Merge FAQs

No. We are committed to strengthening our historic Missions’ emphases on both Africa and the Arab world. We will continue to mobilise and train people for Arab world ministry and will continue to pursue special partnerships with African and Afro-Diaspora churches and organisations to help mobilise Global South Christians for ministry in the UK and around the world. Alongside this, our passion and ability to mobilise to the whole world will continue to grow to match our new increased capacity.

Both Pioneers UK and AWM-Pioneers placed a very high value on relationship – with our supporters, our missionaries and our missionaries’ sending churches. As Pioneers UK & Ireland we will not only continue to support our 140+ missionaries around the world, but our support of them will be even more robust. Our staff team has doubled in number, meaning that our finance team, our mobilisation team and our member care team will have significantly increased capacity to support each of our missionaries, wherever they are.

Members on the field won’t notice much of a difference! Finances will still reach them as normal, ministry projects will still be funded and supported, and the field structure will stay the same. Members will benefit from a combined member care team, meaning even more support available from the sending office. As one Pioneers mobilisation gateway, we are now blessed to support 144 adult members and 94 children throughout 5 continents of the world. What a privilege to be involved in such a breadth of mission work!

On merging, our staff team doubled in number. The personnel from both office teams has stayed the same, albeit with some shifting and fine-tuning of roles and responsibilities. We are now 42 staff (including part-time as well as full-time staff), making us one of the largest sending agencies in the UK. That comes with incredible possibility and responsibility, and we’re working hard to streamline our work to make the most of this doubled capacity.

AWM-Pioneers was founded in 1881 by George and Jane Pearse as the Mission to the Kabyles, sharing the gospel in Algeria. The ministry quickly expanded its focus beyond just Berber people and Algeria to become the North Africa Mission (NAM). To expand the reach of sending efforts, several international offices were established. In 1987, in response to growing work in the Middle East, NAM became Arab World Ministries (AWM). From its earliest days, innovative approaches were used, including medical ministry, businesses, radio broadcasts, satellite TV, and theological correspondence courses. In more recent times, internet ministry has been a significant area of innovation. In 2011 AWM joined the Pioneers family, with the UK office retaining a focus on the Arab world, becoming AWM-Pioneers.

No one has been taken over. SUM/Action Partners joined the Pioneers global family 17 years ago and, to reflect this, legally changed the name of the Mission to ‘Pioneers UK Ministries’. AWM joined the Pioneers family 13 years ago and, similarly, became AWM-Pioneers. [Note. The two Missions remained as two autonomous UK-registered mission Societies even though they had joined the global 'family' or fellowship of Pioneers.] For some years, the intention has been that these two sister Pioneers Gateways in the UK would, at some point, join into one Gateway. After many years of prayer and waiting on the Lord, we became a new legally merged entity, as well as a single Pioneers mobilisation Gateway – Pioneers UK & Ireland – on 1 July 2024. The charitable objectives of both Pioneers UK and AWM-Pioneers have been retained for the new organisation.

The partnership between Pioneers UK and AWM-Pioneers is not new. Our founders were closely related and our two Mission societies had both begun in response to the need for the gospel in North Africa. We have been working side-by-side in mission for over 120 years.

As two UK-registered societies who were also, independently, part of the global fellowship of Pioneers, joining our efforts as a single Pioneers organisation in the UK was a next logical step in our relationship, and has now come as the result of listening to the Lord’s guidance in prayer and scripture. The Lord impressed Isaiah 43:19 and Luke 5:1-11 on the hearts of the two directors during a season of focussed prayer in the summer of 2020. Since then, we have sought to follow the Lord’s guidance toward unity, resulting in bringing the two historic Mission societies into one single legal entity in July 2024.

As such, we can fully combine our joined efforts to fulfil not only the historic Objects of both former Missions, but also operate as a single mobilisation gateway for Pioneers here in the UK and Ireland.

In the Great Commission, Jesus called all Christians to be involved in cross-cultural mission. If your specific calling is to support mission financially, you are a vital part of our team. To us, you’re not just a donor – you’re a partner and a member of our community. As such, you can be certain that your financial support will continue to go exactly where you have indicated that it should go. As our internal systems and processes adapt to handle the combined supporter base of partners, a few details might change, but your money will always go where you have directed it to go and we will be available to walk with you through any changes that may arise.

No. Our bank details will not change for the foreseeable future. There is no need to change your standing order or direct debit. All donations will continue to be processed as normal.

Your missionary will continue receiving your support as normal. Our banking details will not be changing and all systems will continue working as usual.

Our gift aid details will remain the same and online payments will still be processed as normal. As such, you may continue giving in your usual way without interruption.

You do not need to make a new gift aid declaration at this time.

You may continue making out cheques to Pioneers UK Ministries and posting them to us at PO Box 1553, Doncaster DN1 9RQ as normal.

When leaving a legacy to a charity in your Will, the legacy will follow the charity via the charity number. If the charity number changes, the legal process will ensure that the legacy is directed to the correct place via the new charity number. An executor can also track a historical trust via the Charity Commission website. You may prefer to change the charity name anyway and then you simply sign and date the amendment.

In the event that our bank details or payment processes change, we will let you know via email and/or post to the address we have on file. Please contact us if your contact details such as your name or email address or postal address change.

In February 2025, we intend to launch a new look to celebrate this landmark change. Over time, our publications will shift to reflect our new reality, while still providing the information, inspiration and relationship you expect.

For 2025, we will keep our publications the same, so you’ll continue to receive both print and digital communications as normal. Over time, our publications will need to shift to reflect our new reality, but our commitment to providing high-quality publications and newsletters will not change. In the meantime, you will also have the opportunity to subscribe to our Arab world focussed publications as well as continuing to enjoy our globally-focussed offerings.

We shared the news of our legal merger with our staff teams first, then with our serving missionary members and retirees, and then with supporters and churches connected to us directly. We will share more information in our main supporter magazines this November (LINK for AWM-Pioneers supporters) and December (Reach for Pioneers UK supporters). The story of how the Lord spoke through Scripture and circumstances to lead both directors to seek this common vision for one sending office will be shared in both LINK and Reach and will hopefully encourage our supporters and all who receive the magazines. Please let us know at hello@pioneers-uk.org if you’d like us to send you a copy of Reach, if you do not normally receive it.

Our contact details will not change. As we expand to serve more members and mobilise more people to the harvest, we don’t want to lose our relational approach – so do please keep in touch with the same contact details that you have been using.

You may continue to connect with us in the usual ways:
Online: www.pioneers-uk.org
Email: hello@pioneers-uk.org
Telephone: 01302 710 750
Post: PO Box 1553, Doncaster, DN1 9RQ

Thanks to modern technology, we are able to function as one office team with three physical offices and many staff working from home. Our physical offices are currently in Bawtry (South Yorkshire), Belfast and Loughborough. Our physical offices may move/merge at some point in the future, but we have no plans to move location at the present time.

All contact information will remain the same for the foreseeable future. You are invited to continue interacting with the same person or people you have been used to contacting. If anything changes in terms of personnel or contact information, you will be informed.