In the city of Rosario in 1960 he met his future wife, Žofia. In 1975, he was forced to leave Argentina. He was able to return there in 1978.
Between the years 1993 – 2002, Rev. Juan Čobrda served as bishop of the Slovak Zion Synod. He succeeded the Rev. Kenneth E. Zindle. In 1993, he was one of the last ELCA bishops to serve a four-year term. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) 1993 Churchwide Assembly extended the term of a bishop's service to six years. On 28 June 1997 he was re-elected.[1] The election took place during the Slovak Zion Synod Assembly, 27–29 June, at Muhlenberg College, Allentown, Pennsylvania. He decided to resign on 31 August 2002, one year before the end of his second term.[2] Afterwards, he retired and moved to Niles, Illinois.