Our History:

In November of 2005, during a mission trip to Madagascar, the idea for Global Pioneers was first presented to me by the regional director of Every Home for Christ-Anglo Africa, Hennie Hanekom. He shared of a desire to create a camp for students in which they experience Africa and become involved in missions.

As I heard him share from his heart, my heart was instantly drawn to the concept as my mind began to spin with all that we could do if we took an American summer camp and put it in the heart of Africa and focused on missions - taking students from the states, merging them with other students and cultures, giving them the experience of a lifetime, discipling them to truly understand God's call to global missions, allowing them to participate in daily missions activities, encouraging them as they search out who they are in Christ, and having a blast in the process. In my mind I could visualize every thought coming alive and became invigorated about the opportunity to start such a project.

As I returned from Madagascar, I shared with my wife, Lacey, the vision and possibilities of such a camp and immediately it was a project we were going to pursue together. Over the next few months Lacey and I worked with Hennie and a team from South Africa considering many alternatives and decided the best way to set the stage for this experience would be to have a camp in the fall of 2006 in which we would invite a team of adults and students to join us in testing the vision. We would combine Hennie's experience in missions and my experience in camping to create something totally new. Immediately, as we shared the vision, people began taking an interest and wanting to get involved. In the end, we settled on eighteen members (not including South Africans and Mozambicans) for our first attempt at a summer camp in Africa. We spent seven days in Mozambique trying out all kinds of ideas and activities on this team, and all eighteen returned with a unanimous affirmation of where we were headed and definite interest in future involvement. More than ten of these eventually returned with us in the summer of 2007.

With the test camp over, we all stepped back and took an inventory of the responses. We had only scratched the surface of what could be developed, and with the overwhelming support, we knew we had something unique and necessary for the future of missions. There was much to be done, and the next eight months would be busy as we committed to two camps in the summer of 2007.

In June of 2007 we ran our first two summer missions camps in Mozambique with around 15 students. The camps were totally different and allowed us to become more assured of where we needed to begin to build. Maforga Missions Centre would the perfect setting to build Global Pioneers. It was the site of the first camp and just had that feel that causes you to know you are in the right place. It was nothing obvious at first, but as each day past you could hear the comments that let you know you were in the midst of something special. Once you have been to Beira you will be able to look at me and nod with an understanding that you now feel what we all felt. Both camps had incredible experiences as we served the local villages and shared the love of Christ.

With our first camps behind us, we now set sail for what the Lord is creating in our hearts as we partner with Maforga Missions Centre to create an experience like no other. It is unique in that it is so much more than just a missions trip. It was birthed because there was a need to not only be a part of global missions, but to really understand it and make it a part of life. It reminds me of the old adage, "You can catch fish for a man or you can teach him to fish." We want to do so much more than just taking students on mission trips, we want them to come to an understanding of God?s Word on Global Missions and there is no better way to do it than to take them into a place like Africa and teach them while they participate.

With our first camps behind us, we now set sail for what the Lord is creating in our hearts as we partner with Maforga Missions Centre to create an experience like no other. It is unique in that it is so much more than just a missions trip. It was birthed because there was a need to not only be a part of global missions, but to really understand it and make it a part of life. It reminds me of the old adage, "You can catch fish for a man or you can teach him to fish." We want to do so much more than just taking students on mission trips, we want them to come to an understanding of God’s Word on Global Missions and there is no better way to do it than to take them into a place like Africa and teach them while they participate.

As we move on with this new venture, I want to take the opportunity to thank Every Home for Christ-Anglo Africa as I learned so much due to their involvement. As they continue to share the gospel in Africa we will be grateful for their initial involvement that allowed us to get off the ground.

-- Andrew Walt, Founder of Global Pioneers