Two organizations with a combined 109 years of ministry experience have joined forces to plant churches among the unreached peoples of the Americas. A merger between Ameritribes and Pioneers was finalized in the fall of 2009.

Ameritribes’ mission to plant churches among Native peoples without access to the Gospel fits with Pioneers’ church-planting movement. The organizations also share an emphasis on prayer and partnerships. “For 30 years, Pioneers has been all about taking the Gospel to cultures that have been bypassed or forgotten–wherever they might be found,” said Steve Richards, president of Pioneers. “The ministry of Ameritribes represents a significant cluster of such groups. We are eager to roll up our sleeves together, trusting God for a new wave of workers and fresh new strategies. I am praying for a significant harvest, right here in the Americas!”

Ameritribes came into being as the Navajo Indian Evangelization Movement in 1930, under the leadership of Berlyn and Edith Stokely. It became the Navajo Gospel Mission when it incorporated in 1944 and took the name Ameritribes 50 years later. The newest name reflects the organization’s ministry to multiple tribes in the southwestern U.S. and northern Mexico.

“While the name under which we minister will change, the heart and soul of what we do will not,” said Tim Brown, former director of Ameritribes and Pioneers area leader for Mid-Americas. “This is a purposeful change that we believe will open doors to advance the Gospel in more Native communities.”
Pioneers was co-founded in 1979 by Ted Fletcher, former national sales manager for The Wall Street Journal. With 1,800 members serving on 188 teams in 84 countries, Pioneers mobilizes teams to glorify God among unreached peoples by initiating church-planting movements in partnership with local churches.