A thriving community of Jesus followers in every people group on earth.
Our vision
Since 1943
Our history
In the late 1930s, as WWII loomed, Japan invaded China, and many Western missionaries were forced out. One of the last to leave, Duncan McRoberts, had a deep burden to see the Gospel reach the lost.
McRoberts spoke to a gathering of businessmen in the Seattle area led by N.A. Jepson, who had a special burden for China. The businessmen formed a partnership model that allowed Western Christians to fuel the vision of indigenous leaders in China. The China Native Evangelistic Crusade (CNEC) was formed in 1943 with Calvin Chao as its first leader. Partnerships quickly multiplied, and by 1949 there were 150 local leaders in China supported through this model.
In 1960, Allen Finley became the first president of CNEC, and partnerships expanded throughout Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Allen focused on coming alongside local leaders to truly fuel their vision for their community, the partnership model that still exists today.
In the mid-1980s, CNEC officially became Partners International, and in 1999 God gave a new vision to reach those in the world who do not have access to the Gospel. At this time, the least reached became our sole focus.
Today, working in over 30 of the least reached countries, including China, we continue to fuel local leaders through resources, training, and prayer, aiming to reach the 3.4 billion people who have not yet had an opportunity to hear and respond to the Gospel.
