In a transformative encounter with the Lord on a flight home from ministering in South Korea, Steve receives the call to rescue lives holistically in the nations. Through their years of church planting and pastoring Steve and Christina empowered people to minister in their communities, particularly to the disadvantaged, and now God would multiply it beyond their expectations.
Steve begins receiving invitations to minister in various developing countries. Westerners join him, and the vision for Journeys of Compassion (JOC) begins to take shape. The first team trip, involving Koreans, ministers alongside Korean missionaries in Kyrgyzstan. It was the first experience with multiple translations to communicate, sometimes involving four languages. The expectation and reality of celebrating healings, miracles and salvations are established.
Steve and Christina start putting the vision into practice with a JOC to Kenya. The trip includes the first medical outreaches, starting with just two suitcases of medicine under a tree. The team, composed of North Americans, Australians and Koreans, overcomes language challenges even within the group. They minister in the largest refugee camp in the world at that time, training Christian refugees to heal the sick and share the gospel.
While in India, Steve receives a clear call to minister in villages instead of large crusades. He responds by immediately traveling to remote areas. A JOC to the Dominican Republic with a team of 58 includes medical clinics, construction, and open-air meetings. Tim and Bethany join, and the foundational JOC format is established. Additional JOCs take place in Venezuela and Thailand, with the latter focusing on refugees and women at risk.
The first JOC to Chillakalu, India, initiates the vision of a sustainable sewing school project for women at risk. A JOC to the Philippines includes medical clinics in Payatas, Asia’s largest garbage dump, opening the door to ongoing ministry in the nation. Other JOCs occur in Mexico and western Kenya, where pastors are trained to engage with their communities.
Christina becomes the JOC Director, and clean water initiatives begin with bio-sand filters in the southern Philippines, impacting 100,000 people. The first sewing school launches and has since celebrated thousands of graduates who receive sewing machines and materials to start businesses. JOCs extend the ministry in the Philippines and begin in Nicaragua, where impactful projects like water piping, lighting, and feeding centers transform communities. Other JOCs occur in Guatemala, Zambia, and Peru.
JOCs return to Chillakalu, India, with a highlight being the graduation of 80 sewing school students. Additional JOCs take place in Nicaragua and the Philippines, where the team, invited by the Catholic bishop of Butuan, ministers in remote villages of Mindanao. Transported upriver in jeeps and river boats by up to 300 army and local police, they reach villages with minimal outside contact, some for the last 75 years. Mobile medical clinics treat up to 2,000 people.
Christina survives a 7.0 earthquake in Haiti during a scouting trip, while Steve ministers in Kenya. The first of many emergency and disaster relief efforts begins in response to the Haiti earthquake, opening doors into the nation. The first JOC to Haiti, five months after the earthquake, where the team encountered many deeply traumatized people, suffering both emotional and traumatic physical injuries. We ministered in tent villages established after the earthquake. The first rescue of women and children from prison occurs in Kenya. JOCs expand to Uganda, India, the Philippines, and Nicaragua, including remote areas in India and Burundi. Relief efforts follow natural disasters across multiple continents.
JOCs to Visakhatpatnam, India, include a 10,000-attendee beach concert where thousands respond to the gospel. A Haiti JOC reaches a remote village with food and water by mule packs and funds a classroom for children. In Uganda, the team visits Kalonga, initiating what became large-scale projects that transform the community. JOCs continue in Nicaragua.
Christina leads an Encountering God Seminar in Haiti, which are still conducted in different nations, bringing healing and freedom to thousands. Back-to-back JOCs to Uganda and Kenya see overland travel and shared team members. In a maximum-security prison in Kenya, 600 baptisms occur, including 150 guards. David Pearson introduces Sawyer water filters, now used worldwide. Steve’s book When Everything Changes is published, and a partnership begins with Randeep and Anu Mathews in Chandigarh, India.
