Our goal is simple, but not easy: to prepare missionaries who persevere.
Over the past several decades, the missions community has faced a sobering reality. Over half of those who begin long-term missionary service leave the field within their first two years. The reasons are complex, including language frustration, cultural fatigue, team conflict, family strain, and unmet expectations, but the pattern is consistent.
At the same time, we have seen something very different among those who train at Radius International. Approximately 9 out of 10 of Radius graduates remain on the field long-term, continuing in church planting work among unreached peoples years after they leave our campus.
That contrast is not because Radius students are unusually gifted or naturally resilient. It is because preparation matters.
Radius exists to help men and women enter the field with eyes open, skills developed, expectations shaped, and convictions tested, so that when the inevitable pressures come, they are equipped to endure.
What Radius Is
A rigorous training program for long-term faithfulness
Radius provides intensive preparation for cross-cultural church planting. Our training emphasizes language and cultural fluency for gospel clarity, teamwork, navigating high-stress marriage and parenting, linguistics, business for missions, and the foundations of healthy, reproducing churches. The rigor is intentional. We are preparing people not merely to start well, but to stay.
Located in Mexico for real-world application
Radius is based in Mexico so students can practice what they are learning in a genuine cross-cultural context. Language learning, relationships, daily life, and ministry all take place outside the classroom. Students do not simply study cross-cultural life—they live it, every day.
A long-term network of care and accountability
Radius is not a one-year transaction. Students become part of a community of teammates, staff, and mentors who care deeply about their long-term faithfulness. We help students think carefully about next steps with their church, identify appropriate sending agencies, and continue to walk with them long after graduation.
What Radius Is Not
Radius is not a sending agency
We do not send missionaries. We believe the local church bears the primary responsibility for discerning, affirming, and sending its members. During the program, a variety of sending agencies visit campus, giving students the opportunity to evaluate different structures, philosophies, and methodologies with discernment.
Radius is not a Bible school or seminary
We value theological education deeply, but our role is different. Radius exists to fill the cracks—to provide specialized, cross-cultural church planting preparation that traditional degree programs are not designed to offer. For those seeking a degree program that includes a year at Radius, we have developed partnerships with select institutions.
Radius is not only academic instruction
Training at Radius is holistic and formative. There are mandatory morning workouts, shared chores, and daily life within the local Mexican community. These rhythms intentionally press students beyond comfort and self-reliance, cultivating endurance, humility, and adaptability—qualities essential for life among the unreached.
Why Radius Exists
Radius exists because:
- The gospel deserves to be communicated with clarity and depth
- Unreached peoples need servants who are prepared to stay
- Churches deserve partners who take the sending task seriously
- Long-term faithfulness requires more than good intentions
- Our Lord is worthy of careful, costly obedience
Radius may not be the right path for everyone. But for those pursuing long-term church planting among unreached language groups, we believe preparation is neither a nice-to-have nor optional; it is responsible stewardship toward the church, the nations, and the Savior we serve.
