Start Here · The Whole Work

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ENDS does one work wherever it takes root: we train, we send, we multiply. We have done this among the nations, in Thailand and India, alongside partner ministries whose own leaders lead the work. Now we are seeking to do it here at home, in rural America, as well. Here is the whole of it in seven short parts.

At a GlanceSeven Parts, One Work.

Read it straight through, or go to the part you came for. Each part ends with the page to read next, and new words are explained as they come up and in the glossary.

01MissionWhy we train, send and multiply, and the story behind it.
02StrategyThe hub model: a church that trains leaders and sends them.
03CurriculumSeventeen modules in four phases.
04TrainingPastors, elders and groups of believers.
05ChurchesSmall, sustainable, and each one its own church.
06NetworkChurches that choose to work together.
07GlobalThailand, India, and now here at home.

01 · MissionTrain, Send, Multiply.

Our mission statement says it in full: ENDS exists to take the gospel to the ends of the earth by training, equipping and sending locally rooted shepherds who make disciples, multiply healthy churches, and prepare others to do the same — among the nations and in rural communities here at home. Put simply, we train, we send, we multiply.

ENDS stands for Equipping Nationals and Discipling Shepherds, and also for the Ends of the Earth Initiative, from Acts 1:8.

We train

Training forms pastors, elders and groups of believers in character, Scripture, doctrine and the care of people (Ephesians 4:11–16).

We send

Under the Holy Spirit, local churches send. A sending church prepares people, sends them out and keeps caring for them, as the church in Antioch sent Barnabas and Saul at the Spirit's word (Acts 13:1–3).

We multiply

Disciple-making, one believer helping another follow Jesus, grows into disciples who make disciples and new churches with elders of their own (Matthew 28:19–20; 2 Timothy 2:2; Acts 14:21–23).

Why We Are Doing This

James Bell, who founded ENDS, tells it this way:

Eleven years as a pastor in church revitalization have given me a great deal to be thankful for. The church and I have seen God do great things.

Those years have also shown me how we have built. Much of the model has been “come and see”: build the church, offer good programs, and invite people to come and attend. The same few teachers have taught year after year, and the believers we have formed are faithful, but we have rarely shown them how to make disciples themselves. I have helped build that pattern.

The goal isn't attendance. It's disciples who make disciples, and churches that plant churches.

James Bell · Founder

Across America, the need is wide:

More churches closing than opening. About 4,000 Protestant churches closed in 2024 and about 3,800 opened (Lifeway Research, 2026).
A thin leadership pipeline, the line of younger leaders being prepared to follow today's pastors. In 2022, about a quarter of Protestant senior pastors hoped to retire within seven years, and about three in four said mature young Christians who want to be pastors are getting harder to find (Barna Group, 2023).
Rural pastors carrying the load. In 2025, about 53 percent of rural Protestant pastors agreed they often feel their congregation looks to them to do most of the church's work, and about 60 percent named developing lay leaders as a current challenge (Lifeway Research, 2025).

These are estimates and pastors' own reports, and no national figure describes every town.

In Thailand, James has seen another pattern. He serves on the advisory board of the Servant Leadership Ministry Foundation (SLMIF) and teaches in its Servant Leadership Academy. Its Frontline Mission finds leaders already serving among their own people, trains them, releases them and keeps resourcing them where they are. SLMIF sums it up as “Find. Train. Release.” Of those leaders it says, “We don't recruit them to leave; we resource them to stay” (SLMIF, accessed October 2026). We are seeking to follow that pattern here at home.

02 · StrategyThe Hub Model.

A hub is a healthy local church, or a trusted partner ministry serving the churches, that trains leaders and helps churches send them.

Train
The hub trains pastors, elders and groups, and looks carefully, over time, at anyone who may lead.
Send
After listening to a community and its pastors, a hub church may send a church planter, a pastor sent to start a new church. A planting team, or core team, goes with him as its first members.
Plant
The new church is small, sustainable and low in overhead, led by trained elders who live in the community.
Network
Churches choose to work together for training and care.
Multiply
In time, mature churches become hubs and train others.

This is a ministry pathway. It promises no rate of growth, and no step runs on a fixed schedule.

03 · CurriculumOne Curriculum, Four Phases.

ENDS has written one curriculum to train shepherds: seventeen modules on a 24-month design.

Foundations
Modules 1–4: the story of God, the gospel, calling and character, and the shepherd's disciplines.
Word and Doctrine
Modules 5–8: hearing and teaching Scripture, and core doctrine.
Shepherd and Church
Modules 9–13: planting, shepherding, worship, suffering and the pastor's household.
Multiplication
Modules 14–17: training trainers, evangelism, networks and sending.

It is Draft v0.1, awaiting theological review and not yet piloted. