What ABWE does

ABWE (Association of Baptists for World Evangelism) is a private, faith-based nonprofit Christian missions organization founded in 1927 and headquartered near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. It functions as a church-centered sending agency, partnering with more than 450 like-minded churches and over 4,000 supporting congregations to deploy approximately 923 missionaries across 92 nations for evangelism, discipleship, church planting, and leadership development. The organization operates through a three-brand ministry family: ABWE GO (core international missionary sending), Live Global (national-led ministry partnerships), and EveryEthne (domestic cross-cultural church planting), supported by a six-stage prefield training pathway and a graduate degree partnership with Founders Seminary.

The organization is funded entirely through charitable contributions rather than commercial sales. Revenue streams include faith-promise missionary support from individuals and churches, designated field project donations, the unrestricted Global Gospel Fund (which covers roughly $6,500 per new missionary in preparation costs), planned giving through the Legacy Society, and non-cash gifts such as securities and real estate. Distribution runs through direct church partnerships, a website portal (my.abwe.org), event-based mobilization (Send Sunday, One-Day Missions Experience, 24-Hour Demo), and content channels including The Missions Show and Cloud of Witnesses podcasts, Message Magazine, and a Resource Library. ECFA membership provides external financial accountability.

ABWE's reported 2025 outcomes include 432 new churches planted, 709 baptisms, 2,667 people trained, and 148,137 healthcare recipients, with more than 5,000 churches planted over the organization's history. The executive team is led by President Paul Davis (since 2017), with Executive Vice President Andy Kirby, and a vice president group covering Global Ministries, Strategic Partnerships, and Finance. The organization is governed by a self-perpetuating board and is not publicly traded.

Name

ABWE

Legal name

Association of Baptists for World Evangelism

Website

https://abwe.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1927

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

ABWE is a private, faith-based nonprofit missions agency founded in 1927 that partners with 4,000+ supporting churches to deploy approximately 923 missionaries across 92 nations for evangelism, church planting, leadership development, and healthcare ministry.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Religious Missions Services

NAICS

Religious Organizations (8131), Civic and Social Organizations (813410), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Faith-Based Missions & Evangelism Organizations (Domestic & International) (BPAGAJAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Faith-Based & Mission Service Programs (EDAIAGAI), Faith-Based Humanitarian Aid & Relief Ministries (BPAGAJAF), Volunteer Program Funding, Scholarships & Fundraising Support (EDAIAGAO)

Keywords

• Missionary sending services
• Church planting programs
• Global missions agency
• Missionary training programs
• Theological education programs

Headquarters

HQ city

New Cumberland

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Missionary Support Donations: Individual and church supporters provide financial support to named missionaries. Most ABWE missionaries are faith-promise funded, relying on a team of committed supporters for salary, ministry expenses, and career sustainability.
2. Field Project Support: Donors contribute to specific ministry projects including church planting, relief outreach, medical missions, and other field initiatives around the world.
3. Global Gospel Fund: Central operational fund supporting all missionaries with biblical training, accountability, leadership, encouragement, and crisis support. The fund covers costs to find, prepare, and train new workers (approximately $6,500 per new missionary).
4. Legacy/Planned Giving: The Legacy Society enables donors to include ABWE in estate plans through wills, trusts, and other planned giving instruments, creating long-term financial sustainability.
5. Non-Cash Gifts: Accepts securities, mutual funds, and real estate as charitable contributions, providing tax-advantaged giving options for donors.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels12 records

Core offering

ABWE is a global Christian missions agency that recruits, trains, sends, and supports career, mid-term, short-term, and volunteer missionaries to plant churches and deliver humanitarian services across 90+ countries. It partners with local Baptist churches, which commission and financially support named missionaries, while ABWE provides a structured six-stage prefield training pathway, ongoing field support, theological education, healthcare missions, and church multiplication resources. The organization is funded by donations from individuals, partner churches, and planned gifts.

