How International Project Started
In 1995, a small group of people identified a powerful opportunity in New York City (NYC). By discipling immigrants in NYC, they could send the Gospel around the globe. By sharing their faith with international students, United Nations personnel, international business people, and ethnic communities, the group saw God begin planting churches both locally and globally.
Over time, they recognized a need for more workers to receive training in diaspora ministry and start reaching immigrants in New York City. In 2010, International Project launched a 10 month missionary training program called “Equip.”
The vision was to send more workers into pioneer and diaspora ministries. To date, more than 100 workers have received training through International Project. Many of these workers are serving Jesus in various cross cultural contexts.
Our diverse family of 40+ workers are the true backbone of what we do. We are passionate about sustaining healthy teams and operating in an environment of grace and fun together. While our work started in New York City, we are actively expanding into other cities around the world including Dallas, Rome, and Central Asia.
How We Disciple
At International Project, we:
- Champion the right of every person to hear the Good News of Jesus in an understandable way
- Start contextualized Discovery Bible Studies
- Coach church planters
- Share our faith with the communities in which we serve
- Do life with those around us as Jesus did
We engage diverse ethnic communities by providing services such as:
- Conversation groups
- Cultural learning activities for international students and adults
- Community centers
- Classes on how to obtain visas
- Sewing and knitting classes
- English and Italian classes
- A thrift store
We always strive to seek, show, and tell the Gospel in everything we do.
Mission + Vision
International Project exists to start churches through diaspora Unreached People Groups.
Let’s break it down:
- Starting Churches – We are not satisfied with planting 1 church. Rather, we want to help plant churches that will plant other churches.
- Through – Our goal is not to just to start a lot of churches, but to have them initiated through indigenous leadership. This is key to unlocking their home countries to the Gospel. We want to see the Gospel extend out to the nations!
- Diaspora – Those displaced outside of their homelands, immigrants for work, international students, and more! The nations are coming to us seeking work, education, and other opportunities.
- Unreached People Groups – God cares about all ethnic groups having access to the Good News of Jesus, especially people groups where less than 2% have access to the Gospel.
Who We Serve – Reaching Immigrants, Refugees, and International Students in Urban Contexts
Di·as·po·ra: the dispersion of any people from their original homeland.
Diaspora refers to groups of people who have migrated from their homeland and now live in a foreign culture. Because of migration, we have the opportunity to minister to groups of people who before had little to no access to the Gospel.
Engaging in diaspora ministry is strategic for many reasons, including:
- The major change in their environment turns their worldview upside down. This leaves many individuals more open to the Gospel than they might have been if they stayed home.
- Individuals are often highly connected to their families and friends back home in their countries of origin. This is reflected by many money transfer businesses and shipping businesses in diaspora contexts as well as frequent conversational references to video calling with family and friends.
- Individuals in diaspora communities are often highly educated and relatively wealthy. This makes them influential in their communities.
- They may travel back to their home countries frequently to visit friends and family.
When diaspora people receive the Gospel in a Western setting, they are likely to share it with their new communities here and with their families and friends back home! Amazing, right?
What Are Unreached People Groups?
There are approximately 2.4 billion people today who have no access to the Gospel. These people are “unreached,” not only because of their spiritual lostness but also because of their limited access to the Gospel.
According to the Joshua Project, a people group is: “A significantly large grouping of individuals who perceive themselves to have a common affinity with one another. For evangelization purposes, a people group is the largest group within which the Gospel can spread [through] church plant[s] without encountering barriers of understanding or acceptance.”
An “Unreached People Group” is often defined as a people group that is less than 2% evangelical Christian—a “critical mass.”
At this point, missiologists have determined that the indigenous community can then spread the Gospel themselves. Similar terms to unreached people groups include:
- “least reached”
- “unengaged unreached people groups”
- “last frontier people groups”
There are various terms and subcategories, but the vision remains the same. We want to see every people group reached with an active indigenous church spreading the Gospel. We can accomplish this by reaching immigrants in urban contexts.
