An old photograph showing Mission Without Borders' early work.

Our history

In 1960, an American group visited a pastors’ meeting in Sarajevo, then an important industrial centre in Yugoslavia.

1960

In 1960, an American group visited a pastors’ meeting in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia. It was attended by pastors from many countries behind the Iron Curtain. During one conversation, a pastor said, “I’ve been a pastor for 20 years. All these years, this has been my Bible!” He held out a single sheet from a Bible. Then he added, “I'd like to know what's on the next page!” 

That experience led the group of Americans to return home and start up an organisation called Underground Evangelism. Their main activity was to smuggle Bibles and Christian literature into Communist countries. In this way, underground churches received the opportunity to reach out to more people with the gospel.

1989

After the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, the border with Eastern Europe opened up, and extreme poverty came to light. Children in orphanages were living in devastating conditions. We launched our Child Rescue International initiative, inviting sponsors from around the world to support those children and began meeting their urgent emotional and material needs. 

The closure of factories and large agricultural cooperatives further led to widespread unemployment and destitution. Underground Evangelism decided to stay in Eastern Europe and support children, families in poverty and the elderly. Its name was changed to Mission Without Borders.  

Today  

Over 30 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, poverty is still a major problem in Eastern Europe.  

Many countries are plagued by corruption, poor governance, underdevelopment, high unemployment, and “brain drain” due to high levels of emigration. The impact of trauma – whether from the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, or from brutal Communist regimes – lingers on, while Roma communities remain entrenched in deep poverty, often cut off from basic amenities and positive opportunities. The escalating cost of living crisis puts many families in an impossible situation, and hits hardest those who already had very little. The war in Ukraine also continues to cause immense suffering and devastation.

Thanks to over 79,000 donors from around the world, we continue to work to help bring about positive change and break the cycle of poverty. The goal is always to enable as many people as possible to develop their potential and find ways to provide for themselves and their families. 

The driving force in the work is the same as in 1960: to reach people for Christ. 

Discover more about the various countries we work in:

Mission Without Borders first started working in Albania in 1992 – not long after the collapse of the communist regime in 1991.

Find out more about Albania

Mission Without Borders started up in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1995 as the brutal war ended.

Find out more about Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bulgaria, a predominantly Orthodox Christian nation in the western Balkans, was a Communist state from 1944 until 1989.

Find out more about Bulgaria

Thanks to our generous sponsors, we have been working in Romania since 1980.

Find out more about Romania

Thanks to our generous sponsors, we have been working in Moldova since 1998.

Find out more about Moldova

When Ukraine became an independent nation in 1991, it was one of the poorest Soviet republics.

Find out more about Ukraine