Great Cities Missions

What Great Cities Missions does

Great Cities Missions (GCM) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit religious organization founded in 1976 and headquartered in Addison, Texas, that recruits, trains, and deploys church planting mission teams to Latin America. The organization operates a comprehensive missionary lifecycle program: prospective missionaries complete a detailed Missionary Biographical Information Form (MBIF) covering spiritual, family, health, educational, and financial assessments; receive team training and language preparation; deploy to field assignments in countries including Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, Cuba, Peru, and Venezuela; and receive ongoing care through the Connections Renewals retreat program. GCM currently supports 100+ missionary families embedded across Latin America and has established 250+ congregations in the region, including 350+ churches in Brazil since the 1961 São Paulo Mission Team originated the work.

GCM's revenue model is entirely donation-based, with no products or services sold. Funding comes from three primary streams: individual donor contributions through an online portal (QGIV), financial and prayer support from sponsoring Churches of Christ congregations in the United States (including founding sponsor Central Church of Christ in Amarillo, TX, which contributed $250,000 in 1964 to build a São Paulo church), and the Shoulder to Shoulder Endowment, a designated fund for Brazil church planting. The organization is governed by a 23-member Board of Trustees and led by Executive Director Kelley Grant, with 17 named staff members spanning development, missionary care, Latin teams, church planting, team training, and special projects. There is no technology product layer; all services are ministry programs delivered through human relationships and field operations.

Name

Great Cities Missions

Legal name

Great Cities Missions

Website

https://greatcities.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1976

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Great Cities Missions is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that recruits, trains, and sends church planting mission teams from the US to Latin America, supported by donations from individuals and sponsoring Churches of Christ congregations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Religious Mission Services

NAICS

Religious Organizations (813110)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

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

akta.pro secondary industries

Faith-Based Humanitarian Aid & Relief Ministries (BPAGAJAF), Faith-Based & Mission Service Programs (EDAIAGAI)

Keywords

• Church planting missions
• Missionary recruitment training
• Religious nonprofit services
• Latin American missions
• Congregation development services

Headquarters

HQ city

Addison

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations from Individuals: Individual donors contribute to support church planting mission teams and missionary families serving in Latin America. The organization encourages regular giving and has an online donation portal.
2. Sponsoring Church Partnerships: Churches of Christ from the United States (such as Central Church of Christ in Amarillo, TX, and Shawnee Trail Church of Christ) provide financial support for specific mission teams and church plants.
3. Shoulder to Shoulder Endowment: A designated endowment fund for church planting in Brazil, honoring the 1961 São Paulo Mission Team. Donors can contribute through the fund with 501(c)(3) designation.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Great Cities Missions recruits, trains, and deploys missionary families and teams to plant churches in major cities across Latin America, including Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, Mexico, Peru, and Venezuela. The organization provides the full missionary lifecycle—application via the Missionary Biographical Information Form (MBIF), team training, language and cultural preparation, field placement, ongoing pastoral care, and Connections Renewals spiritual retreats. Operating as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, GCM is funded through donations from individuals and sponsoring Churches of Christ.

Product overview

Great Cities Missions is a non-profit missionary organization offering a portfolio of church planting services for the Latin World. The core offering consists of Church Planting Mission Teams—fully supported missionary families deployed to establish congregations in major Latin American cities. Supporting services include Connections Renewals (spiritual retreat programs for missionary care), a comprehensive Missionary Biographical Information Form application process, and the Shoulder to Shoulder Endowment (a Brazil-focused church planting fund). The organization does not offer a technology product; all services are missionary-focused ministry programs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Connections Renewals: Weeklong renewal retreats designed to help missionaries reconnect with God and find fellowship with others

