Brian Simmons has always been a wild man. His wildlife began in rural Kansas in his teens when he started smoking and doing drugs. As a 'D' student in highschool, Brian dropped out and began to hitchhike across the US. He spent three years of his life as a vagabond, never knowing how he would make ends meet.
In this era, Brian recieved a draft notice to join the army. He soon fell in with other draftees and continued partying and smoking pot. Eventually, his perennial goofing off led to the threat of a court marshal. As all this was going on, a fellow service man invited Brian to a meeting off base, with the promise that there would be girls there. The meeting turned out to be a church service and the preacher spoke on Sodom and Gomorrah. Brian felt so convicted that, as soon as the preacher told everyone to bow their heads and pray, he ran for the door. He only got as far as the front steps before breaking down in tears. He went back the next week and got saved that day.
Soon after receiving Christ Brian's Commanding Officer recieved a letter that the army was honorably discharging Brian and that he would not be court marshalled. Free of the army, Brian traveled home and found out that a group of hippies in his hometown got saved and thye had been praying for Brian's salvation. One of the members of this group was his a beauty queen of the town. Brian and Candice met and within three weeks they were engaged! At their wedding they made a vow to spread the gospel by going to the nations. They went to Bible college and then a missions bootcamp where they learned the science of phonetics and language.
With their schooling completed Brian, with his pregnant wife, and two children headed to the jungles of Panama. As the young family landed to meet the tribe they would be translating the Bible for, chants of "kill Brian" came through from outside the plane. Brian was terrified, thinking the tribe was going to kill them. Hear the incredible explanation of this crazy first encounter.
For eight years, Brian and Candice and their little family lived amongst the tribe. They learned the language and translated the Bible for the local people. They only came back to the US once in all that time. Here how the cultural differences tested Brian's love for the tribe, and helped them lead an entire unreached people group to Christ. You will love The Conversion of Brian Simmons.
Brian and Candice Simmons: Translators of The Passion Translation Bible.
Brian and Candice are true pioneers in ministry. Dr. Simmons is currently working as the lead translator of The Passion Translation.
After a dramatic conversion to Christ in 1971, Brian and Candice answered the call of God to leave everything behind and become missionaries to unreached peoples. Taking their three children to the jungle of Central America, they pioneered church plants for many years with the Kuna people group. As a linguist, Brian also served on a team to translate the New Testament into the Paya-Kuna language.
After their time as missionaries the birthed numerous ministries, including a dynamic church in Connecticut.
They also established Passion & Fire Ministries, under which they travel as Bible teachers in service of local churches throughout the world.
In time Brian had a divine encounter where God spoke to him that he needed to re-translate the Bible. Unsure of such an endeavor, a divine encounter with a "fiery man" who walked through his bedroom wall, confirmed the call to do a new translation of the Bible. A translation that captures the "heart behind the words" of Scripture. This new translation is called The Passion Translation (TPT)!