ABSTRACT: Throughout church history, God has used common languages to serve the global mission of the church. And today, English is the largest common language in the world, spoken by about 1.5 billion people. The worldwide prominence of English provides new opportunities for fulfilling the Great Commission, especially through resourcing the global church and training pastors for the work of ministry. Translating Scripture and other books into mother tongues remains necessary, but alongside that crucial work, English-speaking Christians would do well to consider how they might leverage their tongue for every tribe.
For our ongoing series of feature articles for pastors and Christian leaders, we asked Seth Porch, PhD candidate at the University of Aberdeen, to explain how the spread of English might serve the mission of the church.
