Guide
Planning a bilingual church service
A bilingual service is a set of choices, not one format: which parts happen in which language, which parts are translated, and how. Services often end up as a mix, because what works for a sermon rarely works for a song.
This guide walks through the parts of a typical service and the options for each, so your team can choose on purpose instead of by habit.
Last reviewed
Five ways to run the service
| Format | How it works | Good for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Two services | A separate service in each language, sometimes with a combined service once a month | Large groups in each language | Families split up; two of everything to staff |
| Alternating | Each part is in one language or the other | Congregations where most people understand both | People who know only one language miss half the service |
| Bilingual preacher | The preacher speaks in one language and summarises each point in the other | A preacher fluent in both | The summary carries less than the full sermon |
| Consecutive interpretation | The preacher pauses and an interpreter repeats each passage | Small rooms, one extra language | Nearly doubles the sermon's length; interrupts the preacher's flow |
| Simultaneous | One language from the front; others follow at the same time by headset or phone | Several language groups in one room | Needs an interpreter or live translation; earphones if people want to hear the voice |
You can combine them, for example songs and Scripture in both languages and the sermon simultaneous.
Songs
Songs are where bilingual services work best without translation technology. Put both languages on the slides, one under the other, or alternate verses: the first in one language, the second in the other, the chorus in both. Alternating verses needs a singable translation that fits the tune, so start from published bilingual songbooks and hymnals rather than translating lyrics yourselves.
Live translation is not the right tool for singing. Sung words are hard to recognise, and with PewTranslate sung lyrics the microphone picks up can count as speech, so you may prefer to start the stream just before the sermon or stop it during worship.
Scripture readings
Read the passage in both languages, one after the other, or have it read in one language with the other on the screen. Use a published translation for each language rather than translating on the spot: listeners know their own Bible's wording, and machine or volunteer translation of a familiar verse sounds wrong to them.
Put the reference on the screen in both languages so people can follow in their own Bibles.
Prayer, announcements and the sermon
- Prayer: let people pray in their own language when the congregation prays together; for a led prayer, keep it short or translate it like the sermon.
- Announcements: put the important ones on the slides in both languages, with dates and times, which survive translation better than speech.
- The sermon: this is where simultaneous translation helps most, because it is the longest part and the hardest to repeat. Ask the preacher to finish sentences and say references in full; see preaching with live translation.
Before the first bilingual Sunday
- Write down, part by part, which language each element of the service will use.
- Ask two or three people from each language group to read the plan and say where they would get lost.
- Run the whole order of service once, including the switch between languages, before inviting visitors.
- Afterwards, ask the same people what was hard to follow and change one thing at a time.
For the technical side of phones and audio, see setting up live translation.
Frequently asked questions
Should the sermon be preached in both languages?
Preaching every passage twice usually makes the service too long. Common alternatives are preaching in one language with a short summary of each point in the other, or offering the other language at the same time through an interpreter or live translation.
Do we need two worship teams?
No. One team can lead songs with both languages on the slides, or alternate verses between languages.
Keep reading
- Welcoming Visitors Who Speak Other LanguagesHow churches can welcome people who speak other languages: announcing translation, greeters, signage, follow-up with transcripts, and learning who is in the room.
- Preaching with Live Translation: Tips for PastorsHow to preach so live translation works well: sentence endings, Bible references, names, idioms and humour, without changing your style.
- Spanish Sermon Translation for ChurchesLive Spanish translation of your sermon on every phone. Which Spanish to choose, bilingual services, and what to check before your first Sunday with PewTranslate.
- Live Sermon Translation: How It WorksHow live sermon translation turns a preacher's voice into translated text and speech, sentence by sentence, and what affects accuracy in a church setting.