History

For over forty years our community has existed to serve the mission of God and the frontiers of that mission.

  • 1969

    William Carey Library Publishers Is Established

  • 1974

    Perspectives on the World Christian Movement Is Established

    Dr. Ralph D. Winter gives a watershed speech at the Lausanne Congress for World Evangelization, highlighting the reality of thousands of distinct people groups who were cut off from any forms of traditional evangelistic outreach. His speech helped to catalyze the modern frontier mission movement. Winter clearly showed that the call of Jesus to disciple all peoples (ethne) was far from complete and that a new form of cross cultural evangelism was essential to completing the task of world evangelization.

  • 1976

    U.S. Center for World Mission Is Established

    Dr. Ralph D. Winter purchased a 17-acre campus in Pasadena, CA in order to “awaken 1 million evangelicals” to the plight of these “hidden peoples.” The exciting historical saga that ensued has been recorded in the book I Will Do A New Thing by Roberta Winter.

    Over the years that followed, the campus became a kind of germinating environment for new “prototypes, experiments, and movements” related to the frontiers. It was called the largest single property in the world dedicated to the cause of the unreached peoples, drawing people from a variety of evangelical denominations.

  • 1977

    William Carey International University Is Established

    William Carey International University was established with a vision to train proven leaders to get at the roots of the human problems and to enable them to do so while remaining in their local contexts. The university became a place to see mission and international development come together.

  • 1979

    Mission Frontiers Is Established

  • 1983

    Global Prayer Digest Is Established

  • 1984

    International Journal for Frontier Missiology Is Established

  • 1985

    International Society of Frontier Missiology Is Established

  • 1988

    The Historic Pasadena Campus Is Paid Off

  • 1990

    Frontier Mission Fellowship Is Established

  • 2001

    Judson International School Is Established

  • 2001

    INSIGHT Program Established (INtensive Study of Integrated Global History and Theology)

  • 2001

    Roberta Winter Institute Is Established

  • 2005

    Ralph Winter Named in Top 25 Most Influencial Evangelicals in America by Time Magazine

  • 2006

    Joshua Project Joins the Family of Ministries

  • 2008

    Ralph Winter is awarded the Lifetime of Service Award at the North American Mission Leaders Conference

  • 2013

    The Ralph D. Winter Launch Lab Is Envisioned

  • 2013

    PRIME Initiative Is Envisioned

    Prayer, research, innovation, media, and engagement.

  • 2013

    Office of the General Director Plural Leadership Model Established:

    Office of the General Director: Dave Datema, Chong Kim, & Bruce Graham

  • 2014

    The Ralph D. Winter Research Center Is Envisioned

  • 2015

    Frontier Ventures and Venture Center Are Established

    The U.S. Center for World Mission and the Frontier Mission Fellowship were joined together again as one entity, known today as Frontier Ventures. The Pasadena based campus became known as The Venture Center.

  • 2016

    Frontier Ventures 40th Anniversary

    As we transition into a new season for a new generation, we are inspired by the faith of our founder who famously said,

    “Risks are not to be evaluated in terms of the probability of success, but in terms of the value of the goal.”

    More ventures are needed to see the task of world evangelization complete. We continue to exist to serve that need, for the glory of God.

  • 2019

    The Plural Leadership Model is reshaped to include a leadership team (Fran Patt, Chong Kim, Kerry Jones, Paul Dzubinski, Jim O'Neill, and Sue Patt) and a General Director, with Kevin Higgins being appointed as GD.

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