The information on this page was last updated 4/8/2026. If you see errors or omissions, please email: [email protected]
Summary
For 75 years, the passion of JAARS has been to reach the unreached-spiritually and practically.
This passion sparked when modern missions pioneer William Cameron Townsend founded JAARS to support and mobilize his Bible translation organizations. He'd seen remote, dangerous terrain halt his urgent mission efforts.
And he believed God had provided a solution in the form of remote transportation innovations.
What We Do
We cover the last mile of missions using special-purpose aircraft, boats and off-road vehicles-relaying God's Word, His missionaries and vital supplies across age-old geographical barriers.
Why We Do It
We long to see God's love and glory overcome all barriers, so that people from every tribe and tongue may have a relationship with their Creator and know the truth of His Word.
Where We Operate
We operate in the green band of the world's rainforest climates. This includes regions with mountainous terrain, wide expanses of open ocean, treacherous rivers, and little to no roads, public transportation or communications infrastructure.
Contact information
Mailing address:
JAARS
7601 Radin Rd
Waxhaw, NC 28173-8349
Website: www.jaars.org
Phone: 800-890-0628
Email: [email protected]
Organization details
EIN: 560818833
CEO/President: Steve Russell
Chairman: Andrew J. Hood
Board size: 10
Founder: William Cameron Townsend
Ruling year: 2019
Tax deductible: Yes
Fiscal year end: 09/30
Member of ECFA: Yes
Member of ECFA since: 1989
Purpose
Our vision is that people's lives and communities are transformed as they experience God's Word in their own languages.
Mission statement
We reduce barriers, ease burdens and deliver God's Word. We do that by training, equipping, deploying and sustaining individuals, teams and stations to aid in the work of the Bible translation movement: proclaiming the gospel to the whole creation.
Statement of faith
- We believe the Bible, the inspired Word of God, is completely trustworthy, speaking with supreme authority in all matters of belief and practice.
- We believe in one God, who exists eternally in three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
- We believe all people, being created in the image of God, have intrinsic value, but as a result of sin are alienated from God and each other, and therefore in need of reconciliation.
- We believe that Jesus Christ, the son of God, born of the virgin Mary, is fully God and fully human. He demonstrated God's love for sinners by suffering the penalty of death in their place, rose bodily from the dead, and ascended to heaven where He intercedes for His people.
- We believe all who repent and trust in Jesus Christ alone as Lord and Savior are, by the grace of God, declared to be right with Him, receiving forgiveness and eternal life.
- We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ will return personally in glory, raise the dead, and judge the world.
- We believe all people will rise from the dead, those who are in Christ to enjoy eternal life with God and those who are lost to suffer eternal separation from Him.
- We believe in the Holy Spirit who imparts new life to those who believe in Christ; through His indwelling presence and transforming power He gives assurance and equips believers for holy living and effective service.
- We believe the Church is the body of Christ, the fellowship of all believers, and is commissioned to make disciples of all nations.
- Seek God Above All
We will demonstrate prayerful dependence on God, abiding in Christ, studying his Word, and seeking his wisdom in all decisions. (Matt. 6:33; John 15:4-5; Prov. 3:5-6)
- Serve in Love
We will follow Christ's example of sacrificial servanthood, looking first to the interest of others, both within our community and toward those we serve. (Phil. 2:3-5; John 13:34)
- Act with Integrity
We will act towards others with honesty, transparency, accountability, and dependability. (Prov. 21:3; 11:3a; Heb. 13:18)
- Steward God's Resources with Courage
We will make bold yet wise decisions as we care for and make best use of people, time, finances, and opportunities. (Matt. 25:14-30; I Pet. 4:10; Eph. 5:15-16)
- Pursue Excellence
We will strive to meet and exceed professional standards and best practices, learning and improving together. (II Cor. 8:7; II Tim. 2:15; Phil. 4:8)
- Collaborate with Respect
As we work together on internal teams and with ministry partners, we will communicate clearly, assume goodwill, and value each other's contributions. (Eccl. 4:12; I Cor. 1:10, 12:12-27)
- Create a Culture of Innovation
Not content with the status quo, we will question assumptions, seek new approaches, and design innovative solutions in all areas. (Ex. 35:30-35; Eph. 2:10; Prov. 22:29)
Articles
| 5/15/2026 | All God's Children Reinstated to ECFA |
| 11/28/2025 | Los Angeles Mission, Manhattan Christian College Drop to Zero Stars |
| 10/5/2023 | MINISTRY SPOTLIGHT: JAARS |
Donor confidence score
Show donor confidence score details
To understand our donor confidence score, click here.
