This post shares Pastor Noor’s* story from our Easter campaign. Find out how to make the good news of Jesus accessible to a Bibleless person for the first time at wycliffe.ca/easter-2025/
The soil in much of the Taqt* region is hard and arid. A lack of water as well as salinization and climate change add to the challenges that farmers regularly encounter: growing crops is difficult here. Other than a few fertile regions, the land isn’t characterized as good soil.
In much the same way, the Taqt people have sometimes been characterized as hard soil—persecution, geographic isolation and poverty make evangelism very difficult. It is illegal to own a Bible, and Christian converts face rejection and worse from their families and communities.
But among the Taqt, the idea of hard soil is beginning to soften.
Pastor Noor* takes a risk
Pastor Noor* is one of the first Christians in the Taqt region. International missionaries introduced him to the gospel, and Jesus gripped his heart. He knew he would face persecution and broken relationships, but Jesus was so compelling to him that he chose to become a believer.
Pastor Noor wanted to grow spiritually, and to share the Good News with others in his community. But he didn’t have any Scripture in his language.
So he made a decision that would change the course of his life: he joined the new Taqt translation team. It wasn’t a commitment he took lightly—becoming a Christian was dangerous, and translating the Bible intensified that danger. It meant risking his livelihood, his family, his freedom and even his life. But to the pastor, those dangers paled in comparison to what he and his community would gain.
The gospel takes root
Pastor Noor and the rest of the team began translating passages of Scripture and sharing them with small “fellowships,” secret Christian gatherings in the area. It was an opportunity to share God’s Word with their brothers and sisters. It was also a chance to receive feedback on the translation, to confirm that their attempts were clear and accurate.
Between the danger and the small number of Taqt believers, it must have seemed like planting seeds in arid desert soil. But over time, an amazing thing happened: the gospel began taking root among the Taqt. Fellowships began springing up all over the region.
Fellowships multiply
Recently, Pastor Noor discovered yet another fellowship of 30 members, and shared with one of the project co-ordinators:
“Taqt believers are now in every corner of the district! Only God knows how many fellowships are meeting now, and no one can keep track of them.”
Interest in the New Testament and other translated materials is growing among the Taqt, even those who aren’t yet Christians. Printed copies of New Testament books have been distributed in local bookstores and even places of worship for the country’s dominant religion. Translated stories about the life of Bible characters—including Jesus—are also popular. Taqt Bible-based literacy programs are flourishing.
Learning who God really is
Pastor Noor’s willingness to risk everything came from the transforming love of Christ in his life and the difference that the translated Word would make to him and his community. After speaking with a fellow translator, Pastor Noor shared:
“I asked him what he was feeling about working on the translation. He replied that he feels he is doing this translation for himself—He is learning who God really is.”
God’s kingdom among the Taqt
In 2023, after more than 10 years of effort and sacrifice, the translation team published the entire Taqt New Testament! There are now hundreds of Taqt believers, drawn by the God they encountered through reading the Bible in their own language.
“We can simply praise God for doing the impossible, for establishing His kingdom among the Taqt people,” says Pastor Noor.
“I’m wondering if what we’ve previously thought of as ‘hard soil’ was really just ‘good soil’ waiting for the ‘good seed.’”
*pseudonyms