Who is NewGenerations International?
NewGenerations International is the international, strategic church planting arm of CityTeam Ministries.
What Does NewGenerations International Do?
The centerpiece of the Great Commission is Jesus' directive to make disciples and teach them to obey all that He commanded in every nation on earth. Therefore, the cornerstone of being a disciple is making disciples. To fulfill this mandate, NewGenerations International is about training and equipping national leaders to make reproducing disciples and to launch self-replicating churches among the least reached people on earth.
When Did NewGenerations International Begin?
What used to be called"CityTeam International" was launched in 1994, but the roots of CityTeam's international ministry go all the way back to the late 70's and early 80's when South East Asian refugees were displaced by the Vietnam war.
How Did Caring for the South East Asian Refugees From the Vietnam War Lead CityTeam Into Ministry Overseas?
It wasn't just the refugees from the Vietnam War, it was a long-term series of international involvement by many different departments of CityTeam that God used to draw us into international ministry. Some examples are:
- Our Youth Outreach department was involved in Russia
- Our Family Services department was providing used clothing for thrift stores in Romania that supported several local ministries
- Our Drug Recovery department was helping with drug rehabilitation in Indonesia and Mexico
- Hurricane Mitch drew us into doing disaster relief and long-term recovery in Honduras
The South East Asian refugees were not the only thing God was using to get our attention, but it was one of the more dramatic examples of God not only bringing the nations to our doorstep but a clear evidence of God's leading as they begged us to follow them back home and help their people in their home countries.
The common denominator in all of these and many other similar events was that we were not "Pushing" our ministry overseas, the Nations of the world were "Pulling" us into the international arena.
Believing that God was calling us to share what He had given us, we began to form Ministry Partnerships in places around the world.
How Did NewGenerations International Learn To Plant Churches?
After decades of preparation, the Lord brought the team of David Watson from America and Victor John from India to CityTeam. David and Victor were just what CityTeam needed because they had the ability to articulate an over-arching strategy and a cohesive system of church planting. And most importantly, they had the experience to back it up!
In 1992, David and Victor launched a Church Planting Movement in North India among one of the most difficult people groups on the planet. Today that movement has grown to more than 2 million new believers in 40,000 new churches!
What is happening through NewGenerations International comes from the rootstock of this Church Planting Movement in India.
What Are the Results So Far?
The results to date have been astounding! In the period from March 2005 to August 2009 as a direct result of the church planting training provided by NewGenerations International, the Lord has raised up 8,900 new churches with 350,000 new Believers - half of these from Muslim backgrounds!