Dr. Juan Carlos Miranda, former Brethren missionary and church planter, passed away on April 26, 2022, at the age of 88. Funeral services were held May 2 in Mansfield, Ohio.
Juan Carlos was born in Argentina and moved to the United States in 1957 with his wife Maria and their family. He owned and operated a successful business in Ohio during the 1960s until God called him and Maria to return to Argentina to serve under the Missionary Board of The Brethren Church. He was professor, administrator, and director of Eden Bible Institute in Soldini in the early 1970s before returning to the United States.
In 1976, he founded the Hispanic Ministries Department at the Fuller Institute of Evangelism and Church Growth in Pasadena, California. In 1985 he published the first book on church growth theory written by a Latin American in Spanish.
During their time in California, Juan Carlos and Maria planted a number of Brethren churches in California and Mexico. He also served as Director of Hispanic Ministries and Latin American Ministries for the Missionary Board.
One of his proudest accomplishments was serving as producer for Maria’s popular radio program, “Para ti Mujer” which was estimated to have more than 100 million listeners throughout Latin America, Europe, and the United States.
Juan Carlos served as a seminary professor at Columbia International University in South Carolina. He also served in leadership positions for the 1980 Luis Palau Los Angeles Crusade and the 1985 Billy Graham Anaheim Crusade.
In recent years he and Maria had been living in Mansfield, Ohio.
He was preceded in death by Maria, his wife of 63 years; a daughter-in-law, Gladys; and a great-granddaughter. He is survived by five children and spouses, 14 grandchildren, and 16 great-grandchildren.