History of WGM
June 1910
Rev. and Mrs. Cecil and Ellen Troxel and Rev. and Mrs. Woodford and Harriet Taylor became World Gospel Mission’s first missionaries. They ministered alongside two national Christians in China with the Missionary Department of the National Association for the Promotion of Holiness under the Christian Holiness Association.
November 1910
Mrs. Beatrice “Mother” Beezley was chosen as the Missionary Department’s secretary of the China Bureau.
1913
The first Prayer Band, Mother Band, was organized in Chicago on July 10. It met six hours each Friday to pray for missions.
1919
Call to Prayer was first published by Mrs. Beezley as a bimonthly magazine.
1920
The China Field reported 15 missionaries, 50 Chinese workers, and hundreds of Chinese Christians working to win souls for the Lord.
1925
Homeland headquarters moved into a room in the Chicago Evangelistic Institute in Illinois.
1926
The Mission separated from CHA and became incorporated in Illinois as The Missionary Society of the National Association for the Promotion of Holiness.
1937
The organization’s name was changed to the National Holiness Missionary Society.
1952
Headquarters moved to Marion, Indiana, in the former YMCA building, donated by Marion businessman Merlin J. Loew.
1954
The Mission’s name was officially changed to World Gospel Mission.
1957
Men With Vision was founded as an outreach of WGM.
1963
Six young people served on the mission field, starting the Summer Career Corps. This outreach later became known as the Volunteers In Action program.
1967
WGM reported work on 16 fields, including China, Kenya, India, Burundi, Honduras, Bolivia, Mexico, Japan, the American Indian Field, Taiwan, Lebanon, Peniel Missions, Egypt, Haiti, the Texas-Mexico border, and Brazil.
1975
Headquarters moved from downtown Marion, Indiana, to the present George R. Warner Missionary Center east of town.
1982
Prayer Lifeline began as a phone-in taped recording of praise and prayer items for the week.
1996
WGM goes live with wgm.org, its official website.
2009
Call to Prayer became The Call, a resource encouraging readers to become missions active wherever they are. The magazine later became a quarterly publication.
2010
WGM celebrated its 100th anniversary during International Celebration of Missions in Marion, Indiana. Partnering with local churches and Indiana Wesleyan University, WGM commemorated the past 100 years of doing God’s work together. An estimated 1,000 people, representing 19 different countries, attended the milestone event.
Present
WGM's mission is to engage Christlike disciples to transform the world. Click here for a map of WGM's locations.
