We are an alliance of evangelical believers joined together in local churches and committed to fulfilling the Great Commission given by our Lord Jesus Christ. That commission clearly instructs us to “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you” (Mt 18:19-20, NIV).

We are Christian because we believe in and follow Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, and we are missionary because we are committed to going into all the world to reach lost people with the good news of Jesus Christ.

While Simpson was reluctant to establish churches—preferring to unite Christians who had a vision to evangelize the world but who remained in their local churches—the Christ-centered emphasis in teaching on holiness and healing, and the priority on missions, made many members of the Alliance unwelcome in their own churches and denominations. This—coupled with the effective evangelistic outreach of Alliance members in reaching many unchurched and socially outcast souls who were not welcome in the more established churches—caused them to form groups that for years were called “branches,” not churches. By the mid-1970s, it became clear that the Alliance was a denomination in all but name, so, with revised bylaws and constitution, that reality was formalized in 1974.

Anyone who has ever been involved in overseas missions, for example, has probably at least heard of the C&MA, because we are one of the premier missionary-sending movements in the world. Now that’s quite a claim to make, especially when one compares our total number of missionaries to those serving in several other missions-oriented denominations. In the latter part of the twentieth century, for example, Southern Baptists had 4077 foreign missionaries, while both the Assemblies of God and the Conservative Baptists also supported more missionaries than the C&MA, which at that same time supported 1,180 full-time foreign missionaries.

On the face of it, when one looks at it in these terms, it looks like we are way behind. So how can it be true to say that we are one of the premier missionary-sending movements in the world?

The answer is found when one compares the ratio of North American church members to foreign missionaries supported. In a study reported by Patrick Johnstone in his 1987 book, Operation World, the following statistics were given: The Southern Baptist church had one missionary for every 670 members, while the Conservative Baptists had one missionary for every 300 members. By comparison, the C&MA ratio at the time of the study was one missionary for every 125 members.

Moreover, our commitment to giving in support of missions, and our commitment to seeing that the largest percentage of that money actually goes to what it was given for, also reflects our leadership in Christian missions. For example, the December 4th, 1995, cover story of the U.S. News and World Report listed the C&MA among the “50 Favorite American Charities.” The Alliance was number seven in the religious category. In the overall ranking of program ratio (i.e., percentage of administrative costs compared to actual funding of programs), the C&MA ranked fifth among the 50 charities, with 92.6 percent. By comparison, Focus on the Family’s program ratio was 85.2 percent, Campus Crusade’s was 85.3 percent, and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association was 86.6 percent.

This independent report reinforces several realities about our ministry focus and integrity. First, it shows that we work hard at keeping overhead low, turning as many dollars as possible into ministry. Second, it shows that we are diligent in managing our finances in an ethical and open manner. Our internal accounting standards are actually higher than those required by the Evangelical Council on Financial Accountability (ECFA), of which we are a member.

This fiscal integrity goes all the way back to the days of our founder, Dr. A.B. Simpson, who had as key colleagues several leading businessmen in New York City. One such individual was “Honest David Crear,” the movement’s first treasurer. Crear was the connected to the building of the New York Life and the Metropolitan Insurance buildings, and was given the title “Honest” by the business world in recognition of his integrity.

Perhaps the most important message drawn from the U.S. News and World Report ranking is the fact that Alliance people know how to give. When asked to give for the work of world evangelization and church planting, we respond! In the words of Dr. David Hasselgrave, professor emeritus of Missions at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, “To be sure, the Alliance does not stand alone; but it does stand out.” The C&MA is known around the world for its quite, yet effective work of world-evangelization.

Another reason why the C&MA is not well known in this part of the country is because the Alliance is a movement that began in the northeast and primarily moved westward along a northern corridor. In states like New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, C&MA churches are as common and familiar as Southern Baptist churches are in Texas. States like Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, the Dakotas, and Montana have also seen a rapid expansion of the Alliance’s work.

Moreover, because our focus has primarily been oversees missions and church planting, this is where most of our attention has been directed, and where our largest constituency exists (church growth statistics from 2001 show that inclusive membership in the C&MA overseas is 2,854,932, while inclusive membership here in the USA is 381,677). For many years it was felt that America already had a strong witness for Christ, so the greatest need was overseas. When a good evangelical witness was already present in sufficient numbers in a particular area here at home, the Alliance would look to plant its churches elsewhere. More recently, however, the moral and spiritual decline of our own country has resulted in a renewed focus on our mission at home as well.

Finally, those not familiar with the work of the Alliance overseas are probably at least familiar with the names of the following individuals, whose influence has reached far beyond the C&MA:

• A.W. Tozer was an Alliance pastor whose influential writings continue to be widely read al-most forty years after his death.
  
  
• R.G. LeTourneau rose to prominence in the competitive world of manufacturing and construction, especially with his conceptualization and creation of most of the large earth-moving machinery used during WWII. His combination of enterprise and Christian commitment led to his sponsoring many works involving missions and education, including Le-Tourneau University, a Christian liberal arts and technical school in Longview, Texas. A millionaire many times over, LeTourneau is perhaps most famously known for having tithed 90% of his income while living off the remaining 10%.
  
  
• A.B. Simpson is a name many Pentecostals and Charismatics are familiar with, even though they do not know of him as the founder of the Alliance. Those who know their roots are often familiar with his writings and consider him one of their early thinkers, even though Simpson rejected the contention that tongues is the necessary, initial sign of the filling (or baptism) of the Holy Spirit.
  
  
• Finally, a more contemporary C&MA name that many are familiar with is Ravi Zacharias, who’s preaching and apologetical writings have been widely heralded as among the best of the best.