About Us

Our History

Runa Simi was founded in 1979 when it became an associate member of CONEP, the Peruvian National Council of Evangelical Churches. Its goal, to take the Gospel to every corner of the “Tawantinsuyo” or Quechua World.

Its first board directors were: Romulo Saune, Alfredo Fajardo, Simon Isarra, and Enrique Saune. Runa Simi installed its offices in Chosica creating the Runa Simi Center. At that time, the main thrusts of the ministry were translation, Scripture promotion and radio programming. From 1983 to 1987 a translation team worked at the Runa Simi Center, headed up by Presbyterian missionary, Homer Emerson, under the auspices of the Peruvian Bible Society.

In 1987, the Ayacucho Quechua Bible was published and dedicated. Shortly after, Runa Simi joined forces with TAWA, Tawantinsuyuman Allin Willakuq Apaqkuna, another national organization with similar goals.

Romulo Saune served as their acting President. The two organizations worked in partnership until 1990 when TAWA´s offices moved to Huancayo under a new board of directors. During these years, over 60,000 Ayacucho Quechua Bibles and New Testaments were distributed and the “Jesus Film” was produced in Quechua for the Ayacucho dialect. In 1992, Romulo Saune was killed by the Shinning Path, leaving Runa Simi without a strong leader. In 1993, Runa Simi reorganized and elected a new board of directors with the renewed vision of reaching the all of the peoples of Peru with God´s Word in their own mother tongues.

Our Accountability

Runa Simi is accountable to a local governing council of five that is reelected every 3 years by a legal membership of seventeen. It is also accountable to CONEP, the Peruvian Council of Evangelical Churches. Legally and financially as a registered non profit association, it is accountable to the government and SUNAT, Peru´s National Tributary Administration to which Runa Simi reports on a monthly basis with all of the required receipting and taxation. Runa Simi is also accountable to FRIENDS OF RUNA SIMI, a non-profit, U.S. based association, incorporated with a 501(c)(3) tax exemption status. The FRIENDS OF RUNA SIMI board of directors maintains operations in conformity to the laws required by the U.S. government and serve as a liaison between U.S. entities and Runa Simi Peru.

Our Beliefs

Runa Simi´s work in promoting God´s Word flows out of our identity as followers of Jesus. The beliefs we share provide us with the motivation for our ministry. The following are the Biblical Principles that bind us together:

We believe that the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are verbally inspired by God and are totally accurate.

We believe that the Scriptures are the supreme and final authority in all matters of doctrine, faith, and life.

We believe that there is but one only living and true God, revealed in three Persons – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

We believe that Jesus Christ was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary, and is fully God and fully man.

We believe in the substitutional death of the Lord Jesus Christ, in His Bodily resurrection from the dead, in His bodily ascension into Heaven, and in His intercessory work at the Father´s right hand.

We believe that man by disobeying God, became a sinner and thereby incurred spiritual death which is separation from God, and physical death as a consequence; and that all human beings are bon in sin.

We believe in one condition of eternal salvation, which is accepting by faith through God´s grace the Lord Jesus Christ as one´s personal Savior.

We believe in the personal and permanent abiding of the Holy Spirit in every believer from the moment of his salvation.

We believe that there is one universal Church and that local organized assemblies of professing believers are its visible expression on earth.

We believe in the personal and imminent return of our Lord Jesus Christ to meet the saints in the air to take them to be with Him forever; and we believe in the personal, visible and glorious return of Christ to the earth with His saints to reign in righteousness and justice.