About Us

INTERNATIONAL PARTNERS IN MISSION (IPM) works across borders of faith and culture on behalf of children, women, and youth to create partnerships that build justice, peace, and hope. IPM’s partnerships span the globe, but begin at home in Cleveland where the international headquarters are located with a strong base of support in Northeast Ohio. IPM has other offices in, El Salvador, India, Italy, Kenya and the USA (San Francisco and St. Louis). Currently, there are fourteen full-time, four part-time, and several volunteers helping to staff these offices.

IPM was founded by returning Lutheran missionaries Jim Mayer, Paul Strege, and others, in 1974 as Partners in Mission (PIM). Dissatisfied with the predominant model of mission at the time, PIM began with the belief that mission should be personal and a two-way street. In 1988, PIM changed its name to Christians Linked in Mission (CLM) in recognition of the ecumenical nature of its work. During 2001, CLM moved its international headquarters to Cleveland, Ohio from its original location in St. Louis, Missouri. In 2002, the organization returned to its roots, changing its name to INTERNATIONAL PARTNERS IN MISSION (IPM) to more ably reflect its international and interfaith identity. In the years since IPM’s headquarters relocated to Cleveland, IPM has more than doubled the number of Project Partners with whom it provides funding and technical support, quadrupled our annual operating budget & staff, built a small but growing endowment, expanded our programmatic offerings with a special emphasis on Immersion Experiences, and opened regional offices in El Salvador, India, Italy, and Kenya.

Today, IPM continues to build upon its nearly thirty-five year history among both the local and global communities. Using the original model set forth by its founders, IPM accompanies the materially poor and socially marginalized in their struggle for justice and peace. IPM provides seed money to help small-scale, community-based and democratically governed programs initiate and implement projects by creating personalized partnerships among donors, friends, project coordinators, and participants. In 2003, IPM’s Immersion Experience Program was created to provide donors and friends with short-term travel opportunities to visit with and learn from IPM’s Project Partners. To achieve these goals, IPM focuses on four principles:

• Shared Partnership where mission is a two-way street between project holders, donors, and other stakeholders.
• Global Awareness that we are all part of an interconnected world community. IPM promotes global awareness through the Immersion Experience Programs and outreach activities.
• Personalization where projects work in direct partnership with donors and other stakeholders.
• Facilitation of work across borders of faith, culture, and economic privilege. IPM’s work includes technical assistance and training, funding, project replication, and much more.

On behalf of the entire IPM community of Project Partners, Donors, Board and Advisory Council Members, Staff and Friends, we thank you for your interest in International Partners in Mission.