Cameron Townsend
William Cameron Townsend was born into a Christian family in Southern California in 1896, the fifth of six children. He enrolled in college after High School and, during his junior year, 1917, a missionary from an organization called the Student Volunteer Movement (SVM) spoke to the class, challenging them to give their lives to the ministry of evangelism. Cameron spoke with the missionary and committed himself to the cause of SVM.
Cameron had previously enlisted in the California National Guard to serve his country in World War I. He applied for, and surprisingly received, a discharge to instead go onto the mission field in Guatemala. He committed to sell Spanish-language Bibles there for a year. Nearing the end of his year-long commitment, Cameron was approached by a native Cakchiquel Indian asking him what he was selling. He explained that it was the Bible, and it was God’s Word to him. The man flipped through the book, then condescendingly asked, “If your God is so smart, then why doesn’t he speak my language?” Learning more about these natives, Cameron was astonished to find that they were a group of about 200,000 people on the margins of Mexican society, many of whom spoke no Spanish at all.
The man’s remark impacted Cameron so much that he ended up remaining in Guatemala an additional 13 years, devoting that time to translating the Bible into the Cakchiquel language. To do so, he had to invent an alphabet and a system for writing, and commit time to education of the people. When his mission organization chided him for spending so much time in translation and less time in evangelism, he wrote back, “The greatest missionary in the Bible in the mother tongue. It needs no furlough and is never considered a foreigner.” He focused not just on the linguistic needs of the natives, but arranged with other mission groups for medical and vocational assistance as well.
Understanding that the Cakchiquel Indians were but one of thousands of unreached people groups, Cameron sought to expand his vision. He returned to the United States in 1934 and founded an organization called the Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL). SIL’s focus was technically on preserving linguistics of indigenous cultures – preserving oral traditions and history in the native tongue – and in literacy education. This secular emphasis opened doors for missionaries in many closed countries. Partnering with SIL was Townsend’s other organization, Wycliffe Bible Translators, whose purpose is decidedly spiritual: Bible translation and missionary activities. Providing logistical and technical support to both organizations was yet another organization, the Jungle Aviation and Radio Service (JAARS).
Today, the services of SIL International remain true to the intention of “Uncle Cam” in providing literacy services worldwide. SIL is the most extensive linguistic operation in the world – currently involved in 1,341 communities in 98 countries and impacting nearly a billion people, per their website at the time of this writing.
Nearly a century after the finishing of that Cakchiquel Bible, Wycliffe Bible Translators have translated the full Bible in more than 550 languages, the New Testament in over 1,300 languages. They estimate that about 1,800 languages still need a Bible translation to begin.
Cameron Townsend introduced the idea of “people groups” and “heart language” into the modern study of missions. “Uncle Cam” once said, “The greater need is where the greatest darkness is. Our orders are to forget self and to give our lives in service for the Master.” His vision has guided nearly a hundred years of missionaries. When he passed away in 1982, he was lauded as one of the three most impactful missionaries of the 20th century.
docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/33c277_a5294400facb93dcd183b3ed1d3e46fb.pdf
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Cameron_Townsend
https://www.wycliffe.org/blog/featured/a-man-with-a-vision
https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/william-cameron-uncle-cam-townsend-4453/
https://www.thetravelingteam.org/articles/william-cameron-townsend
https://home.snu.edu/~hculbert/townsend.htm
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