Davis Powell, CEO of Seed Company, on the Explosion of AI in Bible Translation (Ep. 123)

Davis Powell, CEO of Seed Company, was raised in a Christian home in South Carolina and at a young age, decided to become a medical missionary. However, in his junior year of college, he felt led by the Spirit to follow a different path. Through a series of providential events, Davis was exposed to the work of Bible translation and a passion was ignited within him.

Davis now serves as the CEO of Seed Company, a Bible translation company with two primary focuses—collaboration with other Great Commission organizations and impact acceleration with the help of indigenous community leaders and technology. Davis was full of stories about how fast the work of Bible translation is moving, with a particular emphasis on the brand new integration of AI into the process. You won’t want to miss this one!  

Major Topics Include:

• The history and heart behind Seed Company
• How Bible translation models have changed in recent years
• The challenge of engaging hard-to-reach language communities
• Empowering indigenous communities to work together toward full Bible translation
• Working with indigenous speakers to tailor the process for their community context
• A walk through of the cyclical, community-centric translation process
• Transformative stories from working with non-believing translators
• AI as a tool in Bible translation
• Collaboration with other translation agencies
• Exciting projections for Bible translation in the next decade

• “Missionaries have to deal with borders, the Word of God doesn’t. Missionaries have to figure out how to start the church; the Word of God gives the perfect blueprint for starting the church.”
• “When the Word of God is planted, it transforms everything.”
• “We can, in our generation, see the Word of God get to every language community. But may it not be said that we didn’t let the Word of God be in our heart language.”
• “Scripture must be clear, accurate, natural, and acceptable.”

• Seed Company
• Young Life
• Wycliffe Bible Translators (see our interview with CEO John Chesnut)
• Unto
• Operation Christmas Child
• International Mission Board (IMB)
• Jesus Film Project (see our interview with Executive Director Josh Newell)
• Faith Comes by Hearing (see our interview with VP Morgan Jackson)
• Meta–No Language Left Behind
• IllumiNations Bible Translation Alliance (see our interview with Todd Peterson or John Chesnut)
• The Finish Line Community Facebook Group
• The Finish Line Community LinkedIn Group

Proverbs 3:5-6 | Trust In the Lord  

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.  

Psalm 19:1 | Creation Declares His Glory  

The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.

If you have a thought about something you heard, or a story to share, please reach out! You can find us on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn. You can also contact us directly from our contact page. If you want to engage with the Finish Line Community, check out our groups on Facebookand LinkedIn.