Michelle Petersen, MA

Affiliate Associate Adjunct Professor of Linguistics
I hope to facilitate people encountering God’s Word together in life-changing ways as they see how His Word is relevant to life. I value participatory methods, that is, working with people, not just for people. I pray that the Word of the Lord spreads rapidly and is honoured wherever it goes (2 Thess. 3:1).

Michelle Petersen (MA Language Development/Scripture Engagement, summa cum laude BA French/TESOL) has served with Wycliffe since 1989. She has worked in Literacy and Scripture Engagement across West and Central Africa and taught Linguistics and Scripture Engagement in Europe and North America. As a Literacy Specialist, she taught Sango people to teach and supervise Sango literacy classes in 116 Central African churches. As a Scripture Engagement Specialist, she worked with local pastors, musicians, scriptwriters, actors and 58 radio stations in Côte d’Ivoire, Mali, Senegal and Burkina Faso creating and airing Scripture-infused dramas and songs. She is an SIL International Scripture Engagement Consultant. American Bible Society certified her as a Trauma Healing Training Facilitator. Michelle helped create the curriculum for the Graduate Institute of Applied Linguistics’ MA in World Arts, and wrote parts of the textbooks Worship and Mission for the Global Church and Creating Local Arts Together. She presented papers at conferences in North America and Europe.

See: https://www.canil.ca/wordpress/u_member/michelle-petersen/

See: https://www.wycliffe.org/partner/DD0850

  • Master of Arts in Language Development, Major in Scripture Use (Graduate Institute of Applied Linguistics, Dallas, TX; 2006)
  • SIL Literacy Specialist Graduate Certification, (University of Oregon and University of Texas at Arlington; 1990–1992)
  • Vernacular Media Specialist Certification (JAARS, Waxhaw, NC; 1998)
  • Bachelor of Arts (Summa Cum Laude), Major in French, Minor in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (University of Utah; 1988)
  • Graduate TESOL Certification (University of Utah; 1988)
  • Secondary School Teaching Certification (University of Utah; 1988)

Expertise

SIL International Scripture Engagement Consultant, SIL International Arts Consultant, SIL International Vernacular Media Specialist, SIL International Literacy Specialist, Advanced Learning that Lasts Certification (SIL International; 2017), Trauma Healing Training Facilitator Certification (Trauma Healing Institute of the American Bible Society; 2015), Learning that Lasts Teaching Certification (SIL International; 2014), Participatory Methods Facilitator Certification (SIL International; 2013), Created accredited World Arts MA program with Brian Schrag, PhD, Robin Harris, PhD, and Brad Keating, MA, Graduate Institute of Applied Linguistics, Dallas, TX; 2008), Scripture Use and Ethnomusicology Workshops, co-taught in French to participants representing 21 African language groups (Côte d’Ivoire; 1998-2000), Literacy Teacher Training Workshops, co-taught in Sango, supervisor of a literacy program in 116 churches in the Central African Republic (1994-1996)

Papers Presented

  • “Participatory Methods for Scripture Engagement,” paper presented at the Bible Translation 2017 International Conference as part of the theme “Bible Translation and Embodiment: Incarnated Word and Incarnational Mission.” October 11-15, 2019. The ILC Campus, Dallas, TX.
  • "Scripture Video - The New Translation Consultant Challenge." Translation Consultancy Brown Bag Lunch. Co-Presenter with Dr. Wayne Dye. International Linguistics Center, Dallas, TX. October 4, 2018.
  •  “Arts Development for Scripture Engagement.” Paper presented at the Bible Translation 2017 International Conference, Dallas, Texas, October 16, 2017.
  •  “Arts Development for Scripture Engagement.” Paper presented at the Evangelical Missiological Society National Conference, Dallas, Texas, September 16, 2017.
  •  “Engaging Communities with Scripture through Visual Illustrations.” Paper presented at the Evangelical Missiological Society Conference, Dallas, TX, October 15, 2016.
  • “Arts Development.” Paper presented at the Canada Institute of Linguistics Colloquium Series, Langley, British Columbia, Canada, July 7, 2016.
  •  “Avoiding Visual Miscommunication: Choosing Illustrations for Translated Scripture.” Paper presented at the 2015 International Bible Translation Conference, Dallas, TX, October 20, 2015, and at the Canada Institute of Linguistics Colloquium Series, TWU, Langley, BC, July 24, 2015.
  •  “Serving Scripture in Local Dishes: Seven Analytic Lenses.” Paper presented at the 2013 International Bible Translation Conference, Dallas, TX, October 14, 2013, and at the Canada Institute of Linguistics Colloquium Series, TWU, Langley, BC, July 5, 2013.
  •  “Encouraging Local Media Creation: Increasing Scripture Engagement by Decreasing Cultural Distance.” Paper presented at the Eurasia Media Distribution Consultation, Mücke, Germany, March 21, 2012.
  •  “How to Integrate Scripture Proclamation with Arts: Scripture Relevance Dramas.” Paper presented at the Eurasia Media Distribution Consultation, Mücke, Germany, March 19, 2012.
  •  “Increasing Scripture Engagement through Local Arts: Decreasing Cultural Distance between the Message and Today's Receptors.” Colloquium presented at Canada Institute of Linguistics, TWU, Langley, BC, July 22, 2011.
  •  “Putting Scripture to Music, Dance, and Drama.” Discussion session moderator at the Bible Translation 2011 International Conference, Dallas, Texas, October 18, 2011.
  •  “To Engage Audiences with Scripture, Illustrate Stories, Not Dictionaries.”  Poster Session presented at the Bible Translation 2011 International Conference, Dallas, Texas, October 15, 2011.
  •  “Increasing Scripture Engagement through Local Arts: Decreasing Cultural Distance between the Message and Today's Receptors.” Paper presented at Bible Translation 2009 International Conference, Dallas, Texas, October 19, 2009.
  •  “Scripture Relevance Drama.” Paper presented at the International Orality Network Conference, Dallas, Texas, September 16, 2008.
  •  “Exegesis and Evaluative Review of Humor in Jula Culture and in Scripture.” Paper presented for the Oregon SIL Colloquium Series, Eugene, Oregon, July 14, 2005.
  •  “West African Radio Drama.” Paper presented for the Academic Forum, Graduate Institute of Applied Linguistics, Dallas, Texas, February 16, 2005.
  •  “Sango Literacy Case Study.” Paper presented at the Carrefour Linguistique, Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, 1998.

