Welcome To HeartCry

“For from the rising of the sun even to its setting, My name will be great among the nations, and in every place incense is going to be offered to My name.”  — Malachi 1:11

 “This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.” — Matthew 24:14

HeartCry Missionary Society exists to advance the Great Commission through the training and support of indigenous missionaries, prayer, proclamation, and planting churches. For more than three decades, we have labored to preach the gospel both near and far, and we are determine to continue with the work until Christ’s banner flies over every inch of the globe and He receives the full reward for His suffering. Since our inception in 1988, God has enabled us to encourage and support missionaries in more than sixty-five countries across five continents. We are currently supporting more than 360 missionaries and their families.

Our History

“Unless the LORD builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; unless the LORD guards the city, the watchman keeps awake in vain.” — Psalm 127:1

“By the grace of God I am what I am…” — I Corinthians 15:10

As a young missionary in the country of Peru, Paul Washer was an eyewitness to the great advance of the gospel through indigenous pastors and missionaries despite their poverty and lack of formal theological education. This prompted him to pray and search the Scriptures to discover a proper response to such choice servants and their need. In time, he concluded that it was both biblical and practical for churches in more developed countries to work in partnership with indigenous churches and their missionaries that the gospel might advance more effectively around the globe. He discovered that the key component to success was to work with and through mature indigenous churches of like faith and practice that were training, ordaining, sending, and holding their missionaries accountable on the field. This has become a foundational principle in all that we do.

Read More About Our History In Mission & Methodology

Our Mission

“All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the LORD, and all the families of the nations will worship before You. For the kingdom is the LORD’S and He rules over the nations.” — Psalm 22:27-28

HeartCry Missionary Society exists to glorify God and to bring the greatest possible good to humanity through the preaching of the gospel and the establishment of biblical churches throughout the world by means of equipping and mobilizing indigenous churches and missionaries. We serve as a voice for the voiceless, a partner and facilitator between churches in developed countries and indigenous churches in some of the most unevangelized regions of the world. Our purpose is that the gospel might be preached to every creature; that a people for God might be gathered from every tribe, tongue, people, and nation; and that strong local churches might be established among them.

Our Doctrine

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, … teaching them to observe all that I commanded you.” — Matthew 28:19-20

Jesus commanded the church to make disciples by going, baptizing, and teaching. Consequently, all the missionary activity in the world is of little value unless the final outcome is the dissemination of biblical truth resulting in the salvation and transformation of lives in accordance with the Scriptures. We do not follow the popular opinion that Christians should lay aside their doctrine and unite around the common objective of global evangelism. We believe that the Great Commission is primarily a theological endeavor, and therefore, we must give priority to teaching the full counsel of Scripture and the great doctrines of the Christian faith. The historic confessions with which we identify are the 1689 London Baptist Confession, the New Hampshire Confession, and Boyce’s Abstracts of Principles. Our catechism of choice is the Keach’s Catechism and revised versions of it.  

Our Core Convictions About Missions

“For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.” —II Corinthians 10:4

The mission field is like Jericho. It is tightly shut—no one goes out and no one comes in (Joshua 6:1); only God can take down the wall. Consequently, we must recognize our impotence, shun the arm of the flesh, and trust in the weapons that God has given to us — the Scriptures, intercessory prayer, the life and power of the Holy Spirit, and a godly life. We are convinced of the sufficiency of Scripture, the power of the Spirit, the necessity of prayer, and the preeminence of the gospel. We are equally persuaded that only qualified laborers should be sent to the field and that the establishment of biblical churches is the litmus test of all our labor. We reject any church-planting strategy that supplants or diminishes these convictions.

Our Financial Principles

“And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed.” — II Corinthians 9:8

HeartCry Missionary Society was established to demonstrate God’s faithfulness to meet the needs of all who wait upon Him in prayer even when their prayers are as frail and feeble as ours. Our non-negotiable financial principle is that every need of this ministry will be obtained through prayer. We may share our missionary vision, make known the tasks that the Lord has given us, and publish His accomplishments; however, we may not raise support by initiating conversations, publishing our needs, or prodding others to give. If this ministry is of the Lord, then He will be our Patron. If He is with us, He will direct His people to give, and we will prosper. If He is not with us, we will not and should not succeed. Throughout the years, and in times of our greatest financial need, God has answered our prayers and moved His people to extraordinary levels of generosity. As many saints throughout the ages have testified, He delights in vindicating even the smallest confidence of His children.

Our Accountability

“Taking precaution so that no one will discredit us in our administration of this generous gift; for we have regard for what is honorable, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men.” — II Corinthians 8:20-21

HeartCry Missionary Society has taken measures to provide proper oversight of its ministry and to ensure its endurance in faithfulness. Our structure of accountability is two-fold. The board of directors with its overseeing pastors and churches consists of men from a wide range of backgrounds and expertise; yet all are churchmen, diligent students of the Scriptures, united under a common theological confession, devoted to Christ, and committed to His cause. Furthermore, each of our staff is a member in good standing of a local church that identifies with the 1689 London Baptist Confession, the New Hampshire Confession, the Abstract of Principles, or its own confession that adheres to the major doctrines of the Reformed Baptist faith. In addition to the theological, ethical, and financial accountability of our board and their churches, HeartCry also submits to a regular audit by one of the most respected U.S. accounting firms for non-profits and sends out a yearly financial report to supporters.

