Missionaries

Bruce and Jan Benson have served in Peru for more than 30 years with Wycliffe Bible Translators. In 2003 they finished the translation of the New Testament for the Huamalíes Quechua people, and it has been a joy for them to see the Scriptures being used by pastors, churches and women’s groups through the training and promotional activities they have been involved in. They have also worked to complete the translation of the entire Huallaga Quechua Bible, preparing it for publication later this year. Bruce and Jan have finished their projects in Peru and are now transitioning to the U.S. (Oregon City) to be near parents, their 3 children and soon-to-be seven grandchildren.

After their 2010 furlough they will begin their new assignment as Translation and Scripture Use Consultants for the Americas Area of Wycliffe. They look forward to serving other teams throughout North, South, and Central America in making God’s Word available in the heart languages of the people.

Dave and Carol Kochendorfer serve with Evangelical Church Missions. Following more than 20 years of ministry in the Pacific Conference of The Evangelical Church, Dave and Carol joined the ECM in 2004. Their ministry responsibilities have included preaching, teaching and mentoring through the Vida em Cristo Church. They have also provided supervision of work teams, short-term workers and evangelical outreach to poor developing areas. Dave has fulfilled the mission financial duties and Carol has ministered through the church and in private with her musical gifts.

Dave and Carol are both graduates of Vennard College in Iowa and Dave graduated from Western Evangelical Seminary. They originally began to sense God leading them to Brazil for full-time service following a work and witness trip with their Oregon church. The Kochendorfers have two children: Jeremy and his wife, Barbara, also serving with Evangelical Church Missions and Nathan and his wife, Megan, serve as youth pastor at Tremont Evangelical.

Joe and Ellen Kunkle serve with World Gospel Mission and have been working with WGM in Bolivia since 1968. They also worked in Paraguay from 1987 to 2004. Currently Joe and Ellen work in the Ballivian Province, in the heart of Bolivia’s cattle country. Joe and Ellen have endeavored to meet the needs of these isolated churches by standing alongside the Bolivian pastors and leaders, assisting in leadership, and theological training, providing better materials for Sunday School and Vacation Bible School programs, preaching in churches, teaching in the Berea Extension Seminary and conducting Christian education and puppet ministry workshops.

Joe and Ellen consider it a great privilege to have had a part in furthering the cause of Christ in Bolivia, a land of social unrest, but still open to the gospel. Joe and Ellen met at Azusa Pacific University and were married in 1966.

Bob and Suzanne Warren serve with OneMissionSociety. They are directors and shepherds/trainers in Japan and South Korea for Every Community for Christ, OMS’ evangelism and church-planting ministry. Their call in the Northwest is to build a group of “world changers for Jesus” who desire to pray, give and go to reach the nations for Christ. Their international responsibilities involve training national workers in principles to build healthy, multiplying churches that will reach Japan and Korea with the Gospel.

Bob and Suzanne’s most recent assignment was serving as interim president at an OMS-related seminary in Central Asia. The Warrens both grew up in the Northwest and graduated from George Fox University. Prior to joining OMS the Warrens served with the Pacific Conference at Colbert Evangelical.