City For the Nations

What City For the Nations does

City for the Nations is a 501(c)(3) Christian missionary nonprofit founded in 2015 and headquartered in Lexington, Kentucky. The organization's stated mission is to reach unreached people groups with little or no access to the Gospel through disciple-making movements and church multiplication. It operates across four country programs — Niger, Chad, Thailand, and a "Secure Nations" track — focusing on indigenous missionary and local church partnership models rather than expat-heavy deployments.

The organization's "products" are ministry programs rather than software or physical goods: missionary support, engager training, church-planting initiatives (e.g., One Village One Church in Niger targeting approximately 15,000 villages), and a media/creative projects arm producing livestream events and digital storytelling. There are no proprietary technology platforms described; donation intake runs through the Aplos giving platform and the organization's website at cityforthenations.com.

City for the Nations is sustained entirely by charitable donations, primarily through individual Christian donors who participate as monthly giving partners or make one-time gifts. The organization is led by founder Miles Phelps with a small team of approximately 13 staff, including VP of Global Ministries James Atherton. It holds ECFA accreditation and Candid Platinum Transparency 2026 certification, and publishes IRS Form 990s for years 2018-2024 alongside cost-per-milestone metrics on its transparency page. Strategic alliances include Joshua Nations (Chad), Go To Nations (Thailand), Finishing Fund (Niger), and Jesus Film (Niger).

Name

City For the Nations

Legal name

City for the Nations

Website

https://cityforthenations.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

City for the Nations is a 501(c)(3) Christian missionary nonprofit that plants churches and supports disciple-making movements among unreached people groups in Niger, Chad, Thailand, and Secure Nations locations, funded by individual donors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Religious Missionary Services

NAICS

Religious Organizations (813110), Religious Organizations (8131)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYHLAJAKAD

International & Local Implementing NGOs

Healthcare & Life Sciences/Public Health, Government & Regulators/Global Health & Development Agencies (NGOs/Multilaterals)

Keywords

• Christian missionary work
• Church planting ministries
• Disciple-making movements
• Religious nonprofit services
• Cross-cultural missions

Headquarters

HQ city

Lexington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Charitable Donations: The organization generates revenue through tax-deductible charitable donations from individuals who become monthly partners or make one-time gifts. Donations support missionary work, church planting, and disciple-making movements across unreached nations.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

City For the Nations is a 501(c)(3) Christian nonprofit that funds and supports church planting and disciple-making movements among unreached people groups in Niger, Chad, Thailand, and Secure Nations access-restricted regions. The organization operates through individual donor contributions, monthly partnership programs, and on-the-ground field missionaries, including indigenous missionary partnerships.

Product overview

City For the Nations is a Christian ministry organization focused on disciple-making movements and church multiplication among unreached people groups. The organization operates through regional ministry projects in Niger, Chad, Thailand, and Secure Nations, supporting indigenous missionaries and church planters. The organization does not offer technology products or software services; its offerings consist of spiritual ministry programs, missionary support, prayer networks, and donation-funded initiatives to spread the Gospel.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Niger Project (One Village One Church) A field ministry project in Niger aimed at planting a church in every village through church planting and disciple-making among unreached people groups. Funded by donor contributions and supported by field missionaries.
• Chad Project A field ministry project in Chad supporting church planting and disciple-making movements among unreached people groups. Operated through donor funding and field missionary deployment.
• Thailand Project A field ministry project in Thailand supporting church planting and disciple-making movements among unreached people groups. Operated through donor funding and field missionaries.
• Secure Nations Projects A program reaching unreached people groups in access-restricted ("Secure Nations") regions, leveraging indigenous missionary partnerships to plant churches and make disciples where direct access by Western missionaries is limited.
• Monthly Partnership Program A recurring giving program for individual donors to provide sustained monthly financial support to City For the Nations missionaries and field projects. Donors receive updates and prayer communications from supported missionaries.

Quantifiable outcome

• Churches planted among 7 previously unreached people groups in Niger by 2022
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• Joshua NationscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoshua Nations is mentioned as a key partner in Chad operations, working together with City for the Nations to foster disciple-making movements among unreached people groups. Both organizations participate in events where denominations commit to collaborative gospel work.
• Jesus FilmsupportingTechnology or IntegrationJesus Film provides equipment support to missionaries and engagers in Niger as part of the disciple-making movement efforts.
• Go To NationscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerVictor Barousse served faithfully as a field missionary with Go To Nations before his current work with City for the Nations. Go To Nations is a mission organization active in Thailand.
• ECFA (Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability)coreOthersECFA provides accreditation to City for the Nations, reflecting commitment to responsible stewardship and financial transparency. ECFA accreditation serves as a quality marker for donors.
• CandidcoreOthersCandid (formerly GuideStar) provides transparency seal and profile services for City for the Nations, allowing donors to access financial and organizational information.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Frontiers: International missions organization specifically focused on unreached people groups through church planting and DMM-style movements. Closest direct peer in mission, methodology, and donor base.
• Joshua Nations: A faith-based missions nonprofit explicitly named as City for the Nations' co-deployment partner in Chad, working together on disciple-making movements among unreached people groups. Directly comparable size, mission, and methodology.
• Pioneers: Mission-sending organization focused on unreached people groups with church-planting teams in West Africa, Central Asia, and Southeast Asia — overlapping directly with City for the Nations' Niger, Chad, and Thailand presence.
• Christar: Mission organization sending workers to least-evangelized peoples through church planting among least-reached communities, with comparable U.S. donor-supported model.
• Avant Ministries: Faith-based missionary-sending organization focused on church planting among least-evangelized peoples, with active presence across multiple regions comparable to City for the Nations' multi-country footprint.
• Go To Nations: Field missionary sending organization where City for the Nations' Barousse family previously served; active in Thailand and other unreached regions. Comparable scope (church planting among unreached peoples) and donor-funded model.

Broad incumbents

• Operation Mobilisation: Large, established evangelical mission organization with global church-planting and DMM initiatives across more than 110 countries, including West Africa and Southeast Asia. Much larger scale but overlapping mission focus.
• Wycliffe Bible Translators: Established mission organization focused on Bible translation and engagement with unreached language communities, with significant African and Asian presence. Adjacent methodology (access to unreached peoples) but specializes in translation rather than DMM.
• SIM (Serving In Mission): Long-established international missionary society with decades of presence across West and Central Africa (including Niger and Chad) and Asia, with comparable church-planting focus but substantially broader portfolio.

Others

• Jesus Film Project: Media/evangelism partner organization that provides equipment support to City for the Nations' Niger engagers. Comparable engagement with unreached populations but functions as an enabling resource rather than a direct church-planting peer.

Market position

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/city-for-the-nations

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 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 City For the Nations