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HISTORY
The roots of the Fellowship of Interserve lie back in 1852 when two ladies from Great Britain heard about the need of the women in India. They founded the Zenana Bible and Medical Missionary Fellowship, which worked among the women in the women’s quarters (Zenanas). The work grew and extended to other women related ministries.
They founded and ran some of the first women's hospitals in India, the first blind school, orphanages and schools. In 1952 men were invited to join the Fellowship and the work moved beyond the borders of India. Consequently the name was changed to Bible and Medical Missionary Fellowship. In follo
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wing years the area of ministry widened to include the Arab world, North Africa and further to the East of India. New sending countries joined the Fellowship and in the light of changing circumstances the name was changed in 1987 to “International Service Fellowship”, in short Interserve. Nowadays more than 800 Partners of different national offices serve Christ in wholistic ministry in countries of Asia and the Arab World.
Interserve-Europe is an Entity, established in 2001, which is linked to all the existing national Councils in Europe, namely England and Wales, Scotland, Ireland, the Netherlands and Switzerland.
Professionals in mission
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Interserve employees generally work in their profession. Excellent professional and social skills go hand in hand with much personal commitment to serve the underprivileged in the name and spirit of Christ. Interserve works mainly in countries of difficult access where living conditions are harsh, places that the rest of the world has more or less written off. Daily life is often hard without much comfort; it is sometimes dangerous and can be very frustrating. People working in such places need much prayer support so that they can live out the message of hope in the far-flung corners of the world. News of what God is doing in the forgotten places is exciting and encouraging. Interserve partners are seconded to existing government, church or other organisations. They are often members of an umbrella organisation in the country of assignment. Partners usually get involved in locally grown structures and support these until the people are able to take on responsibility for the work themselves and provide qualifiedly good services. Thus, Interserve and its partners provide a back-up for indigenous Christians enabling and encouraging them to create and develop their own structures rather than forming their own projects and churches.
Work among ethnic minorities in Europe
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For hundreds of years the church of Western Europe has been sending missionaries to other parts of the world including Asia and the Arab World; Currently, increasing numbers of Asians and Arabic people are coming to live and stay in Europe; however they receive only a limited exposure to the Gospel there, because the Christian witness of many churches is weak or lacking in effectiveness. The form and method of outreach used often does not appeal to these “ethnic” minorities. Interserve’s ministry among ethnic minorities seeks to help churches to connect with people from the Asian and Arabic World.
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