Our Strategy

“Beloved, you are acting faithfully in whatever you accomplish for the brethren… You will do well to send them on their way in a manner worthy of God. For they went out for the sake of the Name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles. Therefore we ought to support such men, so that we may be fellow workers with the truth.” — III John 5-8

Two distinct mission strategies are generally employed to fulfill the Great Commission. Cross-Cultural Missions is the strategy whereby missionaries are sent to a nation, people group, or culture outside their own. Indigenous Missions involves the support of missionaries who are native to the people among whom they are ministering. While we fully recognize the scriptural foundation and great benefit of Cross-Cultural Missions, the Lord has called us to labor primarily in the context of indigenous missions. We partner with biblically mature indigenous churches in the training, sending, and support of missionaries until their work becomes fully autonomous.

Our Focus

“And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ.” — Ephesians 4:11-12

A biblical missionary is a messenger or envoy of the church who is equipped, tested, ordained, sent out and held accountable by the church to fulfill a specific task for the advance of the Great Commission (Philippians 2:25; II Corinthians 8:23; II Corinthians 8:18-19, 22; I Timothy 3:10; 5:22; Acts 13:1-3; 14:25-28). This definition allows for a variety of gifted individuals and ministries; however, it is our unwavering conviction that the great bulk of our missionary force must be proclaimers of the Word—evangelists, pastors, and teachers (Ephesians 4:11-12). These gifted men must be the spearhead of the church’s global initiative. All other gifted individuals and ministries must serve alongside or in cooperation with these men as they evangelize, plant churches, pastor, and teach the Word of God.

Our Selection and Oversight of Missionaries

“These men must also first be tested; then let them serve.” — I Timothy 3:10

“Do not lay hands upon anyone too hastily and thereby share responsibility for the sins of others; keep yourself free from sin.” — I Timothy 5:22

The selection and oversight of missionaries must be carried out by the local church. Before HeartCry considers working in a specific region or people group, it establishes a partnership with a mature church that has a long-standing national or international reputation among those of like faith and practice. These partnering churches and their elders work with us to ensure that the missionaries are serving with scriptural integrity and that the kingdom of God is advancing through them. The church must be committed to ordaining and sending only those missionaries who meet the non-negotiable qualifications of a minister of Christ (I Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-9; I Timothy 5:21-25). It must be equally committed to practicing church discipline with regard to any missionary who disqualifies himself doctrinally or morally (Matthew 18:15-20; I Timothy 5:19-20).

Our Equipping and Mobilization of Missionaries

“And how will they hear without a preacher? How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things!’” — Romans 10:14-15

“The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.” — 2 Timothy 2:2

HeartCry Missionary Society strives to make the best use of the resources entrusted to us to advance the kingdom through indigenous missionaries by providing them the support and theological resources they need to fulfill their calling. This may include but is not limited to financial support for missionaries; funds to procure adequate meeting facilities; ministry tools (e.g., cars, boats, projectors, computers, software, etc.); translation work and the distribution of Bibles, pastoral libraries, and theological material; training conferences, Bible institutes, and study scholarships.

Support of the Suffering and Persecuted

“The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’” — Matthew 25:40 

“Remember the prisoners, as though in prison with them, and those who are ill-treated, since you yourselves also are in the body.” — Hebrews 13:3

As Christians, we have a people, tribe, and family that transcends nationality, ethnicity, and culture. Our people consists of everyone who calls upon the Name of the Lord and does His will. As Jesus taught, “For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother and sister and mother” (Matthew 12:50). Consequently, when Christ’s people suffer, we suffer; when they weep, we weep; when they rejoice, we rejoice (Romans 12:15). Their well-being is our great concern and demands that we be intentional and urgent in our response. In recent years, the suffering of believers has greatly increased throughout the globe due to the collapse of economies, war, and persecution. Although preaching and planting churches will always remain our primary ministries, we are obligated by Scripture and conscience to care for the missionaries and churches with whom we partner on the field when they are passing through extraordinary trials. As John writes, “But whoever has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him?” (I John 3:17).

Media Ministry

“I will tell of Your name to my brethren; in the midst of the assembly, I will praise You.” — Psalm 22:22-23

The Scriptures teach us that “the heavens are telling of the glory of God; and their expanse is declaring the work of His hands” (Psalm 19:1). Asaph vowed that he would not conceal God’s strength and wonderous works but tell the generation to come the praises of the Lord (Psalm 78:4). The psalmist exhorted God’s people to tell of His works with joyful singing and to give thanks to the Lord for His wonders to the sons of men (Psalm 107:21-22). The Messiah declared, “I will tell of Your name to my brethren; in the midst of the assembly, I will praise You” (Psalm 22:22-23). These texts and many other are the foundation of HeartCry’s media department. It exists, not to raise support or prod God’s people to give, but to tell them what He has done that they might praise Him and rejoice before Him with thanksgiving. In keeping with this purpose, we have determined to publish reports of God’s faithful dealings with us from across the globe through our magazine, website, documentaries, and social media.