TUCKER, GA – The Ambassadors for Christ ministry began in 1948 as the fruition of the vision of Australian evangelist John Ridley to raise up Christian leaders who would establish churches “to penetrate Australia’s secular society.” Today, the ministry reaches into 22 countries on six continents.
As the impact of the ministry, then known as the Australian Institute of Evangelism, was proven in Australia, the vision grew to include training foreign nationals and the group changed its name to Ambassadors for Christ International.
The ministry recognized the wisdom shared in Dr. K.P. Yohannan’s ground-breaking book, Revolution in World Missions , and determined to use national workers to care for people in the countries in which they were born and raised, and bring hope through teaching and preaching.
The ministry is built on the core objective “To glorify God by life and ministry as we seek to know Him and to make Him known to the nations.”
The AFCI ministry incorporates different project types such as:
- Evangelism – Training others in the nuts and bolts of personal evangelism and the creation and presentation of evangelistic outreach events.
- Church Planting – Hundreds of independent churches have been planted on all six continents. AFCI has a permanent training center in Cambodia and trains workers in other countries through on-site seminars.
- Theological Training – Most of this training is done in on-site seminars, but AFCI has a degree-issuing Bible College in Africa. In addition, AFCI staff members act as adjunct professors at independent Bible schools and seminaries.
- Discipleship and Leadership Training – Providing environments in which believers can grow is as equally important as winning people to Christ. Discipleship training teaches young believers how to live for Christ and how to teach others to live for Him as well.
The ministry focuses on different initiatives in each country, depending on the needs perceived in those countries.
In India, AFCI works to impart a vision to urban believers to help strengthen their convictions and walk with Christ, equipping businessmen and women to reach out boldly in their workplace.
In Ghana, AFCI partners with other church-planting ministries, planting hundreds of churches in rural villages. The group has developed a three-year curriculum to systematically teach and train selected groups of pastors.
In Ukraine, AFCI uses English clubs for evangelism. Ukrainians urgently want to learn English. Many people have come to trust Christ by being taught English in a Christian environment.
In the Pacific Islands, AFCI’s focus is on the 16 major nations within easy reach of Fiji. This region contains thousands of islands that were originally evangelized by British missionaries over a century ago.
In Spain, AFCI has a three-pronged approach to redirecting individuals and churches that have become victims of the secularization of Spanish society. The approach includes developing materials to bring children to Christ, teaching evangelism courses, and mobilizing short-term mission trips from churches in Spain to other countries. Those trips help believers to gain a better perspective on world evangelism.
Among its project in the Americas, AFCI has launched an initiative called “Vision Caribbean” to establish “vibrant, strong, evangelistic, Bible-centered churches.” Based in St. Vincent, just off the South American coast, the ministry broadcasts the Gospel message over 16 stations, reaching several nations in the Caribbean and in South America.
To learn more about the global ministry of our partners in the faith once delivered to the saints, visit their website at Ambassadors for Christ International.
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Sources:
- Ambassadors for Christ International, What We Do
- Ambassadors for Christ International, History