InFaith enables called and committed followers of Christ to serve with purpose and passion within our nation’s borders.
InFaith began as the nonsectarian Christian group called the First Day Society of Philadelphia in 1790, founded by William White, who was influenced by the Sunday School Movement in Britain (where children were educated through literacy efforts based on Biblical teaching on Sunday mornings, when they did not have to work). In 1817, the First Day Society became part of the Sunday and Adult School Union, and spent the next 150 years publishing Sunday school curriculum and other books.
William C. Blair was the organization's first full time missionary; until then, all staff were volunteers. In the course of one year, Blair established more than 50 Sunday schools, and revived many more.
In 1821, their name changed again, to the American Sunday School Union (or ASSU). With the support of prominent historical figures such as Francis Scott Key and Daniel Webster, the ASSU was able to establish Sunday schools in over 5,000 communities (an overwhelming majority of United States communities at the time), and as a direct result of these ministries, over 50,000 souls came to know the Lord!
Sunday school efforts continued through the 19th century and into the 20th, and in the 1920's, ASSU missionaries developed Vacation Bible Schools (VBS) and Bible camps (then known as conferences). Vacation Bible Schools and Bible camp ministries remain a vital part of InFaith's ministry, with over 200 InFaith camps and over 100 VBS's in operation today!
The organization's name was changed to the American Missionary Fellowship in 1974, recognizing that other ministries besides camps and children's ministries had become vital parts of the mission. In 2011, another name change took place, this time in order to hopefully draw new missionaries to the field, and the organization became known as InFaith.
InFaith ministries include Area Ministries, Camping, Bible Studies & Discipleship Ministries, Children's Ministries, Pastorates, Intercultural Ministries, Youth & Young Adult Ministries, Church Planting & Development, Chaplaincies, Urban Ministries, Nursing Home & Assisted Living Center Ministries, Prison Ministries, and Specialized Ministries.
You can learn more about InFaith by visiting their website, here.
