Project Partner found its beginnings with a very progressive vision of Rev Chuck Thomas and His wife Rev. Donna Thomas.  They planted the Pawnee Avenue Church of God church in Wichita, Kansas in the mid 1960s and pastored it for almost 25 years.  International and cross-cultural missions were at the heart of their lives and ministry and they became an integral part of the life of the congregation they were shepherding.  However, their vision of missions was different in two ways from the popular ‘sending mission’ during that time.  Churches were either raising and sending their own cross-cultural missionaries or supporting missionaries sent overseas by their denominations to the foreign field.

Chuck and Donna’s vision was not to just send one or two missionaries on their behalf but ensure that every member of the congregation was exposed to the field and served as a missionary at some point in their lives. First, they pioneered the idea of ‘short term’ missions taking members from their congregation to neighboring countries such as Haiti and Mexico by road. Project Partner was incorporated in 1968 as a separate ministry involved in cross-cultural ‘work teams’ to help and strengthen the hands of local churches and ministries.  The term ‘short term missions’ had not been coined then. Ministry relationships and partnerships were established with nationals.

The 1972 earthquake in Nicaragua drew their hearts to places beyond reach by road.  A plane was acquired to replace the bus. Project Partner then literally took wings. The skies were then the limit. Project Partner was committed to going wherever the Lord called to meet a need. They were led to greater outreach during the 1976 earthquake in Guatemala.  Another country was added to their mission map and commitment to prayer and financial support.  China and Egypt, India, Peru, Africa, and with the lifting of the iron curtain and the fall of the Berlin wall, Russia, Latvia, Ukraine, and Romania were added later. 

Rev. Samuel Stephens Shares…

“I first met Donna Thomas in 1983 and introduced her to IGL’s ministry in India. A strong and committed partnership was established in the fall of 1986 following a visit to the field and an appeal from me as a young national leader to be recognized as an equal partner in the work of the Kingdom. The Holy Spirit helped me draw their attention to an indigenous Church that was taking root in the Indian Soil. I was given the opportunity to share my heart and my vision of a firmly grounded Indigenous Church in my nation. Project Partner knew by then that such a dream could only be realized by stepping back as Western Missionaries and by strengthening the hands of Indigenous leadership.  Out of many western leaders that I had interacted with at that time, Chuck and Donna were the only ones who heard my heart cry, understood the need, and were willing to embrace and accommodate the petition from the field. The horizons of their Vision of the Kingdom stretched beyond denominational and traditional boundaries.  They were willing to facilitate and establish ministry partnerships and serve as a conduit for raising prayer and support.”  

Following a period of hiatus, the ministry is revived once again under new leadership with the same singular vision of strengthening indigenous ministries to impact their own communities and nations with the Gospel and the Love of Jesus.  It is currently helping ministries in India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Thailand, Burma, and Peru.  As always Project Partner is committed to lifting up its eyes and seeing the Harvest Fields around the globe that are ripe and ready for the harvest.  It is committed to reaching out with Christ’s compassion wherever there is a need and an open door of opportunity.