MEMOIRS OF A WBTC

INTERN: INDICATORS

TIFFARAH GOSMAN
Indicator (Noun): A term used to describe a caterer of Indian descent.
NOT!

[MEMOIRS OF A WBTC INTERN: INDICATORS] P a g e | 1

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................................................... 2
FORMAT....2
OUTCOMES & INDICATORS ................................................................................................................................... 3
OUTCOME 1....3
WHATS BEING MEASURED....3
THOUGHT PROCESS.......3
INDICATOR......4
DISCUSSION........5
OUTCOME 2....6
INTERPRETATION.....6
INDICATOR...........6
DISCUSSION........6
OUTCOME 3....8
THOUGHT PROCESS...8
WHATS BEING MEASURED.....8
INDICATOR DISCUSSION....8
APPENDIX A........9

Last Updated: 8/21/2013 2:34 PM

[MEMOIRS OF A WBTC INTERN: INDICATORS] P a g e | 2

MEMOIRS OF A WBTC INTERN:

INDICATORS
BY: TIFFARAH GOSMAN

NTRODUCTION

As Wycliffe Bible Translators of Canada (WBTC) begins to feel the need for assigning pertinent
measurements to show the progress being made in their new 5-year, Path to Kingdom Friendships,
strategic plan, their desire for indicators has increased. These indicators must be custom-fit to the
unique circumstances surrounding WBTC, and therefore require a significant amount of time, energy,
creativity, research, and logic to obtain. However, once found, the benefits of using such indicators can
prove to be worth the effort.
The following is a report outlining the progress I (Tiffarah Gosman) made, during a 10-week internship, in
helping WBTC find custom-fitting indicators.

ORMAT

The majority of my time and effort was spent working with indicators that could measure the
Outcomes component (See Appendix A, Column C) of WBTCs 5-year plan. That being said, to
help make this report clear and concise, the format Ive used to share my work consists of the
following elements:
THE OUTCOME
WHAT IS BEING MEASURED or INTERPRETATION Here I will express my personal
interpretation of what needs to be measured for the outcome.
THOUGHT PROCESS Here I will attempt to explain the thought process I used to reach the
indicators that I chose.
INDICATOR(S) RECOMMENDED
DISCUSSION
Footnotes1

Footnotes will be used to track DEFINITIONS that I have made while working with the current outcome.

Last Updated: 8/21/2013 2:34 PM

Outcomes & Indicators

[MEMOIRS OF A WBTC INTERN: INDICATORS] P a g e | 3

1. THE CHURCH IN CANADA2 IS SUCCEEDING IN ITS MISSION3 TO MINORITY

LANGUAGE COMMUNITIES

WHAT IS BEING MEASURED?

Whether or not the church in Canada is succeeding in its mission to minority language
communities
THOUGHT PROCESS

One of the first things to acknowledge when finding the appropriate indicators for
this outcome is the fact that the
work of WBTC in minority
language communities would not
be possible without the support of
the Church in Canada
Another thing that is important to
recognize is that although
translation is not explicitly stated
in the Great Commission as one of
the mandates for Believers,
translation paves the way for the
completion of all other mandates
(make disciples baptize
themteach them). Therefore,
it can be said that translation does
in fact contribute to the work of
the Great Commission.

http://fbcmiltonpa.com/youth-ministries/2012-youth-missions-trip

Finally, when trying to find the appropriate indicators for this outcome, it is also
important to consider that WBTC is one of the few organizations that work
exclusively with minority language communities. Consequently, it makes sense that in
2This

refers to the body of Christ in Canada and is not limited to formal churches. This could take on the form of small house
churches or any other grouping of committed Christ followers.
3 Defined by Matthew 28:19-20 which says Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the
Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you

Last Updated: 8/21/2013 2:34 PM

Outcomes & Indicators

[MEMOIRS OF A WBTC INTERN: INDICATORS] P a g e | 4

order for the Church in Canada to fulfill its mission to minority language communities,
they must do so themselves, of through organizations such as WBTC.
Bearing in mind the three factors I just discussed, I would like to suggest the following:

