Who we mean by newcomers
Across the UK, Ireland and the rest of Europe, churches have welcomed Ukrainian families since 2022, Arabic-speaking Christians from Syria and Iraq, Romanian and Polish workers and their children, and people from many other places. Some will stay for years, some for months. What they have in common is that the local language is new, and that faith is often the thing that held them together on the way.
Churches respond generously: English classes, food banks, help with paperwork. Yet on Sunday morning, many newcomers sit through a service they cannot follow. They come for the community and for God, and leave without having understood what was said.
What changes for a newcomer
With ChurchTranslate, a Ukrainian mother scans the QR code on the notice board, taps Українська and hears the sermon in Ukrainian through her earbuds, with captions on her screen. Her teenage son, who already reads English well, switches the audio off and keeps only the captions, with the original English text alongside to learn from. An older man from Syria listens in Arabic.
None of them needs an account, an app or a password. It works in the browser on the phone they already carry. For people who have just arrived, sometimes without a local SIM card, the church Wi-Fi is enough; otherwise it uses some mobile data.
What the church team does
- 01Choose the languages
In the church settings, switch on the languages your newcomers speak. ChurchTranslate currently offers Ukrainian, Arabic, Polish, Romanian, Spanish, Portuguese, French, German, Dutch, Norwegian and English.
- 02Make the QR code easy to find
Print it on a card at the door, on the screen before the service and in the newsletter. A volunteer who speaks the language can show first-time visitors how it works.
- 03Start the broadcast
The sound volunteer starts the broadcast from a laptop or phone, ideally with the mixing desk feed. See audio setup for the options.
- 04Ask for feedback
After a few weeks, ask the newcomers what they think. They are the best judges of whether names, terms and tone come through.
Be honest about what translation can and cannot do
Live AI translation is a way for people to follow the service. It is not pastoral care. When a refugee wants to talk about grief, trauma, a marriage under strain or a decision about baptism, a person who speaks their language, or a professional interpreter, is far better. Translation software can help people find their way into the church; it does not replace the friendship and conversations that follow.
The quality is good enough to follow a sermon, prayers and notices, but Bible names and church terms can occasionally come out oddly. Newcomers who are used to a different tradition (Orthodox, Catholic, evangelical) may hear terms that sound unfamiliar. Explaining that the translation is automatic helps set expectations.
Beyond the Sunday sermon
Churches also use the translation for information evenings, Alpha-style courses and parents' meetings for a holiday club, as long as someone speaks into a microphone and a broadcast is running. Because credits are only used while someone listens, an occasional extra session costs only the minutes it is used.
Cost for a church welcoming newcomers
Say you translate a 90-minute service into Ukrainian and Arabic every week: that is 180 credits a Sunday, or 720 a month. The Duo plan (€100 a month, 960 credits, two languages) covers it. A church with only one newcomer language can start on Lite at €65 a month. Some churches share the cost with a local refugee support group or a diaconal fund. Details are on the pricing page.