In 1981, after 30 years of ministry in Europe, Bill Bathman founded In Touch Mission International in Tempe, AZ with the help of his wife, Harriett.
Under their leadership, ITMI has established a reputation for integrity and effective ministry overseas.
Beginning in England as an evangelist, Bill was later called during the Communist years to minister to Christians behind the Iron Curtain.
Bill and Harriett did so from a mission base in Salzburg, Austria which provided convenient entry into the mission field of Eastern Europe.
In 1981, the Bathmans further expanded their ministry to include restricted access areas in Africa by founding In Touch Mission International (ITMI) in Tempe, Arizona.
The Bathmans realized the value of national workers through their previous contacts with pastors and Christians in Eastern Europe.
They began to work to assist these ministries in any way possible.
Some of the assistance provided to pastors in Eastern Europe included the purchase of vehicles, delivery of Bibles, medical equipment, supplies and services, raising awareness through radio programs, and by field visits of prayer, support and encouragement.
In 2006, In Touch Mission International celebrated 25 years of serving the persecuted and suffering Church in restricted access countries.
Founder and President of ITMI Bill Bathman briefly highlights achievements of each year to the present time:
1981
ITMI born in prayer, entrusted to God. Bibles to China, crusades in India, Europe and South Africa.
1982
Mission Conference in Canada. Bill’s heart-attack, ITMI organized by Harriett into a viable mission.
1983
Revival begins in Romania. Car purchased for pastor. Outreach to Poland. Mexican pastor’s support.
1984
Medical & mission ministry in Poland. Lenora Bathman commissioned and sent by ITMI to Austria.
1985
Harriett organized ITMI medical teams for Poland & Romania. ITMI sent 350-seater tent to Polish ministry.
1986
Delivery of hi-tech medical equipment for Romania (presented to local hospital by Christians).
1987
Pastor Support Program (PSP) for South Africa. Car purchased for Yugoslav pastor. ITMI ministry in Asia.
1988
PSP expanded in areas of Africa, Mexico & India. Added support for ministerial students & national missionaries.
1989
ITMI helped provide a new Baptist Church building in Yugoslavia. Provided cars for Mexico.
1990
Raised $20,000 USD for Romanian church building project. Took medical equipment for Bethesda Medical Clinic in Romania.
1991
Harriett organized ITMI’s first medical/surgical team to operate in Romanian hospitals.
1992
More Bibles and medical aid to Bulgaria. PSP fund increased for Romania. Purchased field vehicle for Frontline Fellowship.
1993
Harriett organized 26-member medical team for Romania.
Began orphanage project in Prilipet called “Casa Dorca.”
1994
ITMI sent an 18-wheeler truck of medical equipment for Bethesda Medical Clinic & $26,000 USD for Casa Dorca in Romania.
1995
1st book published by ITMI – Angola By The Back Door. Worked with JAF in “Wheels for Poland.”
1996
$1,000 USD for Bibles & Bikes in Malawi. 2nd Baptist Church in Poznan reclaimed (stolen by communists).
1997
ITMI purchased an ambulance for village in Yecora, Mexico. Refurbishing of Poznan 2nd Baptist Church continued.
1998
Polish Bible Translation project began under the direction of ITMI’s Dr. Piotr Zaremba.
1999
2nd book published by ITMI – Going Through…Even If The Door Is Closed.
20′ long shipping container full of medical supplies sent for Sudan relief.
2000
Blue Nile Project in Sudan. Hospital and churches bombed by Muslims in Western Equatoria.
2001
Bill made two missions trips into Sudan. Bill and Harriett moved to Cape Town, South Africa in October.
2002
5th Anniversary of Excellence Christian Academy (ECA) in Kabwe, ITMI’s first school project in Zambia.
2003
New 3-story wing on Casa Dorca Orphanage in Prilipet, Romania.
Bibles sent for ex-terrorists in South Africa.
2004
New Life Center and Bread of Life Ministries thrive under ITMI’s Richard & Brooke Nungesser.
2005
New classrooms for ECA in Zambia.
International College of Missions launched in Uganda.
2006
3rd book published by ITMI – How’d You Hurt Your Hand?
2007
New ITMI projects:
Moreson Children’s Haven in Cape Town, South Africa;
Samaritan Children’s Home, Zambia
Lusaka Bible College , Zambia.
2008
ITMI’s Polish Bible Translation project led by Dr. Piotr Zaremba published the first ever translation from Greek and Hebrew into the Polish language from within evangelical circles.
