Most of the 200,000 Gola people live in Western Liberia. Another 10,000 live in neighboring Sierra Leone. They speak a Niger-Congo language, also called Gola. It is spoken in 15 Liberian counties, yet the people have no Scripture in their heart language.
That is until now.
Praise God! The Wait is Finally Over
In 1969, work began to translate the New Testament in the Gola language. But the work was disrupted by sickness, revolving personnel, and war. Most noticeably, in 1990, the Liberian Civil War forced missionaries working on the translation to leave the country, causing a long delay.
In 2017, a team of committed Gola translators, led by Bible Society in Liberia, were assembled and resumed the translation.
On March 8, 2020, the Gola finally received their New Testament in an official dedication and launching ceremony at a church in Tubmanburge, Bomi County! It took 51 years, but the Gola can now connect with the the Bible’s powerful messages of hope in their own language.
“ … teaching the good news of Jesus Christ to indigenous people without a written script has been difficult. I am so blessed to have in my hands a copy of the Gola New Testament,” said Amos Sando, a catechist at the St. Mogaga Catholic Church in Bomi County.
Let’s Thank God Together:
God, thank you for sustaining this Bible translation project for 51 years so that the Gola people could hear you speak to them in their heart language. We pray that the gospel of Jesus will continue to spread amongst the Gola people. We also pray for exponential growth among the Christian church as God’s Word is shared.
