The second-generation question
A Korean church in Atlanta, a Hispanic Pentecostal church in Phoenix, a Brazilian church in Massachusetts: they were founded by people who needed a place to worship in their own language. Twenty years later, the founders' children are adults. They understand the language at the dinner table, but a sermon about grace, suffering or calling goes over their heads. Many of them drift to English-speaking churches, or stop going altogether.
The usual answers are hard on a congregation. A separate English service splits families and needs a second preacher. A bilingual sermon doubles the length. Live translation into English offers a third way: the pastor preaches as always, in Spanish, Korean or Portuguese, and the young people follow in English on their phones, sitting next to their parents.
Who else listens in English
- Spouses who married into the community and never fully learned the language.
- Friends and coworkers invited to a Christmas or Easter service, who would otherwise sit through an hour they cannot follow.
- Guests at weddings and funerals, the in-laws, classmates and neighbors. See weddings, baptisms and funerals.
- Members of a host church whose building you share, at a joint Thanksgiving service.
- Other immigrants for whom English is the common language, such as a Guatemalan family in a Brazilian church.
How to set it up
In the church settings, set your own language as the speaker language: Spanish, Korean, Portuguese (Brazil), Vietnamese, Chinese or any other from the list of 79. Then switch on English as a listener language. If a guest preaches in English one Sunday, the tech team switches the speaker language to English with one tap, and the listeners who need Spanish or Korean can choose those instead.
- 01Show the QR code
Put it on the screens before the service and in the youth group chat. Young people will figure it out in seconds.
- 02Choose English
No account and no app needed; it works in the browser on any phone. iPhone users can also use the ChurchTranslate app.
- 03Listen or read
They hear the sermon in English a few seconds behind the pastor, with captions. Turning on the original text alongside helps those who want to strengthen their heritage language.
A bridge, not a replacement
Translation does not solve everything. Young adults still need people who speak their language of daily life, mentors and small groups. But it keeps them in the room with their parents and grandparents while the church works out its longer-term plans. Some churches use it as a step toward a full English ministry; others find it is all they need. The guide to a multilingual church looks at those choices.
Quality and limits
The English follows a sermon well, but Bible names and church terms are the hardest part. ChurchTranslate keeps a terminology list and corrects known terms in the captions. Humor, wordplay and fast storytelling are harder. Test with a few young adults during the free 10-minute trial and ask them honestly what they think.
Cost
One credit is one minute into one language, used only while someone listens. A weekly 90-minute service into English uses about 360 credits a month and fits Lite ($65, 480 credits). See the pricing.