About Us
The Whole Gospel for the Whole Person
MIA History
Struck by the dichotomy between "lay" and "professional" involvement within the church, two seminary-trained Colorado businessmen, Terry Gyger and David Cauwels, started and incorporated Men In Action in Colorado in 1961. Their aim was to mobilize Christian laymen in the work of Christ, particularly in churches throughout the Caribbean and North America. By 1967, in order to coordinate its US and Caribbean projects, MIA was moved to Miami, Florida, with Mr. Gyger serving as the organization's first president. In the very early years MIA concentrated its effort in local churches through special seminars on evangelism, which culminated in evangelistic crusades and special events. Gradually, other evangelistic methods were added, including small group studies, friendship evangelism, and outreach breakfasts and luncheons. A broader thrust was introduced when MIA expanded its plan to include the development of other areas of the church's life in addition to evangelism. Fellowship and discipleship ministries became important segments in the total strategy. Later a major thrust in leadership training was also incorporated into the plan. What became known as the MIA Strategy (MIAS) was launched.
During a trip to the southeastern Caribbean and the island of St. Vincent, Mr. Gyger was introduced to a passionate Vincentian pastor, Rev. E. Walford Thompson, and invited him to be a part of MIA. Rev. Thompson joined the organization in 1968. Under his leadership, a 12-month project was conducted with 30 cooperating churches in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Following the success of this project, invitations from other countries were extended to the MIA team. The following year, Rev. Thompson moved his family to Jamaica where he served as MIAS Program Director for the Caribbean.
In 1968 MIAS was invited to bring its approach to evangelism and church growth to the nation of Haiti. Rather than beginning immediately in a new country and culture, MIAS conducted, in conjunction with Haitian leaders, a major study of the unique cultural obstacles and conduits which the Haiti church faced. The leaders of MIAS felt this was incumbent in order to avoid the tendency to transfer “programs” from other cultures and countries. After a six-month study the leaders adapted a unique cultural approach to strategy in Haiti which became known as Christ Pour Tous.
This effort started with churches in southern Haiti from the denomination Mission Evangelique Baptiste Du Sud D'Haiti. In this continuing program, seminars were conducted in a four-phase strategy including leadership development, training in mobilization for prayer concentrating on prayer cells, training in faithful witnessing using a special tool designed by Haitian leaders and training in discipleship. Initially 37 superintendents were given special training and were able to return to their districts to teach some 200 pastors. Pastors in turn began training each believer in their congregations with the ultimate goal of mobilizing a large number of Christians for the task of reaching the entire nation. Other denominations began requesting the MIA strategy be taught in their churches and over the years hundreds of churches representing thousands of Haitians have been served through MIAS.
It was 1970 when MIA was introduced to Jamaica in the parish of Manchester. David Calhoun, Principal of Jamaica Bible College, became involved with the work in Manchester. Rev. Calhoun, a missionary with the West Indies Mission, had come to know Terry Gyger through the MIA-WIM partnership. Over seven years the MIA strategy was taught in more than 200 churches from various denominations in the parishes of Manchester, St. Elizabeth, St. Andrews, Trelawney, and partially in Cornwall. Prayer cells mushroomed and thousands of lives were touched from every strata of Jamaican society. In 1972 Rev. Calhoun, having completed his term of service at Jamaica Bible College, moved to Miami and became Overseas Director for MIA. He coordinated MIA activities in the Caribbean and helped inaugurate new MIA work in Europe. Franco Bono was names European Director and planned a number of MIAS seminars in Italy. MIA eventually would limit its involvement to North America, the Caribbean region, and Latin America.
MIA was incorporated in 1974, and with the scope of its ministry greatly broadened from simply mobilizing laymen, in 1981 its name was changed to Ministries In Action. 1976 marked the beginning of MIA's seminary project. This three-year effort conducted in cooperation of three North American seminaries involved students in a series of training seminars designed to teach the Ministries in Action Strategy to future pastors and church leaders. Many of these men were able to implement the program in congregations to which they had been called.
Rev. Thompson was elected President of MIA in 1977 when Terry Gyger left MIA to start Immanuel Presbyterian Church, and he moved his family of six to Miami, Florida. Deeply influenced by the teaching of John Stott, J.I. Packer, Harvie Conn, and Francis Schaeffer, Rev. Thompson saw a great need for the church to embrace holistic ministry as a consequence of the gospel: the whole gospel for the whole person. The gospel is what we believe but it has implications for every part of life; we prove, according to the book of James, the validity of our faith by our works – principally to the poor and the marginalized. So in 1979, MIA launched Project Ebenezer, the mercy ministries arm of Ministries In Action. Project Ebenezer's first project was located in Guichard between the city of Aux Cayes and the town of Camp Perrin in the southern peninsula of Haiti. The initial project is now completely self-sufficient, financially and organizationally, with a growing and maturing church at the center of the community. Projects expanded into Jamaica and the Dominican Republic. Since its launch, Project Ebenezer has helped local churches throughout the Caribbean bear a more authentic witness for Christ through the development of biblical free enterprise projects that benefit their communities.
With so many new churches springing up through its ministry, MIA recognized a growing need for sound theological training for pastors and lay persons. The background of this came from two sponsored PhD dissertations in theological education, one by Duane Elmer and the other by Sam Rowen. As a result of Drs. Elmer and Rowen's findings, in 1979 Ministries In Action started the IONA Centers for Theological Studies. This non-residential theological education program came together through the collaborative efforts of Dr. David Calhoun, by then professor of Church History at Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri, Dr. Herbert Swaby, Founder and Principal of the IONA High School in Tower Isle, Jamaica, and Rev. Thompson. Partnering with Miami International Seminary, many IONA students have completed their Bachelors, Masters, and Doctorates as a result of their studies. In 1983 Dr. Calhoun was named Dean of the IONA Centers and during his years in that position, he made numerous trips from St. Louis to the IONA Centers in Jamaica and Haiti.
The Ministries In Action Handbook for Church Growth was published in 1983. Co-authored by Terry L. Gyger, David B. Calhoun, and E. Walford Thompson, the MIA Handbook was a compilation of MIAS seminar materials that had been used in churches throughout the Caribbean and North America. It served as a useful guide based on 20 years' experience in helping churches grow both numerically and spiritually.
Ministries In Action has continued to faithfully serve God through the local church, primarily in the Caribbean, North America, and Latin America, modeling holistic ministry throughout the regions. In 2009, Rev. Thompson retired as MIA President and was given the title, President Emeritus. Upon Rev. Thompson’s retirement, the Board of Directors elected Miami International Seminary's English-speaking Caribbean director, Rev. Steve McGee, to provide leadership to MIA. Rev. McGee, who also serves on the MIA Board of Directors, was made Executive Director and continues to highlight and even deepen the original vision of Ministries in Action. New staff, missionaries, teachers, community development workers, and professors are being added to a work that has touched thousands of lives with the vibrancy of the gospel. The founders, Terry Gyger and David Cauwels, had a vision for stronger more spiritually effective congregations through the mobilization of the laity. Walford Thomson took the organization to greater heights of usefulness and expanded the effective ministries to churches. Now another chapter is being written, built on the past but also looking to Christ the head of his church for new ideas and ways and power to serve Him, his church and the world.
Mission Statement / Vision Statement
"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." Matthew 28:19-20
P.O. Box 571357, Miami, Florida 33257-1357 USA | Tel. (305) 234-7855 | Fax. (305) 234-7825
Member Since 1990
© 2007-2011, Ministries in Action, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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