Translation specialists train and empower local people to translate the Bible into their own language. During preparation, they study Biblical languages, linguistics, and translation principles.

Once on the field, they are language and culture learners as they build relationships and gain insight into the community in which they work. They help coordinate the translation process training and facilitating the efforts of local translators through the production of rough drafts through a series of checks to the point of publication and distribution. They often serve as exegetes to ensure accuracy and clarity of meaning through comparisons with the original language biblical texts working a part of one, or sometimes multiple, local translation teams.