William Cameron Townsend is a prominent christian missionary whose ministry began in the early twentieth century. His ministry organizations remain (2005) active, and are famous for minimizing cultural impacts, and focusing primarily on producing good-quality translations of the Bible in native languages. The ministry necessarily includes logistics including aviation and amateur radio, as well as literacy training for illiterate native speakers, and linguistics training for missionaries. (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s The 20th century lasted from 1901 to 2000 in the Gregorian calendar (often from (1900 to 1999 in common usage). ... Wycliffe Bible Translators is an international organisation dedicated to translating the Bible into every living language in the World. ... The holy jewish scripture: The Torah. ... Logistics is the management of resources and their distribution. ... ... Amateur radio, commonly called ham radio, is a hobby enjoyed by many people throughout the world (as of 2004 about 3 million worldwide, 60,000 in UK, 70,000 in Germany, 5,000 in Norway, 57,000 in Canada, and 700,000 in the USA). ... Literacy is the ability to read and write. ... Broadly conceived, linguistics is the scientific study of human language, and a linguist is someone who engages in this study. ...

The primary benefit, in misisonary terms, is that once a bible is available to a culture, the christians of that culture become far more autonomous. In large part they become free from any need for training or external support from other cultures. Christianity is the worlds largest religion. ...

When young Cameron Townsend tried to sell Spanish Bibles in Guatemala in l9l7-l8, he discovered that the majority of the people he met did not understand Spanish. Neither did they have a written form of their own language, Cakchiquel. Townsend abandoned his attempts to sell Bibles and began living among the Cakchiquels. He learned their language, created an alphabet for it, analyzed the grammar, and translated the New Testament in only ten years.

Concerned about other minority language groups, Townsend opened Camp Wycliffe in Arkansas in the summer of l934. Named for the first translator of the entire English Bible, the camp was designed to train young people in basic linguistics and translation methods. Two students enrolled. The following year, after a training session with five men in attendance, Townsend took the five to Mexico to begin field work. From this small beginning has grown the worldwide ministry of the Summer Institute of Linguistics, Wycliffe Bible Translators, Wycliffe Associates, and the technical department of SIL known as JAARS. State nickname: The Natural State Other U.S. States Capital Little Rock Largest city Little Rock Governor Mike Huckabee Official languages English Area 137,732 km² (29th)  - Land 134,856 km²  - Water 2,876 km² (2. ... SIL International is a non-profit, faith-based, scientific organization with the main purpose to study, develop and document lesser-known languages for the purpose of expanding linguistic knowledge, promoting world literacy and aiding minority language development. ... Wycliffe Bible Translators is an international organisation dedicated to translating the Bible into every living language in the World. ... SIL International is a non-profit, faith-based, scientific organization with the main purpose to study, develop and document lesser-known languages for the purpose of expanding linguistic knowledge, promoting world literacy and aiding minority language development. ... Jungle Aviation and Radio Service supports missionaries and linguists with transportation to remote areas and communication. ...