news around the world

IM serves churches, pastors, and people by helping them fulfill their role in establishing churches beyond North America so unreached peoples can know the joy of a relationship with the living God. To find out more about the ministry of IM, visit www.IMINC.org

Partnership With the Samburu Church

Kenya — In February 2026, IM Global Partners announced a partnership with the Samburu Church. The partnership aims to strengthen and sustain the ministry under national leadership, ensuring the church continues to flourish for generations to come.

Joshua Project estimates the Samburu population at 364,000, with only a small percentage having any contact with the gospel. An animistic, semi-nomadic ethnic group, they live in arid, north-central Kenya. Primarily herdsmen, significant time is spent in search of suitable grazing areas.

From 2016 to 2026, IM missionaries Eddy and Amanda Simmons faithfully shared the gospel among the Samburu. During those years, many people followed Jesus, were baptized, and gathered for worship under shade trees. Francis, a Samburu pastor, continues to evangelize and pastor the groups.

What started as seeds of faith has grown into an exciting opportunity to continue “watering those seeds.” One focus of this partnership is continuing the distribution of solar-powered MP3 players loaded with oral Scripture in the Samburu language — delivering God’s Word directly to their hearts.

IM Announces 2026 WMO Theme

Antioch, TN — “Share the Gospel! Give a Million. Reach a Million.” is the theme for IM’s 2026 World Missions Offering. It aligns well with the three major IM Horizon Goals for 2025-2035. The WMO supports new missionary funding, the IM General Fund, and partnerships.

This year, in addition to continuing to provide the standard WMO resources for churches and individuals, IM will introduce Monthly Missions Moment downloads, a magnetic prayer calendar, posters, and more.

Sign up for the WMO newsletter to receive WMO news and access to the resources.

Snapshots Around the World

• Brazil: November 30, 11 people were baptized in Brazil (below): seven at Jaboticabal and four at Nova America in Campinas.

• Panama: Panama’s National Association met January 10-11. The theme — One Family, One Mission, One Kingdom — was supported with two messages and a Bible study. IM’s Director of Global Partnerships Kenneth Eagleton and his wife Rejane attended the conference. Eagleton preached the keynote message. Seven people from two churches were baptized. The business session featured reports of new works begun in 2025 and plans for new mission works.
  

• Bulgaria: More than 1,000 people in Shumen province heard the gospel through the Operation Christmas Child outreach. A THP team joined Josh and Bea Provow for a marathon of events in 18 villages and cities. Josh said, “Pray for us as we dream, plan, and pray about future work in these villages, many of which are 100% Muslim.”
  

• Japan: The Hope Alive Church in Tokorazawa, Japan, is planting a second church in Ikebukuro. The church-planting team, led by missionaries Osam and Emily Sakamoto and Jack and Ashley Ketteman, includes interns Reece Rooke and Robert Newton, local believers, and volunteers from Hope Alive.
  

• Spain: The Alpedrete Church celebrated 20 years of sharing Christ in a city which previously had no evangelical witness on February 8.
  

• Pakistan: January 30, 259 students graduated from the free vocational program organized by FWB in Lahore, Pakistan. Students now have the skills to earn a living as tailors, hairdressers and barbers, electricians, plumbers, mobile phone techs, and more. In addition to learning life-changing skills, these students heard the gospel.
  

• Brazil: Two mission churches recently launched in the states of Santa Catarina and Paraná in Brazil. Begun by two Cuban FWB pastors who recently immigrated to Brazil, the Brazil FWB National Association is providing support to for outreach in these states with no previous FWB churches. Services are held in Spanish (rather than the native Portuguese) to serve refugees from Cuba and Venezuela.
  

• Japan: The New Life FWB Church in Sapporo, Japan, hosted a Korean group who evangelize college students in the area during January. They now have a weekly Bible student for college students attended by several seekers.

• Bulgaria: Jonathan and Amy Postlewaite recently announced they and several others in the Pleven congregation have given Bibles to seekers as well as Christians interested in sharing the Word with others. They ask, “Pray, through reading God’s Word, they will come to faith in Jesus Christ.”