There are many great mission organizations in the world, but few have been around as long or had as great an impact as WEC International. WEC has touched millions of lives on every continent and are still very active today.
Has God given you a heart for cross cultural missions? Read below to find out more about this great mission organization and see if God is calling you to join them.
History and Vision of WEC International
WEC (Worldwide Evangelization for Christ) International, formerly known as Worldwide Evangelization Crusade, is an interdenominational church-planting mission agency that was started by C.T. Studd in the early 1900s. Despite being ill, his heart was moved when he heard about millions of people in Africa dying without ever hearing the good news. What began as Heart of Africa Mission primary focused on reaching inland Africa, has grown into a global fellowship of about 1,800 workers.
The vision of WEC International is to see Christ known, loved, and worshipped by the unreached peoples of the world. They work to see this happen by proclaiming the gospel boldly in word and deed, establishing churches who make disciples, and mobilizing more workers to go do the same.
What Distinguishes WEC?
They have several distinctives as an agency. First, they intentionally work on multicultural teams. They place a heavy emphasis on community. Second, they allow their local teams to make decisions as long as they are in agreement with WEC’s beliefs. Third, they live life simply so as to be good stewards of what God has given them. Finally, their workers truly live by faith as they must raise their own financial support without making direct appeals for funds.
The Four Pillars of WEC are faith, holiness, sacrifice, and fellowship. They seek to honor Christ in all they do.
What Type of Work Does WEC International Do?
The mission of WEC sums up their work well. They first share the good news of Jesus Christ with all who will listen. They send missionaries to areas of the world with unreached people groups. Often, these places are difficult for foreigners to access, so they must find creative ways to get into the country and then remain there.
In many of these places, people have never heard the gospel. It may take years for missionaries to see fruit, and some workers may not see even one person come to know Christ. One WEC worker went to a country in Asia many years ago to reach an unreached people group, and he distributed around 250,000 gospel tracts over a seven-year period. Only a handful of people that he knew of came to faith.
As locals become believers, they are gathered into a church. This may be a house church or a church that meets in a building. There, the new believers are discipled and learn how to grow in their faith. They are taught what a healthy spiritual life and community looks like.
Some of these believers are then trained in how to do cross cultural ministry. They learn how to share their faith and disciple others. WEC has four training colleges around the world for people who are interested in a more intense and complete program.
WEC International also works to mobilize western churches to send more missionaries to the field. Most churches in the United States do not support work among unreached people groups, and WEC wants to see that changed.
The type of work the missionaries are performing varies widely: Evangelism, Bible translation, literacy, medical work, theological education, social relief, media, and more.
WEC International sends both long-term and short-term workers as well as volunteers.
Where is WEC International Located?
WEC International is truly a global organization. They have offices in many countries throughout the world, and they have workers on every continent. They have broken up the world into seven regions and are working in at least 70 countries. You can visit their website for a complete list of countries where they work. You can contact them if you want to find out more about the work they are doing in difference locations.
How Can You Be Praying for WEC?
There are many ways you can be praying for this mission agency, but here are a few specific items:
- Please pray for a new initiative called ‘Acts 13,’ which is focused on training and mobilizing African nationals to do cross cultural missions in Africa. Pray for unity and guidance for the believers working on this, and for a great impact throughout the continent.
- There are still over 7,000 unreached people groups in the world. Pray that the Lord would send foreign workers and raise up more national Christians to reach them. Pray for the WEC training schools as they train new workers.
- Ministering in unreached areas is difficult for foreigners for many reasons, one being access. Pray for creative access so Christians can enter and remain in these places long term.
- Pray for open doors to share the gospel as laborers seek to meet physical, emotional, and relational needs. And pray for boldness as believers may face persecution as they share.