After 34 years with Wycliffe Bible Translators, Jim retired in late 2025. Initially he helped develop computer tools to assist language and Bible translation work. In 2005 Jim began a transition to ministry with the Deaf. Jim, who has been 'hard-of-hearing' all his adult life, comfortably bridged into Deaf communities.
In his final role Wycliffe assigned Jim to work with Deaf Harbor to develop Bible Hand, a resource in American Sign Language that makes normal use of a signer's "weak" hand to display the timeline, books, geography and other information from the Bible. Bible Hand grew out of a request to develop training for Deaf Bible translation teams similar to the various "Walk Thru the Bible" seminars for people who use speech to communicate.
Jim's wife, Carol, retired from Wycliffe in 2018 after more than two decades in global communication leadership.
Any contributions should note: "preferenced for the Wycliffe retirement income of Jim and Carol Dowsett." All prayer is deeply appreciated.
Position
Retired
Wycliffe Ministry Budget
Wycliffe establishes a Ministry Budget for its members to reflect recurring expenses related to family factors and their geographic location of service. Giving to Wycliffe directly impacts members' ability to begin and remain in their assignment.
This monthly budget covers ministry-related expenses, insurance and retirement, social security and taxes, and Wycliffe administrative costs. The remainder is what the members receive as "take-home pay" for their daily living expenses.