Products and services

• Church Planting Mission Teams Recruitment, training, and deployment of missionary families and teams to plant churches in major cities across Latin America, including Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, Mexico, Peru, Venezuela, and other countries. The ministry has sent 60+ teams total and currently has 100+ missionary families embedded in Latin World communities.
• Connections Renewals Weeklong spiritual renewal retreats designed to help missionaries reconnect with God, find fellowship with others, and receive compassionate support. Includes separate programs for men and women serving in Latin America. Travel is coordinated through KaliKosmos Travel.
• Missionary Biographical Information Form (MBIF) Application Process Comprehensive online application process for prospective missionaries consisting of multiple forms covering general information, spiritual history, family history, marital history, health history, educational history, work experience, financial information, spiritual autobiography, and references.
• Missionary Care Services Ongoing support for missionaries throughout their service including recruitment, preparation, field support, and re-entry assistance. Includes pastoral care, counseling resources, and TCK (Third Culture Kids) support programs.
• Shoulder to Shoulder Endowment Designated endowment fund for church planting in Brazil, honoring the 1961 São Paulo Mission Team. Offers a Donor Advised Fund option for designated giving to Brazil church planting efforts.

Quantifiable outcome

• 250+ congregations established across Latin America
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Baxter Institute (Honduras)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2003Baxter Institute in Tegucigalpa, Honduras provides theological training and education for missionary candidates. GCM has worked with Baxter Institute since 2003 to train church planting teams. Many GCM missionaries are graduates of Baxter Institute, including Luis and Abigail Navarette and the Ramirez and Lopez families.
• SerCris Christian Training School (Brazil)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSerCris Christian Training School in Campo Grande, Brazil provides theological training for Brazilian national missionaries. Joao Victor and the Boa Vista Team were trained at SerCris before their mission assignment.
• Central Church of Christ (Amarillo, TX)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCentral Church of Christ in Amarillo, Texas is the founding sponsor of Great Cities Missions. In 1964, they funded $250,000 to build a church in São Paulo, Brazil. In 1976, they co-sponsored the full-time recruiting effort that established GCM. Six of twenty-two board members are Central members.
• Shawnee Trail Church of ChristcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerShawnee Trail Church of Christ in Texas supports several GCM missionary families in Medellín and Pereira, Colombia. Their members participate in mission trips to support these church plants.
• Brentwood Hills Church of Christ (Nashville, TN)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBrentwood Hills Church of Christ has led Venezuela relief efforts, packing and sending hundreds of boxes of food and medicine. They also support the Curitiba church in Brazil for Venezuelan refugee outreach.
• Abilene Christian UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIn 1976, GCM's missionary recruiting office was established on the campus of Abilene Christian University. Many original missionaries were ACU graduates.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Avant Ministries: Church-planting focused mission agency sending teams globally with a recruitment, training, and care lifecycle similar to GCM's MBIF and Connections Renewals model.
• Latin America Mission: Interdenominational mission organization focused on church planting and leadership development across Latin America, the most direct comparable in mission scope and geography.
• Pioneers: Church-planting mission agency working among least-reached populations, comparable in its team-based approach and emphasis on long-term field presence.
• Mission to the World (MTW): Denominationally affiliated mission agency that recruits, trains, and deploys church-planting teams internationally, structurally similar in its end-to-end missionary lifecycle.
• Greater Europe Mission: Faith-based church-planting mission organization recruiting and training missionary teams for sustained field work, structurally analogous to GCM's team-deployment model.
• Christar: Mission agency focused on church planting among least-reached people groups, with a comparable recruitment-to-field-care missionary pipeline.
• New Tribes Mission: Faith-based mission organization focused on church planting in unreached areas, with established missionary training, language preparation, and long-term field support.
• World Gospel Mission: Interdenominational mission agency engaged in church planting and discipleship globally with a similar team deployment and field support structure.
• ABWE (Association of Baptists for World Evangelism): Faith-based organization focused on church planting among unreached people groups with established missionary recruitment, training, and field support infrastructure.

Broad incumbents

• Samaritan's Purse: Large faith-based humanitarian organization with international disaster relief and ministry programs; overlaps with GCM's humanitarian aid activities (e.g., Venezuela relief) but operates at a vastly larger scale with a broader portfolio.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/greatcitiesmissions
• Facebookfacebook.com/greatcities
• Instagraminstagram.com/greatcitiesmissions
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/continent-of-great-cities

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles16 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Great Cities Missions