Transparency grade
A
To understand our transparency grade, click here.
Financial efficiency ratings
Sector: Mission Aviation
| Category | Rating | Overall rank | Sector rank |
| Overall efficiency rating |  | 825 of 1379 | 6 of 8 |
| Fund acquisition rating | | 519 of 1379 | 4 of 8 |
| Resource allocation rating | | 556 of 1379 | 4 of 8 |
| Asset utilization rating | | 1237 of 1380 | 7 of 8 |
To understand our financial efficiency ratings, click here.
Click here to read JAARS's response to our ratings
Financial ratios
| Funding ratios | Sector median | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 |
Return on fundraising efforts Return on fundraising efforts = Fundraising expense / Total contributions | 5% | 4% | 5% | 7% | 8% | 6% |
Fundraising cost ratio Fundraising cost ratio = Fundraising expense / Total revenue | 4% | 4% | 4% | 5% | 6% | 4% |
Contributions reliance Contributions reliance = Total contributions / Total revenue | 79% | 85% | 83% | 76% | 77% | 74% |
Fundraising expense ratio Fundraising expense ratio = Fundraising expense / Total expenses | 5% | 5% | 6% | 5% | 6% | 5% |
Other revenue reliance Other revenue reliance = Total other revenue / Total revenue | 21% | 15% | 17% | 24% | 23% | 26% |
| Operating ratios | Sector median | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 |
Program expense ratio Program expense ratio = Program services / Total expenses | 77% | 78% | 79% | 83% | 84% | 78% |
Spending ratio Spending ratio = Total expenses / Total revenue | 97% | 72% | 78% | 114% | 100% | 82% |
Program output ratio Program output ratio = Program services / Total revenue | 73% | 56% | 62% | 95% | 84% | 65% |
Savings ratio Savings ratio = Surplus (deficit) / Total revenue | 3% | 28% | 22% | -14% | 0% | 18% |
Reserve accumulation rate Reserve accumulation rate = Surplus (deficit) / Net assets | 3% | 21% | 17% | -9% | 0% | 10% |
General and admin ratio General and admin ratio = Management and general expense / Total expenses | 15% | 17% | 15% | 12% | 10% | 16% |
| Investing ratios | Sector median | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 |
Total asset turnover Total asset turnover = Total expenses / Total assets | 0.53 | 0.48 | 0.56 | 0.65 | 0.52 | 0.42 |
Degree of long-term investment Degree of long-term investment = Total assets / Total current assets | 2.27 | 7.59 | 5.50 | 7.32 | 6.88 | 29.65 |
Current asset turnover Current asset turnover = Total expenses / Total current assets | 1.66 | 3.68 | 3.09 | 4.77 | 3.57 | 12.50 |
| Liquidity ratios | Sector median | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 |
Current ratio Current ratio = Total current assets / Total current liabilities | 24.25 | 4.44 | 7.69 | 7.69 | 7.20 | 0.83 |
Current liabilities ratio Current liabilities ratio = Total current liabilities / Total current assets | 0.04 | 0.23 | 0.13 | 0.13 | 0.14 | 1.20 |
Liquid reserve level Liquid reserve level = (Total current assets - Total current liabilities) / (Total expenses / 12) | 6.91 | 2.53 | 3.38 | 2.19 | 2.89 | -0.19 |
| Solvency ratios | Sector median | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 |
Liabilities ratio Liabilities ratio = Total liabilities / Total assets | 7% | 8% | 8% | 9% | 7% | 9% |
Debt ratio Debt ratio = Debt / Total assets | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
Reserve coverage ratio Reserve coverage ratio = Net assets / Total expenses | 173% | 190% | 164% | 140% | 179% | 215% |
Financials
| Balance sheet | |||||
| Assets | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 |
| Cash | $909,329 | $1,686,668 | $620,513 | $1,070,393 | $140,207 |
