A missionary whose work helped bring the Bible to indigenous communities in Paraguay’s remote Chaco region is retiring after 44 years of ministry and translation work.
Tim Curtis, a mission partner of the Church Mission Society (CMS), is stepping down after decades spent serving the Énxet and other indigenous peoples, many of whom have historically faced social exclusion, land displacement and limited access to education, healthcare and Christian resources in their own languages.
Founded in 1799, CMS is one of the world’s oldest mission agencies and continues to support Christian work in communities often overlooked or neglected.
Curtis has played a central role in making Scripture available in Southern Énxet, both in written and audio form, leaving what CMS described as a lasting spiritual and cultural legacy.
Born into a missionary family and raised in Chile, Curtis later pursued his studies in the UK before first travelling to Paraguay in the 1980s.
His early involvement came through the La Herencia project in the Chaco, an Anglican initiative established in response to the loss of ancestral lands among the Énxet, Angaité and Sanapana communities.
The project had helped set aside almost 45,000 hectares for indigenous communities by 1985.
Curtis went on to work in both indigenous and state schools throughout the region before being urged to pursue Bible translation training in light of his gift for languages and his dedication to local communities.
After joining the South American Missionary Society - which later amalgamated with CMS - he received specialist linguistic training with SIL International and went back to Paraguay to concentrate on work in the Southern Énxet language.
Working alongside three indigenous translators in the early 1990s, as well as the United Bible Societies and the Paraguayan Bible Society, Curtis helped oversee the production of the Southern Énxet New Testament, which was published in 1997.
Nearly two decades later, the full Southern Énxet Bible was published in 2016.
Reflecting on the journey, Curtis said: “From start to finish, it was surprising, even miraculous. People from different organisations, churches and institutions came together. It was like the Lord was arranging everything.”
Noticing that literacy barriers meant printed Scripture alone would not reach everyone, Curtis and his colleagues expanded their work into audio ministry.
25 Southern Énxet readers partnered with Faith Comes by Hearing to create an audio dramatisation of the New Testament in 2016. The recordings were made available on solar-powered and hand-cranked audio devices.
The ministry continued to grow in recent years.
In 2024, the team contributed to the translation and voice recording of the Jesus Film into Southern Énxet, while an audio recording of the Old Testament was produced with DAVAR audio Bibles in 2025.
Even while preparing for retirement, Curtis has remained active.
He has worked as a part-time consultant with the Bible translation team of the Northern Enlhet since 2018, which has now prepared drafts of the Old Testament and along with several major New Testament books.
A complete Bible translation is expected later this decade.
Beyond his translation ministry, Curtis has also helped lead Bible studies, encouraged indigenous church leaders and helped strengthen indigenous-led mission movements in South America, such as the synod formed after the 2022 Indigenous Anglican Congress in Argentina.
Chief executive of CMS Andy Roberts paid tribute to Curtis’s decades of service.
“Today, Énxet Christians can hear, read and share Scripture in their own language - in print, through audio and on their phones,” he remarked.
“Tim Curtis may be retiring, but his legacy will live on: helping make God’s Word accessible to communities who have too often been pushed to the edges, and strengthening faith, identity and hope for generations to come.”
