Jungle Aviation and Radio Service

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A Helio Courier in the JAARS hangar

A hangar building at the center

A King Air in the JAARS hangar

The Jungle Aviation and Radio Service or JAARS is the technical arm of the Wycliffe Bible Translators, and is headquartered at the JAARS Center in Waxhaw, North Carolina.

JAARS serves Wycliffe and other relief and missions organizations worldwide by providing transportation by air, land or sea as well as through computing and information technology and other technical services.

William Cameron Townsend founded Wycliffe in 1934, and as the organization grew, he saw the need for airplanes and radio to reach remote areas around the world, to provide safe access to language groups. JAARS was originally formed in Peru in 1948 and moved to North Carolina in 1961. Jim Akovenko has been president of JAARS since November 1996.

JAARS primary mission is to serve Bible translators working with Wycliffe and SIL International in their efforts to translate parts of the Bible into the 2,644 language groups worldwide that have no part of the Scriptures in their language.

People who serve at the JAARS Center or overseas are typically members of Wycliffe Bible Translators. About three hundred Wycliffe members serve at the JAARS Center and more than 400 provide technical and transportation services globally. In addition, 234 volunteers provide invaluable help at the JAARS Center.