2009
Tim and Ashley Keller launch a new ministry to develop a complete Biblically based educational curriculum in Kabwe, Zambia.
Steve Evers taught the first lesson of the SALT discipleship material to about 20 residents of Mundri, Sudan under the shade of a mango tree.
The ITMI Board unanimously accepts Paul and Molly’s ministry as the first ITMI project in India.
2010
ITMI partner in Kampala, Uganda, Muhindo Kawede, and the International School of Missions celebrates its first graduates.
2011
Richard & Brooke Nungesser’s Bread of Life ministry in Poland celebrate 10 years of God’s special touch on damaged lives.
2012
ITMI’s Gerhard Le Roux relocates from Moreson farm just outside Capetown to Onseepkans to evangelize the lost and desperate souls in the Northern Cape of South Africa.
Steve Evers, Mark Burritt and Tim Keller joined John Jere in Lukulu West where they saw the digging of the first ever fresh water wells in that area.
2013
Tim and Ashley Keller organize the shipment of two containers full of Bibles, books, education materials, and discipleship tools to Zambia.
Adi and Ema Ban launched out into some deep water with the creation of a new preschool facility in Oradea that is geared to reach the unchurched.
Paul and Molly launch a new church plant with the help and encouragement of Harvest Bible Fellowship.
Piotr Zaremba completes translating the last remaining chapter of the Old Testament of the new Polish Bible.
2014
ITMI partner in South Sudan, Jahim Buli, delivered over 8200 lbs of maize flour, 3300 lbs of lentils and about 50 gallons of cooking oil for two destitute camps thanks to ITMI supporters.
ITMI partners Mark Parris and Charl van Wyk spearhead a ministry into a local squatter’s camp called Stonehill. They begin using their gifts to build small tin shacks.
ITMI partner, Andrew Gorski, reports 13 people gave their lives to Christ at a Gospel Joy Workshop in Kozieglowy, Poland.
2015
A ministry facility funded and erected in Stone Hill, consisting of three shipping containers in a U-shape with a covered courtyard. Outreaches and services can continue year-round.
Dr. Nick Gheorgita is promoted to glory and a scholarship fund set up in his honor.
ITMI’s Muhindo Kawede begins giving Portable Bible School sessions in remote villages between semesters at the International School of Missions in Uganda.
Onseepkans Kids’ Club is started when young boys vandalize a tractor at Onseepkans Mission, and their “probation” for their crime turns into a weekly meeting others in the town want to be part of.
2016
ITMI’s Dr. Piotr Zaremba took delivery of printed, published copies of his Polish Bible Translation.
Thirteen young men from Stone Hill dedicate their lives to Christ and form “Soldiers for Christ,” dedicated to protecting the oppressed and sharing Jesus.
ITMI celebrates our 35th Anniversary of keeping you in touch with faithful, nationals around the world.
ITMI’s Clean, Safe Water Project is re-launched in Zambia when Johan and Lesley Leach become partners. Five boreholes are dug in strategic villages in the Barotse Plains, where Johan trains local believers to cross the river and evangelize the isolated villages on the other side.
ITMI’s Bread of Life launches a new outreach in the city of Gniezno, the Day of New Chances.
ITMI’s Jahim Buli sees so many saved in South Sudan, he needs to plant a church in order to disciple them.
ITMI’s Muhindo Kawede returns from a Portable Bible School session to discover his ISM students have invited new believers won through door-to-door evangelism to meet for services on Sunday in the building that was constructed to be a piggery.
2017
ITMI Founder, Bill Bathman, passes into the arms of Jesus and goes “Completely now – In His Grip.”
Excellence Christian Academy in Zambia celebrates 20 years of providing quality, Biblical education to underprivileged children who would not otherwise get to go to school.
Five new children come to ITMI’s Casa Dorca Orphanage.
Steve Evers and Kent Reisenauer visit Uganda and South Sudan. One-hundred and twenty-five women in South Sudan were blown away by the revolutionary-to-them Biblical ideas presented by ITMI’s Vicky Waraka and Steve about godly finances.
By God’s grace, the guys narrowly escaped being arrested for recording video at Vicky’s house. By spring, ITMI supporters had helped Vicky build a bathroom and finish the home she shares with 5 orphaned girls.
ITMI supporters sponsored 47 audio Bibles: 5 in Arabic, 3 in Bemba, 3 in English, 3 Afrikaans, 3 Zulu, 10 Burmese, 10 Kannada, 10 Tamil.