The Church in
Canada
supports the
work of WBTC

WBTC
supports
minority
language
communities

The Church in
Canada is
supporting
minority
language
communities

I propose that the Church in Canadas success in its mission to minority language
communities can be measured by their involvement in the work of WBTC. In other
words, if WBTC is active, it is because the Church in Canada is succeeding

in its mission.
Now, I initially wondered why WBTC could not measure the number of converts in the
minority language communities they serve and use that as an indicator for the
Churchs success in their mission. However, I quickly realized that measuring the
number of converts was too generic, and would cause people to believe that WBTCs
mission is more focused on evangelism than translating the scriptures.
Therefore, I recommend WBTC utilize the following indicators to measure whether or
not the Church in Canada is succeeding in its mission to minority language
communities:

INDICATOR:
a) The number of projects and/or areas where WBTC is active.
b) The number of churches supporting WBTC.

Last Updated: 8/21/2013 2:34 PM

[MEMOIRS OF A WBTC INTERN: INDICATORS] P a g e | 5

Outcomes & Indicators

DISCUSSION

a) The number of projects and/or areas where WBTC is active.

It is important to note the potential issues that may arise while using this
indicator. In light of their new emphasis on focus-areas, WBTC is becoming less
active in some projects and areas to concentrate their efforts in others.
Consequently, if the support of the church was to increase, while the number of
places WBTC is active continues to decrease, this indicator runs the risk of be an
inaccurate representation of the outcome.
However, while that may be, this indicator will always be of some value to
WBTC, for in the absence of any other obtainable indicator, this may be the most
tangible one for measuring the Church in Canadas success in its mission to minority
language communities.
b) The number of churches supporting WBTC
Vague would be the best word to describe this indicator. The ways to
measure support are endless. What WBTC must decide if they adopt this indicator
is what type(s) of support they are going to measure. Do you measure prayer
support, financial support, engagement with field partners, or all of these? The
options are virtually endless. However, when deciding, WBTC must first ask if the
information is accessible and an effective use of their time to obtain.

http://somadjinn.deviantart.com/art/World-Map-Sepia-Grunge-286946526

Last Updated: 8/21/2013 2:34 PM

Outcomes & Indicators

[MEMOIRS OF A WBTC INTERN: INDICATORS] P a g e | 6

4
5

2. FIELD PARTNERS4 ARE SUCCEEDING IN TRANSLATION AND RELATED MINISTRIES5.

INTERPRETATION

Field partners are consistently and effectively translating the Scriptures and/or have
related ministries that are fruitful.
INDICATOR(S):

a) The percentage of each Bible and the number of verses that field partners
have translated into the minority language(s) throughout the fiscal year.
DISCUSSION

a) The percentage of each Bible and the number of verses that field partners have
translated into the minority language(s) throughout the fiscal year.
Although this is the indicator I
recommend, there are still
numerous other ways to
indicate whether or not field
partners are succeeding in
translation. For example, the
number of books completed,
instead of the verses, could
be the indicator WBTC
chooses to adopt, and it could
be tracked on a bi-annual
basis, instead of an annual
one. However, I have
recommended the indicator
above for the following
reasons:

Photo taken at Eastern Apurmac Quechua, New Testament dedication.

An organization that WBTC works with, that is actively involved in translation and related ministries.
Ministries that promote scripture usage and language development in minority language communities.

