The Bible is about to be published in Bissa for the first time

Get a sense of the impact that the Bible will have on Bissa people in Burkina Faso through the stories of participants in a biblical literacy course

Through the generosity of people in England and Wales passionate about the Bible, speakers of the Bissa language in Burkina Faso will, from next year, enjoy full access to Scripture for the first time. This will be life-changing for a whole community. Hundreds of thousands of people in West Africa could feel the impact of the Bible as more and more of them hear its words in their own language.

Recently, church leaders gathered in the town of Zabré to study the new Bissa Bible ahead of its publication. Until now they’ve been preaching in a second language. French is the official language of Burkina Faso and Mooré is the main spoken language, used by more than half the population. Bissa is the heart language of these church leaders and their communities, but until now they’ve not been able to use it for worship.

Pastor Lenga Joël, who leads a group of churches, was excited by the training course because it brought the promise of having God’s word in his own language. ‘We used to preach in Mooré because we could only read the Bible in Mooré,’ he said. ‘Our joy is great today because, from now on, we are going to preach and read the Bible directly in Bissa without interpretation.’

Over five days, church leaders from several denominations in the region became familiar with the Bissa alphabet, as used in the new Bible, and theological terminology previously confined to other languages. Although it’s the heart language for so many people, Bissa is a marginalised language when it comes to reading and writing. But just as the Authorized Version did for English 400 years ago, the Bissa Bible will increase the status of the Bissa language and its speakers.

Isabelle Yigo, another church leader, said that having the Bible in Bissa will make a huge difference for women. ‘This training awakened my desire and my will to read in Bissa, my mother tongue,’ she said. ‘I discovered terms and words in Bissa that I did not know and realised the great richness of this language, unknown to many Bissa.’

Pastor Yabré Daniel also had the incomparable sense of having rediscovered his own language. ‘I did not know that the Bissa language was so rich,’ he said. ‘I discovered words in Bissa that do not exist in the French language. With what I learned, I can read and write easily in Bissa. And I also have theological terms to preach directly in Bissa without being interpreted in church.’

Supporters of Bible Society in England and Wales have provided resources and encouragement to the Bissa translation team through years of work. Several took the extra step of twinning their Bible with this new Bissa Bible – an amazing show of solidarity with the Bissa people. ‘I give thanks to God who made all this possible,’ Pastor Yabré said. ‘Thanks also to supporters of Bible Society.’

Find out about the need for more Bible translation around the world and how you can help.

Explore Bible Twinning, which helped bring the Bible to the Bissa people and can do the same for other language communities in West Africa.