beginnings

Evangelism Resources was founded in 1976 by Dr. Willys and Thelma Braun to reach entire nations in Africa with a call to prioritize evangelism in all their churches.

In 1980, after a lifetime of mission service in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Thelma and Willys returned to Kinshasa and in 1985 established the School of Evangelism to train coordinators of evangelism and church planters. Portable Bible Schools were soon developed to address a distinct need: Dozens of rural Bible institutes had closed and a generation of village pastors had passed away, leaving many churches and believers with no authorized leadership. The two-month programs were and still are taught by School of Evangelism graduates to train lay pastors throughout the country.

A second School of Evangelism was opened in Nigeria in 1991 and that same year Portable Bible Schools were introduced in India. Two years later a School of Evangelism was opened in India.

In 2004, Rev. Steve Liversedge became president of Evangelism Resources. Steve had joined Evangelism Resources in 1984, serving first in the DRC for 15 years prior to moving to Cameroon, where he opened and led a jungle Bible school for Baka Pygmies.

Today

Steve Liversedge served as the president of Evangelism Resources for 17 years until January, 2022, when Rev. Paul Braun was named president. Steve continues full-time with ER as President Emeritus.

Evangelism Resources engages with 45 ministry partners in 24 nations of Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean. Together, this fellowship of self-governing ministries has trained more than a quarter of a million lay leaders, pastors, and disciple makers in some of the most unreached areas of the world.