JOCs continue in India, Haiti, Nicaragua, Uganda, and Kenya. Projects in Kalonga include water tanks, spring boxes, and filters bringing immediate changes to the health of the community. Feminine hygiene products are distributed in Kenya for the first time, and women are rescued from prostitution. An Impact Nations conference in Albuquerque leads to a divine call for Steve, Christina, Ben, and Holly to move there.
Ben and Holly move to New Mexico in February, followed by Steve and Christina in June, establishing Impact Nations as a nonprofit in the USA. JOCs span multiple nations, including the first to the Punjab, where 80,000 Indians turn to Christ within a year after the team’s ministry. A new community for widows and abandoned women in Kalonga provides homes and farmland, and 16 acres are purchased for farming projects.
JOCs return to Kalonga, Uganda, including visiting a tailoring business run by sewing school graduates. Relief efforts follow the Nepal earthquake, and an Indian team volunteers there to conduct emergency medical clinics. JOCs expanded to Cambodia for the first time, as well as Uganda and Haiti. Steve and Christina embark on a speaking tour in Australia.
The first major building project, Hope and Care School is begun in Kalonga Uganda, which went on to serve 500 students. Women-focused JOCs begin, including outreach to prostituted women in Cambodia. A Journey of Discovery for businessmen in Kenya and Uganda inspires ongoing relationships. JOCs include Tanzania, Nepal, and Kenya, where ministry in prisons, dumps, and drug dens occurs.
Tim is hired by the board, and his family moves to Albuquerque. An International Workers for the Harvest conference is hosted in Albuquerque. JOCs expand globally, with ministry in Haiti, Punjab, Kenya, and Uganda. Women-focused JOCs address issues like prostitution and prison outreach, while baptisms and large medical clinics continue. David and Cynthia Pearson take the Alternativ business training course which is still conducted in multiple nations.
JOCs to Uganda, India, Guatemala, Bulgaria, and Kenya address community needs like clean water, education, and medical care. Women-focused JOCs expand ministry to children, schools, and women’s prisons. Sustainable initiatives, including businesses and vocational training, become a major focus for Impact Nations. In October the Pearsons sell all and move to Kathmandu, establishing Nuventure Nepal and the Women’s Development Center.
Christina ministers in Nepal and Uganda with TRG, introducing programs like art therapy. JOCs to Bulgaria and Kenya focus on Roma communities and prison ministry. In Nepal, medical clinics and water filter distribution reach remote areas. Steve speaks at conferences in Bogota, Colombia, and partnerships in Chandigarh, India, are strengthened.
The Colombia JOC features medical clinics and Christian circus performers drawing crowds who receive healing and salvation. Christina scouts Malawi, while ongoing projects support vulnerable communities worldwide. COVID-19 halts JOCs but accelerates relief efforts, including distributing over 1.5 million meals.
COVID-19 relief activities continue, including food distribution and a medical clinic in Chandigarh, credited with saving 5,000 lives.
Women’s teams minister in Kenya and Uganda, addressing needs like feeding programs, conferences, and outreach to prostituted women. An international conference in Albuquerque features speakers who embrace the vision of Impact Nations. Water projects expand to Brazil, and JOCs resume in Uganda. Partnerships grow in Malawi.
Impact Nations expands in Uganda with Hope Alive gatherings, vocational schools, and outreach to marginalized communities. Ministry includes anti-trafficking efforts and church leadership gatherings. Steve, Christina, and Tim minister in Australia, India, and Nepal, while partnerships in Pakistan are established after Tim and Craig Stephens scout and minister with a new partner.
Christina scouts Zimbabwe for new partnerships, and Hope Alive seminars continue in Uganda and Malawi. During the largest women’s JOC the new facility for the Thrive Vocational School opens and the first Ascend Women in Leadership conference is held. Steve and Christina conduct leadership training and review projects in Uganda and Malawi. In 20 years, Impact Nations has conducted 87 JOCs in 19 nations, planted churches, and transformed countless lives.