Imanuel Christian (ThM 78) translates the Bible into his native tongue

Since 1992 my wife and I have been producing original Bible commentaries (not translated from English) into our mother tongue Gujarati. Gujarati is one of the fourteen major languages of India with about sixty million speakers. Although we have had the Bible for over 175 years, there have been no Bible commentaries or other study materials available in this language. This lack of biblical study material has resulted in a weak church with little spiritual growth.

So far we have published seventeen commentaries on books of the Bible: Ecclesiastes, Job, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Twelve Minor Prophets (in two volumes) and First Peter. The commentary on the Book of Revelation is ready for publication. We have also published several devotional books: My Cup is Running Over, Ten Commandants: Ten foundations of life, and Sweet are the Names of My Lord. These are the first commentaries and devotional books written by a native speaker of Gujarati and not translated from English.

Every year we go to India during Easter week and I preach from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday, lead a Bible study every morning, and preach every evening to a city-wide large gathering.

My fondest memories from my time in Dallas are the friends I made at DTS. As an international student, it was the first time out of my hometown. It took almost three years for my wife and three sons to join me. It was very difficult to adjust to that new situation. Without the help of my classmates I would not have survived.

I am convinced my ThM studies prepared me adequately for what I am doing now, writing original Bible commentaries in my language. I would not be able to write, teach, or preach without the DTS training I received.