AI, New Partnerships & 35 Years of Ministry

Dear Friends,

P.J. and I (Doug) recently attended SIL’s Conference in South Africa, where we had the privilege of welcoming our new Executive Director, Dr. Johnstone Ndunde. One question on many minds at the conference was how we should thoughtfully respond to, and potentially leverage, the rapid rise of Artificial Intelligence. I was honored to serve on the committee tasked with drafting SIL’s official approach to AI, and I am also helping to form a team that will ensure we make wise and effective use of this evolving technology.

Even as we proceed with care, we see real potential for AI to multiply our impact—especially as the missionary workforce diminishes. My department has already begun using the multilingual abilities of AI to create high-quality training materials for translators. We look forward to exploring even more ways these new tools can help us advance the work of Bible translation and language development. In fact, I have two Summer Ministry Fellows working on my team this summer from Taylor and Cedarville Universities. They are doing amazing work, and we’ll report on that when they finish in August.

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Milestone Recognized

Since the International conference coincided closely with our 35th wedding anniversary, we took advantage of a side trip to celebrate this milestone in Cape Town. We were refreshed by the beauty of God’s creation, especially at places like Cape Point, walking on top of Table Mountain, seeing the southern oceans and even encountering penguins—one animal we never expected to see in Africa! We’re thankful for such moments that renew our hearts and prepare us for continued ministry.

Since we started our journey with Wycliffe the same year we were married, we are also celebrating 35 years serving in Bible translation. Many of you have been with us for a significant portion of that, and some for the entire time! We praise God for your partnership that enables this work to continue!

Recently, during a trip to a conference in the Netherlands, P.J. and I had the opportunity to tour Pretore, a print shop partnering with SIL to produce high-quality Bibles using advanced inkjet printing on thin, Bible-quality paper. In the past, thin paper was only available through traditional offset printing, which required ordering large quantities—often thousands of copies at a time. This meant that communities had to wait until an entire New Testament was finished before professional printing. Because this printing was expensive and would take many months including shipping, translation teams would order more copies than they thought they needed, just to be safe. The whole process was high-stakes and left little room for mistakes, as you had to get it perfect the first time.

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Now, thanks to Pretore’s new process, it’s possible to print small batches—sometimes as few as fifty or even twenty copies—on thin paper used in Bibles. This opens up completely new possibilities. For example, translation teams can now print a small number of paperback New Testaments early in the process, use them to gather feedback, and make improvements before committing to a large print run.

If you combine this fast printing with the powerful publishing tool, PTXprint, you can print special editions with both a major language and the local language side by side, giving pastors a valuable tool to help them adapt to preaching in the local language. We are excited about the possibilities through SIL’s partnership with Pretore. They are currently working on an interface to place orders directly from the PTXprint. Please pray for this effort to help Scripture reach more people, quickly, and with greater accuracy than ever before.

We’re also thrilled to share a new book that P.J.’s team published and distributed in time for the SIL Global conference. Language in the Mission of God, edited by Michael Greed, brings together 22 voices from around the world to explore something we're passionate about—how God uses every language as part of His beautiful plan for reaching the world. This isn't just academic theory; it's about real ministry transformation. As language workers, we see daily how Scripture engagement in mother tongues opens hearts and transforms communities in ways that cross-cultural ministry alone cannot achieve.

Your partnership makes it possible for us to contribute towards breaking down linguistic barriers while celebrating the diversity God created. Thank you for walking alongside us over the past 35 years as we continue to see God's kingdom advance with the power of the Spirit and through language—one people group, one translation, one heart at a time.

Partners in the Gospel,    (Phil 1:5)

Doug & P.J. Higby