About

The message of God's story is timeless; the Word of God doesn't change. But methods by which that story is communicated should be timely; the vessels that steward God's Word can and should change.

One of those timely methods and vessels is Bible translations. Bible translations are both a gift and a problem. They give us the words God spoke through his servants, but words can become very poor containers for revelation--they leak! Over time the words change from one generation to the next. Meaning is influenced by culture, background, and a thousand other details.

There is no such thing as a truly literal translation of the Bible, for there is not an equivalent language that perfectly conveys the meaning of the biblical text except as it is understood in its original cultural and linguistic setting. Therefore, a translation can be a problem. The problem, however, is solved when we seek to transfer meaning, and not merely words, from the original text to the receptor language.

The Passion Translation (TPT) is a groundbreaking attempt to reintroduce the passion and fire of the Bible to the English reader. It doesn't merely convey the original, literal meaning of the words. It expresses God's passion for people and his world by translating the original, life-changing message of God's Word for modern readers.

God longs to have his Word expressed in every language in a way that would unlock the passion of his heart. Our goal is to trigger inside every English speaker an overwhelming response to the truth of the Bible. This is a heart-level translation, from the passion of God's heart to the passion of your heart.

Passion & Fire Ministries offers TPT educational services that include Bible study classes, conferences, seminars, workshops, and retreats, featuring teaching, discussions, sermons, lectures, and streaming videos. To enjoy our blog, visit passionandfire.com/blog.

Dr. Brian Simmons is a former missionary, linguist, minister, and Bible teacher. As a missionary, he and his wife, Candice, pioneered church plants in Central America. As a linguist, Brian co-translated the Kuna New Testament for the Paya-Kuna people of Panama. He is also a gifted teacher of the Bible who has authored several books and serves churches worldwide through his teaching ministry. He and his wife have been described as true pioneers in ministry, laboring together for forty years to bring spiritual revival and present Christ in His fullness, wherever God sends them.

After a dramatic conversion to Christ in 1971, Brian answered a calling from God to leave everything behind, become a missionary, and bring the gospel to unreached tribes. Taking their family of three children to the jungles of Central America, he and his wife pioneered and shepherded church plants among the Kuna people group for many years. While serving as missionaries Brian witnessed firsthand God’s powerful gospel-movement among the nations through spiritual revival. As a linguist, Brian also served as a co-translator for the Kuna New Testament, providing this unreached people group with a copy of God’s Word for the first time.

After their ministry overseas, Brian and Candice returned to North America, where Brian began to passionately work toward helping people encounter the risen Christ and His story of redemption. Brian and Candice birthed numerous ministries, including the dynamic church Gateway Christian Fellowship in West Haven, Connecticut. They also established Stairway Ministries under which they travel full-time as Bible teachers in service of local churches throughout the world with the gospel. Brian serves on the leadership team for Harvest International Ministries, which oversees a network of nearly 20,000 churches and ministries worldwide.

Brian is the author of numerous books that promote the redemption and reconciliation of the nations through Christ and extension of His kingdom. His best-selling book, The Journey of the Bride, has been translated into Korean and French. Other titles include: Prayer Partners with Jesus, The Dreamer, The Stairway, The Prophet of Zion, Moses the Deliverer, and The Image-Maker. Currently he is working on a new, fresh dynamic-equivalent translation of the entire Bible, called The Passion Translation.

Brian and Candice have been married for forty-three years and have three children, six grandchildren, and two great-children. Their passion is to be loving examples of a spiritual father and mother to this generation.