| Receivables, inventories, prepaids | $1,410,973 | $806,490 | $948,546 | $736,589 | $285,690 |
| Short-term investments | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Other current assets | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Total current assets | $2,320,302 | $2,493,158 | $1,569,059 | $1,806,982 | $425,897 |
| Long-term investments | $1,733,459 | $1,675,648 | $2,297,445 | $2,563,548 | $0 |
| Fixed assets | $12,815,647 | $8,878,007 | $6,557,926 | $6,949,405 | $5,468,570 |
| Other long-term assets | $742,049 | $662,576 | $1,057,598 | $1,113,405 | $6,732,645 |
| Total long-term assets | $15,291,155 | $11,216,231 | $9,912,969 | $10,626,358 | $12,201,215 |
| Total assets | $17,611,457 | $13,709,389 | $11,482,028 | $12,433,340 | $12,627,112 |
| Liabilities | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 |
| Payables and accrued expenses | $522,086 | $324,317 | $204,113 | $251,045 | $511,197 |
| Other current liabilities | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Total current liabilities | $522,086 | $324,317 | $204,113 | $251,045 | $511,197 |
| Debt | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Due to (from) affiliates | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Other long-term liabilities | $844,489 | $712,786 | $797,159 | $649,229 | $668,530 |
| Total long-term liabilities | $844,489 | $712,786 | $797,159 | $649,229 | $668,530 |
| Total liabilities | $1,366,575 | $1,037,103 | $1,001,272 | $900,274 | $1,179,727 |
| Net assets | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 |
| Without donor restrictions | $13,433,294 | $10,697,743 | $8,108,575 | $7,778,223 | $8,150,839 |
| With donor restrictions | $2,811,588 | $1,974,543 | $2,372,181 | $3,754,843 | $3,296,546 |
| Net assets | $16,244,882 | $12,672,286 | $10,480,756 | $11,533,066 | $11,447,385 |
| Revenues and expenses | |||||
| Revenue | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 |
| Total contributions | $10,101,743 | $8,189,288 | $4,980,791 | $4,996,131 | $4,804,545 |
| Program service revenue | $1,667,262 | $1,432,279 | $1,536,547 | $1,457,670 | $1,015,180 |
| Membership dues | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Investment income | $56,926 | $62,769 | $9,946 | $19,739 | $100,578 |
| Other revenue | $104,750 | $145,920 | $52,819 | ($23,057) | $552,047 |
| Total other revenue | $1,828,938 | $1,640,968 | $1,599,312 | $1,454,352 | $1,667,805 |
| Total revenue | $11,930,681 | $9,830,256 | $6,580,103 | $6,450,483 | $6,472,350 |
| Expenses | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 |
| Program services | $6,651,601 | $6,080,136 | $6,243,327 | $5,403,964 | $4,180,133 |
| Management and general | $1,453,054 | $1,182,698 | $879,631 | $655,590 | $874,322 |
| Fundraising | $434,796 | $440,833 | $356,344 | $393,111 | $270,872 |
| Total expenses | $8,539,451 | $7,703,667 | $7,479,302 | $6,452,665 | $5,325,327 |
| Change in net assets | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 |
| Surplus (deficit) | $3,391,230 | $2,126,589 | ($899,199) | ($2,182) | $1,147,023 |
| Other changes in net assets | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Total change in net assets | $3,391,230 | $2,126,589 | ($899,199) | ($2,182) | $1,147,023 |
Compensation
| Name | Title | Compensation |
| Steve Russell | President | $140,000 |
| Steve Biggerstaff | Vice President of Engagement | $118,482 |
| Denise Shockley | V P of Finance, CFO | $103,304 |
Compensation data as of: 9/30/2024
Response from ministry
Are author royalties and speaking engagement fees paid to the organization, and not the individual?
