OUR HISTORY

“For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.” – Habakkuk 2:14

Habakkuk 2:14, that’s what we’ve been working towards since e3 Partners began in 1987; filling the earth with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord. It started with a vision God placed on the heart of Mike Downey to help nationals plant churches, and over the last few decades, God has used this ministry to do just that. He’s guided us through challenges and growth, and through it all, the vision has stayed the same. e3 Partners remains focused on helping nationals plant healthy, multiplying, transformative churches all across the world, and we will continue to do so until there is a local church accessible to every person, everywhere.

The Early Years

In 1985, Mike Downey led a group from his church in Oklahoma to Mexico for a mission trip. While there, they saw over 100 people accept Christ into their lives, and when they returned the next year, a church had been planted! Mike called it, “accidental church planting.” He was moved by the passion of these Mexican believers, and as he returned from that second trip, God gave him a vision. He founded Global Missions Fellowship (GMF) with the intent to serve nationals and plant churches in Mexico (on purpose), and it wasn’t long before God expanded that vision further.

In 1990, the collapse of the Soviet Union opened doors that allowed GMF to expand into Eastern Europe, and four years after that, we expanded to Africa as well.

In 1996, God expanded our vision to the entire world, and GMF began taking trips to areas within the 10/40 window.

Over the next two years, God revealed to us the concept of church planting movements (CPMs), which we began incorporating into our short-term trips strategy. There then became a clear need for some scalable evangelism and discipleship tools, which led to the development of the EvangeCube.

The EvangeCube provided our trip participants and national partners with a simple, easily comprehendible way of sharing the gospel. We began using it on all of our trips, and we’d train those who came to accept Christ on how to use it as well, encouraging them to go share the Good News with others.

The 2000s

In 2002, God revealed to us another idea that we refer to as “initiatives”. Essentially, the idea was to combine the evangelistic aspects of our short-term trips with an aid/relief aspect as well.

Medical church planting was our first initiative.

We began taking these types of trips to areas that were severely lacking in accessible medical care, and God used our medical service to open doors to countless families and individuals who had not yet heard the gospel. It was amazing to see how God could use the medical expertise and service of our teams to ultimately lead people to Him.

In 2006, we became e3 Partners Ministry.

Equip God’s people, evangelize His world, establish His church. Those are the three “e’s”, perfectly aligned with the original vision God gave Mike Downey in 1987.

Two years later, the I Am Second brand launched in Dallas, TX, focused on reaching people with powerful Gospel-centered stories through the ever-growing presence of digital media. It quickly became a national brand, and has now grown internationally as well, allowing us to spread the gospel to many people and places we may not be able to get to physically.

That same year, e3 Partners started its “Orality” initiative in Ethiopia. Many communities across Ethiopia speak languages that the Bible has not been translated into yet. The orality initiative focuses on developing strategies and scripts to share the gospel and other Biblical stories with these people through oral storytelling.

By the end of 2008, e3 was taking trips to dozens of countries around the world, and we’d organized the ministry into regional and country teams.

Recent Years

In 2014, we added a more focused training element to the ministry. Training new believers and Christian leaders had always been a part of what we did on our trips, but now there was an added emphasis on training outside of our church planting trips as well. Both domestically and internationally, through one on one meetings, discipleship groups, church gatherings, and other opportunities, we began training new believers how to share their testimonies and the gospel, and training more mature believers on how to disciple others and plant churches.

Then, in 2017, through God’s guidance we employed an integrated Four Fields strategy locally and globally to create something we call the “Great Commission Pipeline”.

The Great Commission Pipeline connects our trips, trainings, international workers, national partners and church partnerships all together to increase the effectiveness and speed at which we reach people far from God.

Looking back on the last 30+ years, it’s amazing to see how God has been at work the whole time. The expansion of our vision from Mexico to the whole world, the addition of initiatives and scalable evangelism tools like the EvangeCube, and now 3-Circles, the added training element, the 4 Fields strategy, the Great Commission Pipeline, it’s all been from God. He’s led this ministry the whole time and has allowed us to do some amazing work for His Kingdom.

In recent years, through our 4 Fields strategy and the implementation of the Great Commission Pipeline, we’ve seen the Gospel reach further and spread faster than ever before. We truly live in an unprecedented time in history. God is moving all across the world.