Awards & Honors

  • Certificates in French, Université d'Avignon, France, mention excellent, summer 1987, and Université de Neuchâtel, Switzerland, mention excellent, summer 1986.
  • Full Academic Scholarship, University of Utah, 1984–1988; Foreign Language Teacher’s Scholarship, University of Utah, 1987; and Fine Arts Scholarship, University of Utah, 1986.

Recent Publications

  • Contributed sections to Hill, Harriet and Margaret Hill. Translating the Bible into Action, Second Edition. Langham Global Library, 2022.
  • “Participatory Methods for Scripture Engagement.” Forum of Bible Agencies International, 2020. https://scripture-engagement.org/content/participatory-methods-scripture-engagement/
  • “Arts Development for Scripture Engagement.” EMS Occasional Bulletin 32:1(Fall 2018):26-35. https://www.emsweb.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/OB_Fall_2018.pdf.
  • Contributed sections to Van Buren, Kathleen and Schrag, Brian. Make Arts for a Better Life: A Guide for Working with Communities. Oxford University Press, 2018.
  •  “Arts Development for Scripture Engagement.” GIAL Electronic Notes Series 12:2(July 2018). https://www.diu.edu/documents/gialens/Vol12-2/Petersen-Arts-Dev.pdf. 
  • “Arts Development for Scripture Engagement.” Global Forum on Arts and Christian Faith 5 (2017):A58-A86. http://www.artsandchristianfaith.org/index.php/journal/article/view/31.
  • “Avoiding Visual Miscommunication: Choosing Illustrations for Translated Scripture.” Forum of Bible Agencies International, 2016. http://www.scripture-engagement.org/content/avoiding-visual-miscommunication.
  • “Selecting Illustrations for Translated Scripture.” Forum of Bible Agencies International, 2016. http://www.scripture-engagement.org/content/avoiding-visual-miscommunication short linked tinyurl.com/SIFTSmp.
  • “Scripture Relevance Dramas.” The Orality Journal 3:2(December 2014):57-70.
  • “Scripture Relevance Dramas.” Ethnodoxology 4:4(December 2010):22-31. Republished on Scripture-Engagement.com at http://www.scripture-engagement.org/content/scripture-relevance-dramas, Forum of Bible Agencies, 2014.
  • Contributed sections to Schrag, Brian. Creating Local Arts Together: A Manual to Help Communities Reach Their Kingdom Goals. General editor, James Krabill. Pasadena: William Carey Library, 2013. 
  • “How to Integrate Scripture Proclamation with Arts: Scripture Relevance Dramas.” Chapter 143 in Krabill, James, Frank Fortunato, Robin Harris, and Brian Schrag, eds. Worship and Mission for the Global Church: An Ethnodoxology Handbook. Pasadena: William Carey Library, 2013. (This book was recognized by the International Bulletin of Missionary Research as one of the top 15 missiology books of 2013.)
  • Contributed sections to Hill, Harriet and Margaret Hill. Translating the Bible into Action. Carlisle, UK: Piquant Editions, 2008.

Affiliations & Memberships

  • Wycliffe Bible Translators and SIL International, 1989–present.

  • LIN 575 Scripture Engagement