What does it take to start a global movement that reaches over 100 countries? For Ted Fletcher, it began amidst the horrors of the Korean War, where, surrounded by fallen friends, he found himself deeply troubled and uncertainty about what would happen to him when he died.
Everything changed in 1952 when evangelist Billy Graham visited the troops, leading Ted to find his answer in Jesus. Returning to the U.S., Ted married his childhood sweetheart, Peggy, and rose to become National Sales Manager for The Wall Street Journal. Yet, despite his corporate success, Ted and Peggy felt a persistent calling to reach unreached people groups around the world who had no way of hearing the gospel.
When conventional mission agencies rejected them over their age, lack of formal training, and size of their family, the Fletchers refused to give up. After a life-changing visit to Nigeria in 1979, they launched World Evangelical Outreach (now Pioneers) from their Virginia basement, sending their first missionary later that year.
That basement operation eventually moved to Florida, growing into one of the fastest-growing mission agencies of the 20th century. Today, Pioneers supports more than 3,000 missionaries serving in over 100 countries worldwide.