Come join us as we work to make Habakkuk 2:14 a reality!

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My Story - everyone has one right? Here's mine:

I came to know Christ while I was a junior in high school in Hawaii. I sat next to George in Spanish class, and I was able to ask him questions about the “religious” t-shirts he often wore. I was a Roman Catholic and I did everything I could possibly do as far as training “in the faith,” but I wanted more. A personal relationship with God was what I needed and longed for and that is what George explained to me – that there is a way to get really close to God and that is through His Son, Jesus, who died a substitutionary death on the cross and rose from the dead so that whosoever believes may be forgiven of sin once and for all and reconciled with God. He also explained that according to the bible everyone after Adam and Eve inherited a sin nature which separates us from God. He said that I needed to accept the free gift of salvation that only the Son of God can offer and accepting that gift enables me to become a new creation and a part of the family of God.  George helped me purchase a study bible and he gave me bible lessons to do every week.

While I was still in high school, my parents told me I should join the Army Reserves. I honored and obeyed my parents despite being a “girly girl” and signed up. I was a finance pay specialist at first, but I later joined the regular Army as a Chapel Activities Specialist because of my new faith in Christ. While serving in the military I learned more about the Bible and what it means to be a Christ follower. I was mentored by an evangelical chaplain and other Christ followers and I was given responsibilities to lead a ministry to single soldiers and teach children in Sunday School. When I was in Germany I met some short term missionaries from a bible college in Portland, Oregon. I admired the way they knew Scripture and applied it to their lives. I decided to attend there after my term in the military. Studying God’s Word just opened up my eyes and heart for what matters to God. God wants to reconcile all nations and tribes to Himself, and I still want to be a part of what He is doing in the world.

Here I Am, Send Me!

Jesus announced his mission on earth was to bring good news to the poor, to comfort the brokenhearted, and to set the captives and prisoners free. I’ve been a follower of Christ for 28 years, and it was during college that I developed a heart to share the gospel in Sudan.  In my missions’ class, we were assigned to select an unreached people group and propose how we would share the gospel with them. I chose the Fulanis, a predominantly Muslim, nomadic tribe from the northern part of Sudan. My desire to share the gospel in Sudan became a reality when I heard that a group from Salinas was being mobilized by e3 Partners Ministry, a church planting ministry that works with national churches in multiple countries through short-term mission trips.

 God opened the way for me to go in April 2007. I became an Associate Church Planting Coordinator with e3 Partners in December 2007, and I completed training in February of 2009 and decided to go full time in May. By God’s grace I will help mobilize teams, use my administrative skills to co-lead trips and share the love of Christ and plant new churches. Most of my trips will be to Sudan, while other trips that I co-lead will be to other countries like India and Ecuador. 

Jesus said, “…I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.” After sharing the gospel in Sudan, India and Ecuador, I’ve seen that the fields are indeed ripe for the harvest, they are plentiful, but the laborers are few.

 I am in the process of looking for people to partner with me through prayer and financial support as together we join God in making His Name great among every people on earth. I am about halfway towards my support goal. Would you consider and pray about becoming a monthly financial partner?

http://adventureswiththemosthighgod.blogspot.com/ 

  • The islands are calling - Mission trip to the Philippines next year

    Posted a week ago

                                                                January 31 – February 11, 2016

    Join us for a church planting and church strengthening expedition in the island of Mindoro, Philippines. Canadian and US teams will work together to help pastors and churches in Bansud, Bongabong, and Roxas. We will fly into Manila and then take a ferry to the port in Calapan. The targeted towns are about two hours away.

    Cost: $2,880

    Trip Leaders: Jeremy Doorten (Canada) and Amy Vradenburg (USA)


    Many thanks for your prayers and financial support!


    Posted by:
    Amy Vradenburg

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  • Thank you for your support!!

    Posted a week ago



    Thank you for your financial support, especially during the Giving Day focus. I received a bonus in the amount of $338.85. Praise the Lord! May God multiply your gifts for His glory.

    I am leaving for Yei with a team of 11 of people from the US and Canada in a couple of weeks. We are excited to share the Good News of Jesus.

    Thank you for your partnership in the Gospel. May God continue to bless you richly.

    Posted by:
    Amy Vradenburg

     Read More
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