History & Roots

Pioneers Rev. Robert (Bob) R. Thompson and Rev. Horace Murfin were co-founders of the Brazil Inland Mission established in 1954. The mission was born out of the great need to evangelize the lost in the southern fields of Brazil. This organization is incorporated in the State of Illinois since 1955 with its headquarters in Wheaton, IL. It is also incorporated since 1958 in the Republic of Brazil as, “A Missão Interior do Brasil.” Its personnel are comprised of a volunteer Board of Directors and Advisory Board, and a part-time bookkeeper.

Bob and Alice, as a devoted couple and team, helped pioneer the work of the mission in the then jungle area of the northwestern part of the state of Paraná in southern Brazil. Southern Brazil was also known for its new coffee fields and plantations. The Thompsons finally came to live in a town by the name of Umuarama that was carved out of the Brazilian jungle. Umuarama means, “Place Where Friends Meet.” There were only ten establishments in the town with the Thompson’s house being the first residential home. The Thompsons worked hard at beginning a church plant during those early years, and by the end of the of their first 5-year term, there were sixty people in attendance at the church, souls were getting saved, and several preaching points were held at surrounding cities. The Umuarama church continues today under complete Brazilian leadership and sustenance and also pays a Brazilian missionary who ministers in the nearby town of Herculândia. The Thompson's observed the small town of Umuarama grow to a modern city of over 110,000 during the course of their ministry!

The Thompsons did church-planting for thirteen years and also founded the Evangelical Grade School in 1964 which still functions to this day. In 1968, they founded the Southern Theological Bible Seminary, in which Bob Thompson was the Director and President. Both Bob and Alice taught for twenty-seven years and trained countless Brazilians for ministry and church lay-men and women. The now Thompson Theological Bible Seminary continues in Vitória da Conquista, Bahia, where it was moved in 2000. Their son, David Thompson, oversees the ministries in this area of east-central Brazil, both in church planting and teaching at the Seminary. The Seminary is under Brazilian leadership with Pastor José Pereira as its Director. The Armindo Gomes Bible Camp also functions in the outskirts in Vitória da Conquista. New missionaries David and Tina Bostian and children are living and working in Vitória da Conquista, Bahia, and are helping to build up a new congregation in rural Estiva.

John and George Harmon and wives are missionaries in the city of Araçatuba, São Paulo. They followed the example of Charles and Ruth Harmon, their parents, who ministered in tribal work in early years and then moved to Araçatuba, São Paulo when Ruth Harmon was stricken with polio. Through the efforts of the Harmon family and Brazilian pastors they have trained, there exist today thriving churches, Harmony Camp, and The Bible Seminary of Evangelization in the city Araçatuba, and churches with national pastors in other cities of the state of São Paulo and in Goiás. In 2002, John and Ana Harmon, George and Eunice Harmon and Ruth Harmon joined the Brazil Inland Mission, Inc. Ruth Harmon was promoted to heaven in March 2009. John and Ana Harmon and George and Eunice Harmon continue their ministries in the Araçatuba area to the glory of God.

The goal of the BIM, Inc. is "to train Brazilians to train Brazilians." Its uniqueness pertains to the heavy focus on developing national leadership. Functioning with only four North-American missionaries and families, the national aspect of the mission has presently 20 national pastors, 35 students at The Thompson Theological Bible Seminary, 30 full-time students at The Bible Seminary of Evangelization, and one Brazilian missionary family. (See: “National Pastors/Missionaries.”)

Out of this necessity was born the National/Student Pastor Fund. This fund is set up by the BIM, Inc. to help financially support students of The Thompson Theological Bible Seminary and national Pastors that are affiliated with the above mentioned Seminary. Also, the Rev. Robert & Alice Thompson Endowment Fund was established in March 2005 to provide financial support for students and pastors from The Thompson Theological Bible Seminary, and the Rev. Charles & Ruth Harmon Scholarship Fund was established in June 2006 to provide financial support for national students studying at The Bible Seminary of Evangelization in Araçatuba, from the investment income earned on these endowment funds

Throughout the longevity of the mission and change in BIM officers, the focus has always been on the Brazilians themselves; its purpose remains the same. The contributions of founder Rev. Robert Thompson remain to this day and will continue in the future.

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