Friendship Mission in Paraguay was founded in 1953 by the United Christian Missionary Society (predecessor of the Division of Overseas Ministries) and by graduates of the International School in Paraguay, the first Disciple mission in Paraguay, founded in 1917.  The original purpose of Friendship Mission was to attend to needs of the urban poor living near the Mission and in Asuncion, the capital city of Paraguay. 

With the commitment and energy of Disciples missionaries in the mid-1960's, notably the work of Raymond and Betty Mills, Friendship Mission grew in vitality and the reach of its programs expanded.  Besides offering basic social services to poor families, Friendship Mission began the first school for the deaf in Paraguay.  The Friendship Mission Clinic was an important program founded in this period, along with educational opportunities for community children and adults.

Today Friendship Mission is actively engaged in programs which are critical to the community.

• Friendship Mission Clinic: Each year over 33,000 people are assisted by physicians and specialists at the clinic and receive outpatient services, laboratory, radiology, and ultrasound. Friendship Mission is well known in Paraguay for offering high quality medical attention at reduced costs.
• Betty and Raymond Mills School of Nursing: Approximately 35 new students begin studies each year to become nurses' aids. At the end of the academic year, about 25 students have successfully completed the curriculum. As most health care providers in Paraguay work in the cities, the School of Nursing at Friendship Mission trains women from rural areas who will go back to carry out their profession in their rural home villages as primary health providers. While studying, nursing students do field work in the Santa Maria neighborhood from which the clinic at Friendship Mission draws many patients. One of the most recent areas of work of the nursing students in the community has been around the causes and the prevention of dengue fever. They also offer educational sessions on health-related matters to children participating in the Friendship Mission Street School.
• Work with the Elderly: Friendship Mission holds weekly meetings and activities for elderly members of the local community. The group offers times of fellowship for the members, as well as artistic opportunities, and a nutritious snack. The group celebrates members' birthdays and participates in community fairs, where they offer food and their artwork, especially art in paintings on fabric, for sale.  
• Work around Domestic Violence: Friendship Mission works with other church and social organizations to educate about issues of domestic violence. They carry out day-long workshops about the impact of domestic violence on women and children, and preventive community-based actions and programs that are available.
• School on the Street: Friendship Mission reaches out to children who spend most of their time on the street because they are working children or because they are children who live on the street. Over 300 of these children each year receive dental and general medical attention at the Friendship Mission Clinic, including services of radiology and lab analysis. Friendship Mission nursing students carry out workshops with groups of working and street children on hygiene and other health-related themes. Such meetings are carried out on Saturdays and also offer times of fellowship and recreation for the children. Several times each year groups of working and street children are taken to the Disciples of Christ Jack Norment Camp outside of the city for weekends of fun and fellowship.
• Holistic Welfare Assistance Center: This program began in August 2000 and consists of a team of professionals which offer therapy to community clients.
• Children's Workshops: Sessions are offered in painting, puppet making/theater, guitar, and recreation to community children as well as to those participating in the School on the Street and children from nearby Disciples congregations. The classes take place on Saturday mornings. Special community fairs, music festivals, and celebrations are prepared by the children for the community. International School graduates help in this work with these children as volunteers.