History

The Partners International story began in a small townhouse on Sansei Road in Shanghai. From its third-story window, British missionary Fred Savage, watched China change. As the Boxer Rebellion raged around him, he knew his opportunities to minister would soon be gone. So with the help of family and friends in Seattle, he raised enough money to support a local evangelist, Calvin Chao.

This radical idea of partnering with national believers gave birth to the China Native Evangelistic Crusade, or CNEC, as we became known. And in 1943 we had launched into a new era of mission strategy.

By 1951 the Communist army had advanced south, creating a tidal wave of refugees that spilled across Southeast Asia. This crisis, once again, opened doors for new ministry. We began assisting Chinese believers in Hong Kong, Singapore and other parts of Southeast Asia who were ministering among these displaced people.

During the 1960s many new opportunities to partner with national believers emerged. Our work expanded from Southeast Asia to include Africa, Asia, and Latin America. To better reflect the broader base of partner ministries, we changed our name to Christian Nationals Evangelism Commission, and then later to Partners International.

Since that time we have carried on our work through Christian leaders living in some of the most challenging places in the world. Many of these leaders work in countries closed to Western missionaries and hostile to Christianity. Others serve in places of chaos, violence and conflict. And they frequently work in the context of poverty.

Our story could not have been written without the generosity of globally-aware Christians all across Canada. We invite you to support one of our partners, and enable them to continue writing the story of transformation in the lives of people around the world.