Last Updated: 8/21/2013 2:34 PM

Outcomes & Indicators

[MEMOIRS OF A WBTC INTERN: INDICATORS] P a g e | 7

1. I have set the timeline at over the course of a fiscal year, because at the beginning
of each fiscal year, field partners are required to submit a Goals and Activities
chart, as well as a Translation Progress Chart. Therefore, it may be easiest to
track their success annually.
These charts are updated quarterly and their success, or lack thereof, in meeting
their goals is tracked. That being said, the Translation Progress Charts are
something that some field partners have not been fully committed to updating in
the past. However, this year, WBTC will be making more of an effort to
encourage field partners to re-commit themselves to follow proper reporting
procedures, as outlined in their Agency Agreement.
2. From an internal perspective,
WBTC is able to appreciate the
values of tracking the
percentage of completion.
However, someone who does
not fully understand or
appreciate the work that goes
into Bible translation will be
more likely to respond to a
larger number.
Eastern Apurimac Quechua translation team
For example, being able to say
at work on the Old Testament
This year, [field partner] was
able to translate 3 779 scriptures into [minority language] would likely grab the
attention of an external source more than saying, This year, [field partner] was
able translate 12% of the Bible into [minority language].

Furthermore, the mission statement of WBTC is A world where the translated

scriptures lead to transformed lives. Therefore, from an external perspective it
seems appropriate to track how many individual scriptures are being translated.

NOTE: As you may have noticed, I have yet to find an indicator to measure
the second half of this outcome (field partners are succeeding in related
ministries).

Last Updated: 8/21/2013 2:34 PM

Outcomes & Indicators

[MEMOIRS OF A WBTC INTERN: INDICATORS] P a g e | 8

3. WYCLIFFE IS A LEADER IN FACILITATING6 KINGDOM FRIENDSHIPS BETWEEN FIELD

PARTNERS AND THE CHURCH IN CANADA

THOUGHT PROCESS

When I first started working with this outcome, I spent my time trying to find an
indicator to measure the health of the relationships between the Church in Canada
and field partners, but failed to include WBTCs role as a facilitator of those
relationships in my thinking. Once I did however, it became clear to me that what my
indicator should be measuring is actually the
following:
WHAT IS BEING MEASURED?

How successful WBTC is at creating and

maintaining healthy relationships between
field partners and the Church in Canada.
Therefore, the indicators that I believe to be
accurate measurements of this are the following
INDICATOR(S):

a) The number of churches sending teams through WBTC to visit field partners.
b) The percentage that the Church in Canadas financial support has increased.
DISCUSSION

a) The number of churches sending teams through WBTC to visit field partners.
I believe that the number of teams being sent through WTBC indicates whether or not
the Church in Canada views WBTC as a leader in Kingdom Friendship facilitation.
b) The percentage that the Church in Canadas financial support has increased.
I believe that this is something that should come as a result of WBTC successfully
facilitating Kingdom Friendships. It will, however, require benchmarking.
6

Defined by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary as, to make easier: help bring about (2013)

Last Updated: 8/21/2013 2:34 PM

[MEMOIRS OF A WBTC INTERN: INDICATORS] P a g e | 9

APPENDIX A

A. ACTIVITIES

B. OUTPUTS

Together with partners educate

the Church in Canada in Bible
translation as part of the
mission of God.

i) The Church in Canada understands Bible

translation as part of the mission of God.

Provide opportunities and

environments for kingdom
friendships between the Church
in Canada and field partners.

ii) The Church in Canada and field partners

consistently and creatively engage with one
another in a culturally sensitive manner.

Educate and advise field

partners on growing their
kingdom friendships with
Canadian Churches.

iii) Field partners have appropriate funding at

the appropriate time.

Focus our commitments to select

field partners.

iv) Field partners have the right people in the

right places at the right time.

C. OUTCOMES

D. IMPACT

a) The Church in
Canada is succeeding
in its mission to
minority language
communities.

A world where
the translated
scriptures lead
to transformed
lives.

b) Field partners are

succeeding in Bible
translation and
related ministries.

Support the efforts of field

partners to have the right
resources in the right places, at
the right time.
Cultivate the values of service
and capacity building
throughout the organization.

v) Field Partners and the Church in Canada value

their relationship with Wycliffe

Nurture a healthy, sustainable

workforce.

vi) Wycliffe is sustainable.

Use best practices in financial

and funding services.

Last Updated: 8/21/2013 2:34 PM

c) Wycliffe is a
leader in facilitating
kingdom friendships
between field
partners and the
Church in Canada.