By now you’ve surely seen the memes flooding the internet as a result of the viral Facebook group, “Storm Area 51, They Can’t Stop All of Us.”
A group is jokingly calling for a massive crowd to storm the secretive government base to find out — once and for all — if aliens are really being hidden there.
Well now Wycliffe Bible Translators has joined the fun with a special announcement.
“Storm Area 51, They Can’t Stop All of Us” has gone viral among younger generations since the Facebook event was created.
The event, scheduled for September 20, 2019, was intended as a joke but has rapidly become a cultural phenomenon.
The internet is abuzz with plans, both realistic and comical, to invade the Air Force base, wreak havoc, and “see them aliens” that the government has been hiding!
1.4 million people are now on board with the plan — because the government can’t stop all of them, right?
The event is meant for a laugh, but some people are taking it quite seriously.
For example, the Air Force has issued an official statement telling citizens to avoid coming to the base.
“We would discourage anyone from trying to come into the area where we train American armed forces.”
Most of us will probably heed the Air Force’s warning, but one organization seems prepared to ignore it and boldly go … where no Bible translator has gone before!
Wycliffe Bible Translators USA has disclosed a new Bible translation project: “Urgent Area 51 Bible Translation Work.”
“Well, this is awkward…this project was supposed to be top secret!” the organization admitted after posting the project to Facebook.
“Taking ‘every language’ to a new level.”
Well, this is awkward…this project was supposed to be top secret! 😅Taking "every language" to a new level. 👽
Posted by Wycliffe Bible Translators USA on Wednesday, July 17, 2019
The original meme was created and shared by the Facebook page, Church Meme Committee, and Wycliffe – showing a sense of humor – shared it on their page as well.
The meme continues to explain Wycliffe’s Area 51 project as follows:
“Wycliffe is unaffiliated with the “Storm Area 51” project managers. However, with over one million participants, success is virtually guaranteed. Wycliffe’s resources, language staff, and ethnology teams stand ready to translate the Bible into all Alien languages.”
It’s no secret that Wycliffe is working hard to bring the Bible to every people group around the globe by translating it into every language currently spoken.
The organization firmly believes that everyone has the right to read God’s Word in a language that speaks to their heart.
So why stop at humans?
If the aliens are out there (or in there, in the case of Area 51), they deserve to read the Bible and get to know God, too!
A bold claim, but one that Wycliffe is certainly qualified to make.
After all, Wycliffe Bible Translators and its affiliates have successfully completed Bible translations in over 1,000 languages all around the world.
Translators working with Wycliffe have studied all kinds of languages and sound systems, created alphabets, developed writing systems, and even learned how to make video Scriptures for deaf communities!
After all that experience, alien languages couldn’t be so different.
Of course, this is all in fun.
There are no aliens in the Air Force base at Area 51 (we’re pretty sure), and there’s no formal plan to storm the base (we hope).
But Wycliffe is illustrating a couple of very important points as well as having some fun here.
First, as Christians, we should be involved with the current events of our time! In the world, but not of the world.
We certainly don’t need to hop on board with every conspiracy theory or fleeting trend, but we should be aware of what the people around us are doing and what they’re interested in.
Cultural jokes are often representations of where our nation’s interests lie and they can be avenues for us to share the Gospel, even in unexpected ways.
Second, God cares about all people — even aliens.
Whether or not you believe in the existence of actual aliens, you probably know some people who are different from you in practically every way.
You can’t imagine how they could come to know God or how you could possibly reach them with the good news of Christ.
But God has His ways, and His love is powerful enough to conquer any barrier.
And He is using Wycliffe in powerful ways to reach all sorts of people – despite one of the most difficult barriers, that of language.
So, on September 20th, whether or not you join the raid on Area 51, remember that everyone deserves a chance to know God — aliens too!