Missionary Information

The nations of Brazil, Argentina, and Bolivia surround landlocked Paraguay in south central South America. The Guarani Indians of Paraguay were settled farmers with a common language before the Spanish arrived in the 1500s. The name “Paraguay” is derived from the Guaraní word pararaguay meaning “from a great river.” The “great river” is the Paraná River, which produces the greatest amount of hydroelectric power in the world. Europeans first arrived in the area in the early sixteenth century, and the settlement of Asunción was founded on August 15, 1537 by the Spanish explorer Juan de Salazar. The city eventually became the center of a Spanish colonial province, as well as a primary site of the Jesuit missions and settlements in South America in the eighteenth century. Paraguay declared its independence after overthrowing the local Spanish authorities on May 14, 1811. Fred Scott officially opened Paraguay as a UPCI mission field in 1973. The Don Bryants, independent missionaries living in Paraguay when the Scotts arrived, later received their appointment by the United Pentecostal Church. According to the 2006 Annual Field Report, the Paraguayan church has 1,604 constituents, 16 ministers, and 34 churches and preaching points. The Paraguayan church is in the final stages to receive approval and accreditation for its Bible school program, having doubled the required hours per year and hours of practice. The students will actually have to start a church in their second and third years. At the end of three years, they will have a theology degree that will be approved by the Ministry of Education in Paraguay.

Peru, twice the size of Texas, is the ancient land of the Incas and was the major vice-royalty of Spanish South America. It extends for 1,500 miles along South America’s Pacific coast, sandwiched between Ecuador to the north and Chile to the south. Peru’s climate is influenced by proximity to the Equator, the presence of the Andes, and the cold waters of the Humboldt Current. The combination of these factors make for a wide climate diversity ranging from the dryness of the coast to the extreme cold of mountain peaks to the heavy rainfall of the Amazon Basin. The United Pentecostal Church of Peru was founded in 1962. Today the church has 13,013 constituents, 472 churches and preaching points, and 306 licensed ministers. In 2007 after revamping the national church constitution and by-laws, the Peruvians were able to freely elect for the first time their national leadership. The church departments are developing and preparing for revival and growth. The concept of small groups is taking root. Crusades throughout Peru are effective in reaching the lost and making the presence of the UPC of Peru known.

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Bio: Joseph Bir, a 1978 graduate of Texas Bible College, and his wife, Loretta, worked in a Christian school and served as assistant pastors before they pioneered a home missions work. They received their appointment as United Pentecostal Church missionaries to Paraguay in May 1986. This appointment resulted from the Birs’ long-standing foreign missions burden. Following a year of language study in Costa Rica, the Birs arrived in Paraguay in December 1988. He is now the field superintendent and “is involved in just about all aspects of ministry.” He also serves as the area coordinator for the South America’s Southern Cone, which encompasses Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay. Loretta Bir is involved in children’s and ladies’ ministries and teaches in the Bible school. She can usually be found translating material into Spanish late at night and in the wee hours of the morning.