Dr. James Courter PhD

Jim began his Christian life and ministry in Las Cruces, New Mexico, while attending NMSU. In 1974, he heard the calling to get involved in Bible translation work, and taught himself biblical Greek. In 1975 he started taking Bible translation courses through Wycliffe/SIL. In early 1980 he moved to Austria to work for Evangelism to Communist Lands and ministered to the underground Church behind the Iron Curtain, as well as to Austrians. After returning to the USA, he spent two years in Yuma, Arizona, and served as one of the pastors of a church across the border in Mexico. In 1985 he moved to Vienna, Austria, where he and his family spent the next 21 years. Jim taught at a church Bible school for 3 years and in a Bible school held inside of a prison near Vienna for 6 years. He has been working since 1989 as a Bible translation consultant on many translations of the Bible. He also spent extensive time in Romanian, ministering in orphanages, hospitals, churches, individual families and on the streets.

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After returning to the USA for a short time, Jim lived in Jerusalem, Israel, for 10 years. He finished his doctorate there at the University of the Holy Land. He also taught several courses, including Biblical Hebrew and Greek, as well Bible translation practice and history. He led different Bible study groups as well, and shared the gospel at a cafe and at Christ Church in Jerusalem’s Old City. His multi-faceted experiences there greatly enhanced his knowledge of the Bible, the land of the Bible and biblical languages.