Writing in 1941, William Cameron Lowasend revealed an amazing confidence in a future that even he could not anticipate. Teamed with committed colleagues, Townsend saw Wycliffe Bible Translators become one of the largest mission service organizations. More than ten times the five hundred translators Townsend predicted were active by the time of his death in 1982.

The decades of depression and war from 1933 to 1948 were crucial years for Townsend's vision. Difficult decisions had to be faced about the place of academic credentials, the role of women, the doctrinal openness of the new organization, and the methods of funding.

Like Wycliffe in the Making, Steven's previous book in this biographical series of three volumes, this one reflects his study of over 16,000 letters and documents for this period covering the years after Townsend left traditional missionary work in Central America in 1933 until the new organization reached solid footing in the late forties.