be an “ABT church.” It is not ABT’s job to administer baptism or decide questions of practice. The team on the ground works under a sending church’s oversight to plant the local church.
What is ABT? ABT is a parachurch organization that works alongside local churches to establish local churches in other settings. ABT’s function is to facilitate Bible translation. We provide linguistic training and consultation and direct Bible translation projects.
By faith we, the workers, and their sending churches look forward to the day when our co-labor with God results in local assemblies of believers following Jesus together in the far-flung reaches of the world.
Newer post: Why Our Mission Starts with the Church