CV’s National Pioneers Initiative (NPI) celebrates 25 years of service with almost 2 million people from unreached* countries introduced to Jesus through face-to-face evangelism.
It partners with local churches and pioneers** to share the gospel through both conventional and modern methods. These include digital evangelism and on-the-ground discipleship to establish sustainable, locally-run churches in these countries.
In the two-and-a-half decades since its inception, the NPI has appointed more than 43,000 pioneers who have overseen approximately 31,000 water baptisms and the development of 17,358 house churches.
CV Asia Pacific Regional Director, Ben Scales, said these results have been achieved through careful research, spiritual discernment, and alignment to strategy.
“With the guidance and leading of the Holy Spirit, the NPI continues to achieve its goal.”
The initiative was developed in 1999 when 100 of CV’s foreign missionaries in East Timor were threatened with deportation. A solution was needed to continue the ‘Impact-a-Nation’ mission – and so the NPI was born.
CV Impact-a-Nation Manager, Paul Rattray, said the best way to overcome this problem was to train local pioneers to replace the foreign evangelists.
“There has been a phenomenal 1,931,467 people introduced to Jesus through our traditional methods combined with modern technology,” he said. “I have seen first-hand thousands of lives transformed since the NPI began in 1999.”
CV currently receives daily stories from the pioneers that showcase the NPI’s impact on their local communities.
One such story comes from a Muslim man in the ‘Africa and Middle East’ region, in the landlocked country of Mali. His life was transformed thanks to God’s work through the NPI.
Hawa*** grew up in a devout Muslim family. He regularly accompanied his father to the mosque and would read the Quran daily. From an early age, he was fascinated by the life of the prophet, which inspired him to attend a Quranic school.
It was during this time that he first encountered Jesus while studying the story of Surah Maryam. This part of the Quran describes Jesus in special terms, calling him ‘the Word of God’.
This was confusing for Hawa, and he began to research more. Gradually, he discovered that Jesus was much more than a prophet. Despite having this realisation, doubt and fear of what this truly meant still lingered.
Years later, he met a CV pioneer working in the NPI. The pioneer spoke to him about Jesus and gave him the gospel in Arabic. When he finally read Isaiah 53 and the gospel of John, God opened his eyes and revealed the truth. He understood what it meant to follow Jesus, and chose to accept him as his personal saviour.
Today, Hawa is actively involved in establishing house churches and nurturing the Christian faith among the people in his community.
To learn more about the NPI and the resources this initiative provides, visit this link.
*An unreached people group (UPG) has no indigenous community of Christian believers.
**A National Pioneer is a local worker who reaches a UPG with gospel.
***Name has been changed.