Mike and Mary Wagner's Personal Support Page
by Mike Wagner 100 Lives Impacted
"Therefore, holy brothers, you who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession" - Hebrews 3:1 We are...
Since the late 1990's, we've have been missionaries with e3 Partners Ministry. Initially we focused our ministry in South and Central America, spending a major portion of our efforts from 2001 through early 2008 in Costa Rica. During much of the same period (2000-2005), we were tasked in bringing North American teams to Russia, partnering with the Russian Baptists to plant churches in the unreached area (less than 0.005% Christian) of Lipetsk Russia. e3's strategy during this era was one of coming alongside existing churches in the evangelizing, equipping, and establishing new baby churches in unchurched areas of their countries.
In 2004 - 2005, our ministry within the e3 Partners network began to evolve and change as we were exhorted and encouraged to grow from being an "addition ministry" to a "multiplicative" ministry (a change of thinking of church planting to church planting movement). Moreover, God now asked we very specifically focus our work in two (2) areas of the world: the "Horn of Africa" and the "sub-continent of India".
In the Horn of Africa, God made it clear to us (now full-time missionaries since 2003) that we were to partner with the emerging evangelical church of Rwanda
Praise the Lord! In Rwandan terminology, "Praise Him BIG" as GOD has favored the work there. Over 5000 churches were planted and almost 500,000 professions of faith were made before we surrendered the ongoing work to the able Rwandan nationals and an excited e3 Community Transformation leadership team!
India's story was a different one from the Rwandan story. In 2004, it was reported that over 2,500 people groups were unreached or unengaged in India alone - One (1) billion people who did not know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior ... most who had never heard the name of Jesus ... an unimaginable lostness... So initially, in conjunction with our North American church partners, it was decided to concentrate the ministry upon the people group of about 40 million called the Banjara Gypsy in Andhra Pradesh state. Again, praise the Lord, as over the next five (5) years, 100s of villages and 1000's of new family members were reached for Christ.
However, we came to realize that even "multiplicative" ministry church planting was insufficient in the face of India's incredible need. At just the right time, God brought newly rediscovered "discipleship training" and seriously incredible "church planting movement success stories" (CPMs) from other areas of the world to our attention (i.e. T4T, 4 Fields, "Kingdom Advancing" multiplication principles) and in 2010 e3 Partners asked us to consider concentrating our efforts in an entire state of India, Maharashtra State, the 2nd most populous state in India with over 112,000,000 people!
Under the e3 Partners' India strategy umbrella of our working through national coalitions, we began the task of finding the partners whom would direct our efforts in reaching 700+ unreached people groups while seeking North American church partners. And how gracious and faithful God has been! Since November 2011, God, in His grace, mercy, and favor, has allowed many coalitions of Indian nationals to be gathered together in order to reach their near culture of 60-80 unreached villages and plant over 200,000 churches!!! Professions of faith are reported at over 3 million while baptisms "reported" are 1,022,657 through December 2018.
Today, we minister in a population of over 500 million men, women, and children ... looking to reach over 1000 unreached and unengaged people groups ... in 9 states we call the Mid South Region (MSR).
God's faithfulness and favor continues as He has raised up men and women of God whom, in Christ and in Spirit, direct His work!
Yet laborers are needed as we continue taking Luke 10 teams where family awaits to be found!
Did we mention that we have 3 sons, 3 daughter-in-loves, and three grandchildren? Or that all now reside in Alabama within two hours driving distance? That we reside in Madison, Alabama?
That you are truly the backbone of this ministry ... praise the Lord!
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