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Ministering with an Interpreter

Acts-perienced Poster Posts: 11849 **10/26/16 7:11 pm**

I don't know if any of you preachers on here ever travel and preach through an interpreter, but if you do, there are a number of things to keep in mind. I've done a bit of translating between English and Indonesian. Just recently, I translated for an African preacher.

Don't tell jokes that depend on language. One preacher said "When it says 'in one accord', he's not talking about a Honda." and he expected someone to translate into Indonesian. I wasn't interpreting that, but that just doesn't translate, and it's a kind of stupid overused joke, so it might not go over too well in English either.

Be aware that details of Bible translations may be different in different countries. The African preacher I translated for made a point about 'the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus' when the Indonesian version says 'Spirit' instead of 'law of the Spirit', so I had to translate what he said and I explained a little. The introductory comments in the Psalms are labeled verse one, so most verses in Psalms are about a verse off in Indonesian. So there are things like that to be aware of. If at all possible, give your interpreter the verses you think you will use before you preach. The guy I ministered with recently, liked to 'flow'. Sometimes he was heavily loaded with meetings, and he was unsure what he would share in a particular meeting.

If I used an interpreter, and knew what I wanted to speak on, I just might print up the verses I'd use and the translation and make sure I had my copy and my interpreter had his copy.

You can often ask your translator to give you tips about body language. The African preacher would like to snap to get the attention of the keyboardist or other people. We had to explain to him that that is considered rude here. I think it is common and not impolite where he comes from.

This is important-- if your audience does not speak English (or your language), they are listening to the intepreter speak, not you. They don't get built up by your words. They are built up by the interpreter's words. They learn from what the interpreter says. So slow down a bit. Don't talk over your interpreter. Paul long enough to let the interpreter think for half a second or so. Keep sentences short enough to translate. Keep your sentences simple, not too involved. And pause at appropriate times, after long phrases, or after short sentences.
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