Adi Ban and a team traveled to the war-torn Donbas region of Ukraine. Adi’s team encouraged the struggling and suffering throughout the region, demonstrated the love of God to 170 families with two-week care packages, installed a highly effective outreach tool for a persecuted church – a commercial water-filter – for a local church in a community plagued by contaminated water and rejoiced that 6 new believers came to faith!
ITMI’s Adi and Ema Ban’s discipleship ministry to 21 young families continued to yield fruit as those families establish their roots and begin participating in demonstrating the Good News to those suffering in nearby Ukraine.
The reach of Adi and Ema’s ministry to couples and families extended to five conferences with a total of about 405 participants in Romania, Poland and Spain.
Twenty-five women from Muslim families living in a slum in Bangalore, India, graduated from a 6 month tailoring training at Deepam Center. They were also taught they can know if they are saved, an assurance not offered by the Muslim faith.
Thirty-six children, mostly aged 3-5 were part of the Deepam preschool, where they learn about Jesus and are prepared for elementary school. Twelve were admitted and thriving in elementary schools.
Two-hundred children from the slum were part of summer programs and camps where they learned about the Lord through Bible stories, fun crafts and illustrations.
About 1000 pastors and believers in rural villages were trained by David to share Jesus and dialog effectively with Muslims.
ITMI’s Paul, Molly and their co-laborers in India cared for and shared Jesus weekly with around 725 children through educational programs. Their sports ministry continues to thrive, and Paul and Molly responded to a new call to reach a village of people labeled “untouchable.”
Paul equipped about 500 Indian pastors who may or may not have ever received support or training as they face persecution in rural places of this Hindu country.
With the help of supporters, ITMI’s Cindi Parris was able to purchase an electronic technology-based school-in-a-box kit and launch a tutoring center in Stone Hill, South Africa – an informal settlement with a staggering drop-out rate, making K-12 curriculum available to 52 learners in their original languages and drastically improving their odds for graduating.
While 52 are registered, about 15 show up consistently. One 11th grader’s work improved so drastically that his teacher actually accused him of cheating!
Also in Stone Hill, with a medical clinic seeing 16-35 patients a day, an Early Childhood Development Center employing 5 women from the community, multiple weekly outreaches at the community center, sports outreaches for youth, three weekly Bible studies, Sunday services attended by 60-80 youth and a soup kitchen that runs 3 times a week feeding about 100 each time, the investments supporters made in past years continued to accrue dividends in 2018.
New believers came to Christ, pledged their allegiance to His Lordship and continued to grow in dedication to Him.
In Poland, ITMI’s Dr. Piotr Zaremba and his team of translators had been pushing hard through 2017, and were excited to realize the publication of two digital editions of the literal translation of the Bible from its original languages into Polish before the first half of the year was gone!
Piotr’s team completed the massive job of laying out this par excellence Study Bible, unparalleled by anything Poland has ever seen, for print in 2018.
As Piotr’s Bible made its way into the hands of Polish communities all over the world, Bread of Life continued their mission of enabling Poles to put into action what their countrymen could now read. Seven thousand Polish families or individuals participated in caring for the suffering. The foundation expanded to an additional city, Radom, Poland.
In Zambia, we celebrated the digging of 6 new wells, giving about 400+ people access to clean, safe water in tandem with Johan Leach’s trained Zambian evangelists explaining that the Lord has a free gift for them.
Timothy Keller made his annual evangelism and discipleship visits to around 20 remote villages in Eastern Province, made multiple trips to the village of Chongwe, while also teaching his Biblical Worldview Training course in four new police precincts.
2019
Five villages near the border of Communist Angola received clean, safe water from boreholes near their villages, and a waypoint was created for walking local evangelists to carry the Gospel into Angola. The Gospel was preached in these villages and regular discipleship visits continue.
ITMI’s Lazarus Yezinai presented the Gospel to 60 members of a gang in South Sudan and provided a way for Lazarus to train them with a skill so they can leave their gang lifestyle behind.
Celebrated 30 years of Piotr Zaremba’s ministry in Poland and a literal translation of the Bible from original language into Polish joined the first literary translation from Piotr’s team in printed publication.
Steve Evers and Mark Burritt attend the dedication of new restroom and bathroom facilities for a village of people considered “untouchable” in India, providing protection and dignity and opening the door for ITMI’s Paul and Molly to reach this village with the Gospel.