{"id":313,"date":"2026-08-01T10:11:35","date_gmt":"2026-08-01T10:11:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost:8881\/nevilles-lasting-legacy\/"},"modified":"2026-08-27T08:26:01","modified_gmt":"2026-08-26T20:26:01","slug":"nevilles-lasting-legacy","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/newzealandmarketing.co.nz\/wordpress\/nevilles-lasting-legacy\/","title":{"rendered":"Neville\u2019s Lasting Legacy"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A Gift In Your Will<\/h4><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n

Neville\u2019s Lasting Legacy<\/h1>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

The story of Neville Taylor and his love for Bible mission. His passion for the Bible was so strong he wanted to continue the legacy of Bible work after his death, by making a gift to Bible Society in his will.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

Launch A Bible Mission<\/a><\/div>
Make A Donation<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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A Bequest For Bible Mission<\/h4><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n

A Life Shaped By The Word<\/h2>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The Bible was Neville Taylor\u2019s life-blood. Reading, studying, teaching, translating and memorising it was a source of strength to him, a fount of understanding, conviction and inspiration for his roles as a missionary and translator, and a source of joy throughout his life.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

His daughter Adrianne said it drew him even closer to the God who speaks through it. \u201cAs long as he still had his sight we would often find him reading it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

Raised in a Christian family, Neville loved God from an early age. For his enthusiasm one time while street preaching, a heckler took his billboard covered in Bible verses and smashed it down over Neville\u2019s head. One of the many preachers he admired was Robert Laidlaw, founder of the Farmers Trading Company; later Neville went on to become a preacher in Open Brethren Churches.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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Neville and his wife Evelyn<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

As a serviceman in the New Zealand Army during WWII, he set the habit of reading the Bible and praying each night before sleep. Posted to Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands, his landing craft was bombed by enemy planes as they approached. Neville told his son David how terrifying it was, and how he drew strength from the verse, \u201cYou will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you\u201d (Isaiah 26:3 NKJV).<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

A missionary in Chad for 26 years, Neville and Evelyn dedicated their lives to the Mbai people. While teaching evangelists and Bible school students, he increasingly felt the need to translate the Old Testament into the local Mbai language. He also loved the Psalms and wanted to preach from them.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

So in 1960 Neville began translating the Psalms into Mbai with a Chadian national. In preparation he taught himself Hebrew and Greek \u2014 quite an achievement for a man who had left school at fourteen. On completing the Psalms in 1965, he set to work with a translation team on the Old Testament, completed in 1972 along with a revision of the New Testament. David said these two projects were the most satisfying achievements of his father\u2019s life.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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Neville and his family dedicated their lives to the Mbai people of Chad.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

\u201cTranslating the Bible was a big part of Dad\u2019s work, and so funding a Bible translation project is something Dad would have wanted.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

It was Neville and Evelyn\u2019s wish that part of their legacy be used for church work in Chad. \u201cThe Bible was central to Mum\u2019s and Dad\u2019s life. It is to each of us, their children, as well. Each people group needs to have the Bible in its birth language. The Chadian Arabic language is one of those, so we are thrilled to help in this translation and fulfil the wishes of our father and mother.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

Neville\u2019s passion for the Bible and its translation led him to make a bequest to Bible Society. If you\u2019d like to leave a lasting legacy like Neville did, fill in the form below and we\u2019ll be in touch.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Make A Bequest Enquiry<\/h4><\/div><\/div><\/div>

Leave a Lasting Legacy to last the next 180 years<\/h2>\n<\/div><\/div>

Fill out the form and one of our team members will be in touch soon. Prefer to talk? Call our bequest team on 0800 424 253 ext 848<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

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