Product overview

ABWE (Association of Baptists for World Evangelism) is a global Christian missions agency founded in 1927, operating as a ministry family with three core brands: ABWE GO (core mission work sending missionaries to 90+ countries), Live Global (cultivating relationships between North American churches and national-led ministries), and EveryEthne (equipping local churches for cross-cultural ministry without crossing borders). The organization offers structured missionary pathways (Long-Term, Mid-Term, Associate, Short-Term, Intern, and Volunteer tracks) through a prefield training program including courses at ABWE's International Headquarters. Publications include the Message Magazine and podcasts (The Missions Show, Cloud of Witnesses). ABWE provides resources through its Resource Library, training materials including the Foundations of Faith video series, and supports missionaries through the Global Gospel Fund and Legacy Society planned giving program. The organization also facilitates sending church programs including Send Sunday and One-Day Missions Experience events.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• ABWE GO
• Live Global
• EveryEthne
• Prefield Training Pathway
• Missionary Pathways (Six Service Tracks)
• Master of Arts in Cultural Apologetics and Missions
• The Missions Show Podcast
• Cloud of Witnesses Podcast
• Message Magazine
• Resource Library
• Foundations of Faith and Missions Video Series
• Send Sunday Resource Kit
• One-Day Missions Experience
• 24-Hour Demo Event
• Global Gospel Fund
• Legacy Society
• Launch Point Missions Trips

Quantifiable outcome

• 432 new churches planted in 2025 alone
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Founders SeminarycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partnership offering Master of Arts in Cultural Apologetics and Missions degree program. ABWE missionaries and candidates can pursue formalized theological education through this partnership, integrating missiological training with academic credentialing.
• Asia Biblical Theological SeminaryminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDr. E.D. Burns, ABWE's Executive Director of Training and Development, serves as a professor at this seminary, integrating field experience with academic theological education.
• ECFA (Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability)minorOthersABWE is a member of ECFA, demonstrating commitment to financial stewardship, accountability, and ethical standards expected by evangelical nonprofits and church partners.
• Launch Point (Missions Trips Program)coreOthersFacilitated missions trip program for short-term volunteers and teams. Program empowers church short-term teams to make long-term impact through structured mission experiences aligned with ABWE's church planting methodology.
• Local Churches (450+ Partner Churches)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerABWE functions as an association of like-minded churches sending missionaries together. Partner churches provide missionary candidates, commissioning, ongoing support, and doctrinal alignment with ABWE's Baptist convictions and statement of faith.
• Supporting Congregations (4,000+)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThousands of congregations provide prayer and financial support for ABWE missionaries. These churches are essential partners in the missions endeavor, enabling missionaries to remain on the field through consistent partnership.

Scale indicators15 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Pioneers: Pioneers is a U.S.-headquartered evangelical mission agency that mobilizes and supports missionaries among unreached people groups. It directly parallels ABWE in missionary sending, church planting, and multi-track service pathways.
• Africa Inland Mission (AIM): AIM is a long-standing evangelical mission agency sending career missionaries (many to Africa) with structured prefield training and church planting methodology. It is highly comparable to ABWE in operating model and donor base.
• Pioneer Bible Translators: Pioneer Bible Translators is an evangelical organization focused on Bible translation and church planting among unreached language groups. Closely comparable in missiology, donor engagement model, and church-partnership distribution channel.
• Frontiers: Frontiers is an evangelical mission sending agency focused on Muslim world church planting movements. Direct competitor for missionary candidates and church partner funding targeting similar unreached geographies.
• Operation Mobilization (OM): OM is a large evangelical missionary sending organization with global reach, multiple engagement tracks (long-term, short-term, ship-based), and church planting emphasis. Comparable to ABWE in scale and operating model.
• Mission to the World (MTW): MTW is the mission sending arm of the Presbyterian Church in America, sending career missionaries with church planting focus. Comparable denominational sending model, training pipeline, and donor base structure.

Broad incumbents

• International Mission Board (IMB): The IMB is the missions entity of the Southern Baptist Convention and the largest U.S. mission sending organization. Overlaps with ABWE almost entirely in scope (church planting, unreached peoples, training) but operates at much greater scale and budget.
• Wycliffe Bible Translators: Wycliffe is a major faith-based organization focused on Bible translation and literacy worldwide. Shares with ABWE the church-partner funding model and missionary deployment infrastructure, though its scope is narrower.
• Youth With A Mission (YWAM): YWAM is a much larger, globally distributed evangelical missions movement with strong short-term and volunteer pathways. Overlaps with ABWE's short-term/intern tracks but operates on a decentralized, larger scale.

Regional players

• ABCCM / evangelical denominational sending networks: Baptist and evangelical denominational agencies (e.g., Canadian National Baptist) function as comparable regional mission sending bodies that operate under similar sending-church theology with smaller geographic reach.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ABWE_Intl
• Facebookfacebook.com/abweministries
• Instagraminstagram.com/abwe_intl

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Subsidiaries4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about ABWE