Going Wherever They Are

“By unflinching determination we hazard our lives and gamble all for Christ until we have reached the last tribe regardless of where that tribe might be.”

This statement appeared in the very first edition of NTM’s magazine in March 1943. That same determination, resolve and passion for Christ compels us to take God’s life-saving truth to the ends of the earth. The need is still huge. But what has changed is where those people groups are today, and how we can reach them.

They’re Isolated from the Gospel

New Tribes Mission’s founders focused on “tribes” — remote people groups, isolated from the gospel. So do we today. Few others will go where we will, and God has given us tools and methods that have proven effective in establishing churches in remote places. There’s plenty of work in those places for years to come, and we’ll keep working in such places.

But our founders “didn’t want people to be confused” and think that we only ministered to remote peoples. Our goal has always been to bring the gospel to unreached peoples whether in developed places like Japan or remote locations like Papua New Guinea. And our changing world has prompted NTM to look at other opportunities.

They’re Also Urban and Refugees and More

We’re exploring the best ways to provide training, teamwork and other tools to missionaries already active in other countries — some of which are off limits to Western missionaries. That’s happening in Africa, South Asia and Southeast Asia — places where some people groups live in urban settings.

Just last month, a representative of our International Ministries Team visited a major refugee camp in Africa to see where and how we can assist the work already going on there. And in 2017, we’re kicking off a program to share tools and methods for cross-cultural ministry with churches in the USA who see opportunities in their own backyards.

God hasn’t changed since NTM’s founding in 1942. His goal is the same. Our passion should be the same. And we’re compelled by the love of Christ to reach people for him wherever they are.. As some have rendered Matthew 28:19, “Wherever you go, make disciples …”