When a speaker is representing JAARS, any gifts must go to the organization, not the individual. However, if a speaker is presenting on a personal matter (as some of our staff have written their own books), they would receive their own honorariums.
Has the organization refrained from the use of non-disclosure agreements?
We make very limited use of NDAs when contracting with outside vendors, etc., to protect corporate data when granting access to corporate data (such as data about our customers/donors, financials, etc.). We believe that is an appropriate and standard use of NDAs
The information below was provided to MinistryWatch by the ministry itself. It was last updated 4/8/2026. To update the information below, please email: [email protected]
History
We praise God for a legacy of his faithfulness.
From our earliest days nearly 80 years ago, our passion has been to reach the unreached-both spiritually and practically. Our founder, Cameron Townsend, believed that all people should have God's Word in their heart language. He devoted his life to that bold vision, trusting at every juncture that God would make the impossible possible. Just reaching and working in minority language communities-sometimes in the most remote, dangerous corners of the world-proved to be an early obstacle.
"Transforming power. The Bible. That is the need of a thousand forgotten tribes."
William Cameron Townsend
Founder of JAARS, Wycliffe Bible Translators and SIL Global
JAARS is on the "leading edge" of missions. We look at the world and ask, "Where are the remaining unreached people groups, isolated by dense rainforest, that need God's Word?" By combining the suite of air, land, and sea operations overlaid with new technologies, we get there and back safely.
God has already been so faithful. We see that in the thousands of passionate, gifted people he's called to partner in this work, much of which happens at the JAARS Base in North Carolina. Our campus itself is a testimony to God's power to work through people: businessman Henderson Belk of Belk Department stores donated this land for us to build a runway and hangar back in the 1960s. Little did he know how God would multiply his gift! Today the JAARS Base includes over 630 acres and more than 400 staff. It is a hub of innovation, expertise, and training that reaches to distant, difficult-to-reach places to proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.
In 2022, newly-elected JAARS President Steve Russell prayerfully asked God for a renewed vision and mission for JAARS that would honor its past and provoke towards the future. He began to refocus JAARS back to its aviation roots. Our name was officially changed to "Jungle Aviation and Relay Service" to signify a change of mission from providing an array of diverse services to focusing on our Air, Land and Sea Operations to relay personnel, equipment, supplies and the Good News to the remote villages and people groups who live in the most hard-to-reach places on the planet.
Program accomplishments
-We support ..." of all mission aviation by sharing our 76+ years of remote missions experience with mission organizations through: Safety and Standards, Training, Aircraft, Personnel, and Infrastructure
-We are providing multiple avenues uniquely tailored for young mission aviators and maintenance specialists to enter the field.
-Camp Aero Participants ages 15-18 get hands-on aviation training and experience-and are encouraged to seriously consider a future in missionary aviation.
-Apprentice Initiative Through our apprentice initiative, we fast-track young pilots and maintenance specialists for field deployment by providing them intensive, personalized training and mentorship. In 2025, 12 aviation personnel began service in Papua New Guinea
-Fellows/Interns Each year, we take in new young aviation fellows and interns and provide them with a key role in mission aviation and growth opportunities.
-The Kwadima II, a boat operating out of Alotau, Papua New Guinea, provides for the transportation needs of Bible translators and other ministries on remote islands. In FY2025, the vessel made 10 Bible-translation-specific voyages and covered 2,847 nautical miles covered (535 hours), directly impacting 9 mission teams.
-When aviation isn't the most viable option, expat and national missionaries often find themselves relying on risky methods of land or water travel. Many missionaries visit our stateside training base in Waxhaw to receive this life-saving training-and become equipped to share that training with others they work with or serve on the field. But this year, we brought over a third of our training courses overseas to meet national missionaries where they are. In FY2025, 150 people were trained on and off-base.
-Since launching the JAARS Fellows program in 2020, we have since welcomed 14 cohorts of young professionals for training and service at the JAARS Base in North Carolina.
Needs
Thank you for joining us to make God's Word available to all-even in the most remote, difficult places on earth.