We’re delighted to provide translation for the Basics Conference into 8 languages this year! Designed to encourage and equip pastors to do the basics of Christian ministry well, we partnered with Truth For Life to make the conference accessible to a global audience.
In 2024, spf.io provided live captions and translations in English, Italian, French, Spanish, German, Dutch, and Portuguese. This article explores what we learned from that experience and the changes we are making for 2025.
Basics Conference 2025 is coming on May 5-7! Sign up now
Live translation will be available in Español (Spanish), Português (Portuguese), Français (French), Українська (Ukrainian), Русский (Russian), 한국어 (Korean), 简体中文 (Simplified Chinese), and العربية (Arabic).
Truth For Life has grown a global reach through translated books, devotionals, and digital content. However, its major event, the Basics Conference, had only ever been offered in English.
As the ministry’s network of international publishing partners expanded and its mission to make the church accessible globally deepened, the need for a multilingual conference experience became clear.
About Truth For Life
Photo credit: Truth For Life
Truth For Life is a Bible-teaching ministry founded by Alistair Begg, a respected author and Senior Pastor at Parkside Church. What began in 1995 as a radio broadcast on 31 stations has grown into a global ministry, reaching millions through its website, mobile app, YouTube, podcast apps, and other platforms.
Driven by a vision to make biblical teaching accessible to all, Truth For Life partners with international Christian publishers to translate and distribute Pastor Begg’s content globally.
Why Truth For Life Chose spf.io
The partnership between Truth For Life and spf.io began when Chris Lim, founder of spf.io, met Pastor Alistair Begg at a conference. Chris shared spf.io’s vision to make every church accessible in any language, which aligns closely with Truth For Life’s heart for the global church and God’s vision for the Kingdom.
Chris shared:
“This project for the Basics Conference was something that came about in response to our shared vision to help churches to be multilingual…At the heart of it is a desire to fulfill Scripture—that the Gospel could be preached to all nations, that disciples are made in nations with people from all these different cultures and languages.”
About Truth For Life
Photo credit: Truth For Life
Truth For Life is a Bible-teaching ministry founded by Alistair Begg, a respected author and Senior Pastor at Parkside Church. What began in 1995 as a radio broadcast on 31 stations has grown into a global ministry, reaching millions through its website, mobile app, YouTube, podcast apps, and other platforms.
Driven by a vision to make biblical teaching accessible to all, Truth For Life partners with international Christian publishers to translate and distribute Pastor Begg’s content globally.
This meeting led to a deeper collaboration with Truth For Life, launching various projects, including a custom AI voice replication model of Pastor Begg’s voice to narrate his daily devotionals.
So when it came time to prepare for the Basics Conference 2024, spf.io was the natural choice. This partnership not only enabled live translation, but it also cast a vision for how pastors could use technology to include people in many languages in their churches.
How spf.io Delivered Live Translation for the Basics Conference 2024
Spf.io had previously piloted its technology at Parkside Church, where Ukrainian-speaking members expressed a preference for listening to translations rather than reading them. This insight led to the development of Cloud Text-to-Speech (TTS), enabling attendees to listen to high-quality translations using natural-sounding AI voices.
Spf.io’s Co-founder Chris Lim at the Basics Conference 2024.
Leading up to the event, spf.io worked closely with the Truth For Life and Parkside Church teams to create a seamless setup and fine-tune key Christian vocabulary. During the conference, a slide on the big screen informed attendees that live translations were available via the official website, with live subtitles embedded beneath the video player. Audiences could easily select their language and follow along in real time.
Subtitles were embedded beneath the video player on Basics’ website.
Select partners who attended in person were given access to spf.io’s audience view, allowing them to read and listen to translation in real time on their phones.
Like any live event, implementing new technology for the first time, there was an unexpected hiccup: due to a 30-second delay on the live stream, subtitles didn’t appear immediately, which caused some confusion. To address this, we worked with Truth For Life’s web developer to add a countdown timer to reassure viewers that translation would appear shortly.
The Results
The response from attendees and organizers was very positive. International audience members valued the opportunity to fully engage with the conference in their native languages. Several pastors approached the spf.io team afterward, eager to explore how the same technology could be used in their own churches.
One attendee from South America, a missionary whose son had been interpreting live for him, was relieved to discover he could listen to the Spanish translation on his phone. It allowed both of them to experience the conference without stress.
Chris expressed his excitement after attending the conference:
“It was really wonderful to meet those people, the international publishing partners, and to work closely with Truth For Life to support Basics Conference, and to be supported in our own mission of making every church accessible in any language.”
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What’s New at Basics Conference 2025
Truth for Life and spf.io are teaming up once again for the Basics Conference 2025. This year, live translation will be available in 8 languages:
Español (Spanish), Português (Portuguese), Français (French), Українська (Ukrainian), Русский (Russian), 한국어 (Korean), 简体中文 (Simplified Chinese), and العربية (Arabic)
On-site attendees can read or listen to the translation directly on their mobile devices by scanning the QR code printed in the official booklet or shown on the big screen. Online attendees can watch the live stream with spf.io’s live subtitles on the conference website.
One big change this year is spf.io’s integration with Boxcast. Livestream viewers will be able to choose their language directly within the video player and see translated subtitles that remain synced for those watching live or replaying earlier parts of the stream.
Whether you’re attending in person or online, you’ll be able to follow every message in your own language!
Want to delight your international audience?
Request a quote and demo today and discover how spf.io can make your church or conference accessible in any language.