History of People International
In 1979 the leadership of People International (then Gairdner Trust Ministries) was deeply moved by events coming out of one of the first trips into Central Asia. A UK member met an Uzbek Christian who was desperate for the scriptures in his own language. The following year when our member returned to deliver the scriptures, he learned that the Uzbek Christian had been arrested and placed in a psychiatric hospital. We later heard that an overdose of drugs was administered to him and he died in the hospital.
The first years of ministry were devoted to raising awareness among the Church in the West about the needs of Central Asians. Muslim awareness seminars were held, prayer fellowships started, literature published, and inquiries about Central Asian Muslims were answered. Pioneer researchers were sent to the then little-known areas of Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Xinjiang in Western China. Wherever our researchers went they found millions of Central Asian Muslims who desperately needed the Saviour. Churches in the West had little or no information about these people.
We began to publish People Group Profiles on a regular basis and ethnographic research reports called SCANs (Society of Central Asian News). Muslim Peoples News started to be distributed. The more that was published, the more that was taught, and the more travelling that was done, the more the ministry grew. Soon others wanted to get involved.
Specific people groups were adopted for research and ministry. They were generally those of either Turkic or Persian origin who were living geographically between Albania in the West and China in the East. We generally called them "Central Asian peoples." These Central Asians have a population of over 400 million, and live in the heart of what has become known as the 10-40 window, containing the most unreached areas of the world.
Some additional members joined with us, prayer groups were started, a six-week annual Islamic Course was started in England; and the publications continued to make thousands aware of these unreached Muslim peoples. Some teams were formed in western cities, evangelising Turks and Central Asians living there. To this point, most of the ministry was centred in the UK and Europe, although some efforts were being directed toward North America and Turkey.
In 1987 the name was changed to People International (PI), and a new focus was added. Not only were we committed to educating the Western Church about Islam and Central Asian Muslims, but also more direct efforts in evangelism and church planting began to take place among Central Asians.
With this new thrust, short-term teams were sent into "closed" areas of Central Asia, and where possible we started to place long-term teams.
In 1991, with political changes taking place in Central Asia as a result of the collapse of communism, new opportunities opened for "tentmakers" to live and serve in these countries. The former emphases on educating the Western church about Islam and facilitating ministry among displaced Central Asian Muslims living in the West were mainly set aside in light of this unprecedented opportunity for ministry directly to the millions of totally unreached Muslims. PI sharpened its vision, focusing our priority upon church planting in Central Asia itself, placing long-termers on various fields throughout the broader Turkic and Persian worlds—from Turkey in the West to North-West China in the East, and from Tatarstan in the North to Pakistan in the South.
People International is fully committed to sending long-term members who move into the heartlands of these peoples, equipping, training, and enabling these members for effective ministry. They are challenged to cultivate relationships among the Muslims and ultimately work to establish Christ's church all across what we call "Central Asia".
Our focus has unreservedly remained upon church planting in Central Asia. At the same time, along with direct evangelism, discipleship, and leadership training, PI has been used of God to relieve much suffering among those in need. Humanitarian projects were established in many of the countries, caring for orphans, performing thousands of medical procedures, training doctors, providing clean drinking water, building schools, and teaching mothers to care for their children with special needs, to name a few. These projects also allowed PI's members access into CA society.
Providing the Scriptures is essential to establishing the church and building up believers. PI members are involved in the translation of the Bible into a number of Central Asian languages.
