Our Story

Partners International, originally China Native Evangelistic Crusade (CNEC), was born out of a conversation between a lay leader, four businessmen, and a missionary to China. Meeting in a eattle living room in !"#$, they agreed that if China was to be reached with the %os&el, the wor' would have to be done by Chinese Christians. At the time, the idea was remarkable: that indigenous believers could be entrusted with the resources to do Gods work. (ur first &artnershi& was with a gifted Chinese evangelist, Calvin Chao, and his )&reaching bands* that too' the gos&el into China+s interior. Since then, that one extraordinary partnership has led to hundreds of partnerships in more than 50 countries. It wasn+t until March !",- that Partners International decided to hire its first &aid, full.time director. /llen 0inley was hired from his &osition as west coast director of International tudents. 1nder his leadershi& from !",- to !"23, the organi4ation grew from a )one file drawer, one des' ministry* into a multi.national, multi.&artner ministry. 5uring this time our name was changed to Christian Nationals Evangelism Commission (still abbreviated CNEC), reflecting a global outreach into other regions of /sia and to /frica, 6atin /merica, and Euro&e. 0rom !",- to !"23, /llen hel&ed define and dee&en our commitment to national Christians as the most effective way to reach their countrymen for Christ. 5uring this time, /llen+s vision s&ar'ed a ma7or &hiloso&hical shift in missions as it became evident that national leaders in many countries were becoming the frontrunners in reaching their nations for Christ. 8he &rimary role of Partners International was to come alongside the initiatives of national leaders. ister affiliates develo&ed in /ustralia, Canada, and the 1nited 9ingdom. 8he heart of CNEC was to model )the sharing of resources with good results,* without e:tending its structure to the ministries it assisted. In !"2;, CNEC changed its name to Partners International to reflect its commitment to global &artnershi&. /fter 0inley+s retirement in !"23, 6uis <ush, an /rgentinean, former &astor of a large church in El alvador, and 6atin /merica coordinator for Partners, became &resident. 1nder his leadershi&, Partners gained e:&osure at international conferences as well as being a strong bac'er of C(MI</M, a 6atin /merican missions conference and movement. =hen %od led 6uis to lead the /5 >--- Movement in !""!, he was succeeded by board member Chuc' <ennett, formerly of Mission /viation 0ellowshi& and 0ood for the ?ungry.

Partners International began a change in ministry focus in !""" with the a&&ointment of Paul.%ordon Chandler as President@CE(. 8he board of directors instructed staff to re.e:amine the &ur&ose and &lace of Partners International in the global missions movement. 8he most immediate outcome of that re. e:amination was a focus on the !-.#- =indow. Paul.%ordon received a call to &astoral ministry in Egy&t in >--$, and his successor as President@CE(, Aon 6ewis of Mission /viation 0ellowshi&, received the board+s mandate to build on the changes. Aon initiated a wide.ranging discussion about the nature of mission &artnershi& in the >!st century, the e:ternal realities affecting &artnershi&, and its biblical basis. ( ee our Covenant of Partnershi&). 6arry 5. /ndrews 7oined Partners International as President@CE( in 0ebruary >-!$. 6everaging his >3 years of global business e:&erience, 6arry+s vision is to significantly im&rove the o&erational e:cellence, effectiveness, and ministry outcomes of Partners International in this ne:t season of ministry. )=e e:ist to see' out and create lasting, meaningful, res&ectful &artnershi&s with some of the most courageous Christian leaders in the ma7ority world, and to fuel, fund, serve, and su&&ort their %od.given vision,* he said. )My charter and &rayer is to lead us to continually e:&and our &assion, vision, reach, and holistic effectiveness by e:tending the same &assionate B&artner+ relationshi&s we have in the hard &laces of the world with every missional investor that gives their time, talent, and treasure to su&&ort our vision for ministry.*