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Why We Exist

The gospel has yet to reach the ends of the earth. Currently, more than 3 billion people have little or no access to the gospel. We advance the gospel to the least reached by identifying, connecting and partnering with indigenous leaders in more than 30 countries.

Our History

In the late 1930s, as WWII loomed, Japan invaded China. At this time, many western missionaries in China found themselves forced out due to the war. One of the last missionaries to leave China, Duncan McRoberts, had a deep burden to see the gospel reach the lost. He gathered a group of businessmen to support the existing Chinese church. Together, they 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 their first leader. Partnerships quickly multiplied and by 1949 there were 150 indigenous leaders in China supported through this model.

In 1960, Allen Finley became the first president of CNEC, and partnership expanded throughout Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Allen focused on coming alongside indigenous leaders to truly fuel their vision for their community—our 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, we continue to fuel indigenous leaders through resources, training, and prayer, aiming to reach the 3.2 billion people who have not yet had an opportunity to hear and respond to the gospel.

In the past 25 years

30,000

Churches Started

15,000

Small Groups Started

1.6m

New Jesus Followers

5.9m

Assisted Through Relief & Development

Vision

A thriving community of Jesus followers in every people group on earth.

Mission

We connect Kingdom investors with builders of Christ’s Kingdom to advance the Gospel among the least reached.

Leadership

Bryson Vogeltanz

President & CEO

Bryson brings more than 20 years of ministry experience at multiple levels. He has served on leadership at Passion City Church and Passion Conferences, helping raise nearly $20 million to resource over 50 ministry projects worldwide. Bryson also co-founded and led the END IT MOVEMENT—which has surpassed 1 billion media impressions and raised more than $8 million to fund anti-trafficking efforts. Before joining Partners, Bryson traveled to many countries promoting gospel outreach. His heart prayer is, “God, I will go anywhere, at any time, and at any cost to ensure that every person has the opportunity to hear and respond to the gospel.” Bryson, his wife Emily, and their four children live in Atlanta, Georgia.

Carlos Calderon

Vice President of International Ministries

Carlos grew up in war-torn El Salvador. As a young man, he served as a youth pastor at his church, led by Luis Bush, who later became the president of Partners. After completing his B.Sc. in Chemical Engineering, Carlos returned to El Salvador and coordinated the first international missions conference in Central America, helping spark a missionary movement. After marriage, Carlos and his wife moved to the Middle East, where they led a church-planting team among Muslims. At Partners, he served as area director for the Middle East and North Africa for 15 years. He now oversees the international ministries team and our relationships with indigenous leaders.

Dave Stephens

Chief Operating Officer

Dave graduated from Marquette University with a BS in Business Administration and later from the University of Minnesota with an MBA in Finance & Accounting. He spent 20+ years in human resources working for large multinational corporations, most recently as the Chief HR Officer for a Fortune 500 industrial manufacturing company. Dave left the corporate world in 2017 and felt led to pursue a new path that would allow him to be more directly involved in building God’s kingdom. He volunteered at several organizations in the non-profit world helping them improve their systems and processes while learning how they operated differently than the corporate world he came from. Dave and his wife, Kathy, have three children and live in Southlake, Texas.

John Burrough

Vice President of Emerging Partnerships

John Burrough is an international leader, strategic thinker and kingdom builder. His career started in the NFL as a defensive end for the Atlanta Falcons and Minnesota Vikings. He then founded and led multiple businesses before being called into full- time ministry. John served as a director on the missions’ staff at North Point Community Church, leading partnerships in 22 countries. Most recently, John was the CEO of HOI, a faith-based nonprofit in Central America. He is eager to serve at Partners because of his deep calling to advance the gospel to the people living in the 10/40 window. John lives in the suburbs of Atlanta with his wife and two high- school-aged children.

John Stewart

Chief Advancement Officer

John Stewart spent 20+ years in sports and entertainment before pivoting to nonprofit management. He served in the Boy Scouts of America to assist the largest fundraising project in its history of $500 million – which is the largest ever campaign for youth-serving organizations. John has served a variety of nonprofit organizations including the World Scout Bureau, Sustainable Forestry Initiative, and several faith-based organizations. He has traveled and worked in 50+ countries and is following God’s calling to use experience in marketing and fundraising to lead our Communications and Development teams. He is a father of three and resides on a 125-year-old Indiana farm with his wife of 33 years and over forty farm animals.

Allan Matamoros

Area Director: Middle East & North Africa/West Africa

Allan grew up in Costa Rica where he became a Jesus follower in 1984. At the age of 18, he attended a missionary youth congress where he dedicated his life to missions with a deep passion for the Islamic world. Soon after, he studied in business administration and entered the school of world missions that was part of the first Costa Rican international missionary agency. For decades, Allan has served in many leadership roles with several Latin American mission societies, lead evangelistic missions among the least reached, and helped advance the gospel to the Muslim world. Allan and his wife, Patricia, are based in the Middle East and have two young adult children.

Our Board

Jennifer Holloran

Wycliffe Bible Translators, COO | Board Chairman (Orlando, Florida)

Bryson Vogeltanz

Partners, President & CEO (Atlanta, Georgia)

Dan Brown

TechCXO, Partner (Atlanta, Georgia)

David Sykora

Chick-fil-A, Operator (Waco, Texas)

Doug Hunter

Pinnacle Forum America, Director of Partner Connections (Charleston, South Carolina)

Elaine Lo

Philanthropist (San Jose, California)

Joseph Vijayam

Olive Technology, CEO (Colorado Springs, Colorado)

Lennell Perry

Gallagher, Partnership & Business Development (Atlanta, Georgia)

Mary Pudaite Keating

SIL International, Global Generosity Strategist (Wheaton, IL)

Meredith Brock

Proverbs 31 Ministries, CEO (Charlotte, North Carolina)

Phillip Bowen

InTouch Ministries, President and CEO (Atlanta, Georgia)

Samuel Chiang

Karam Labs LLC, Founder and Principal (Arlington, Texas)

Audited Financials

As a charter member of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability, Partners is audited annually by a certified public accounting firm. Partners is a 501(c)(3) organization and contributions are tax deductible for U.S. income tax purposes.

FY2022 Financials

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