For generations, the face of “missions” was a familiar one: an American packing up their life to move overseas, fueled by good intentions and a passport full of ambition. But what if the future of reaching the world isn’t about sending more Westerners abroad, but about equipping those already living there?
That’s the radical rethink behind The Timothy Initiative, a nonprofit aiming to reframe how churches approach foreign ministry.
CEO Jared Neems knows firsthand that traditional missions models often hit walls of language, culture and even simple logistics.
His solution? Start local.
This article is part of a new 6-part series, Rethinking Missions. Check back every Wednesday.
“Most pastors we work with are already discouraged,” Neems says. “They got into ministry with big dreams, and reality has been rough. Unmet expectations, disappointment — it’s exhausting.”
Instead of dropping in outsiders, TTI partners directly with local churches, training pastors to develop “disciple-making disciples” from within their own communities. It’s less about helicopters and more about roots.
The process is methodical. Pastors recruit willing believers from their own congregations and train them over a two-year period using resources developed by Indigenous leaders. As these believers grow, they don’t just stay in the pews — they scout nearby communities where the gospel is absent, and start new churches there.
If it sounds simple, that’s because it is.And that’s the point.
“We’re always operating in the local language,” Neems explains.
TTI’s materials are translated into more than 50 languages. When they expanded into Madagascar, instead of sending an English-speaking missionary, they dispatched a French-speaking leader from Togo. He could communicate vision in French and, working with translators, adapt materials into Malagasy. Within months, dozens of local pastors were trained and moving forward.
It’s a model based on proximity: find someone as close as possible — culturally, geographically, linguistically — to the people you’re trying to reach.
“Concentric circles,” Neems calls it.
Start nearest, then work your way out only if you have to. This hyperlocal approach not only sidesteps a lot of cross-cultural blunders, it also builds trust.
“When you actually care for people, they’re much more likely to ask, ‘Why are you here?'” Neems says. “Not as a bait-and-switch. Just genuine love.”
Of course, love alone isn’t a strategy. TTI operates on a sharp framework they call “the TTI Bullseye”: a church in every village everywhere.
It’s ambitious, yes, but their method is clear: disciples making disciples, churches planting churches, leaders developing leaders. Impact isn’t measured by how many hands go up after an altar call. It’s measured by what Neems calls “fruit that remains.”
“We don’t just count decisions,” he says. “We ask, what happened next? Did they become a disciple? Are they making disciples? Did a healthy church form?”
To track it, TTI uses church health and disciple health tools, like spiritual fitness trackers. It’s not enough to start well; they want to make sure these communities are growing, multiplying and sustaining themselves.
Currently, TTI is active in 45 countries, primarily in Africa and Asia — and not the easy ones. They’re present in eight of the top 10 most persecuted nations on earth.
“Persecution’s not going away,” Neems says bluntly. “The Bible promises it.”
But their model makes resilience more likely.
Indigenous leaders know how to navigate their own cultures in ways outsiders never could.
“Think about it this way: you know the weird spots and the cool spots of your hometown better than an outsider,” Neems explains. “Someone from the suburbs walks in and immediately says the wrong thing, and everyone shuns them immediately. Missions is the same concept.”
The hardest places — overwhelmingly Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim — require not just courage, but cultural intelligence. That’s why TTI emphasizes acts of service like caring for orphans, widows and trafficking survivors.
It’s not a tactic. It’s living out the gospel. The challenge Neems offers to the Western church is clear: rethink what missions even means.
“We need to evaluate the level of intentionality in our missions efforts,” he says. “Sometimes we send people just because they want to go, without asking if they’re the best ones to reach that culture.”
He’s quick to honor the legacy of missionaries who gave everything. But today, he argues, the world is too interconnected, too linguistically complex, to ignore the effectiveness of local leadership. The opportunity is staggering. With today’s technology and global networks, Neems believes it’s possible to bring the gospel to every people group in this generation.
“It’s time to ask: Are we getting the bang for our buck? Are we being intentional? Are there places where we need to change the rhythm?”
For those wanting to support the work, TTI offers ways to partner financially, pray strategically or simply reexamine how missions dollars are spent. Their prayer network, TTI Pray, runs 24/7 intercession for global needs — 15-minute slots, one prayer warrior at a time.
“At the end of the day,” Neems says, “it’s about the kingdom. Not building our brand. Not checking boxes. Seeing fruit that remains.”
Maybe the future of missions doesn’t look like us getting on planes. Maybe it looks like us empowering those already there.
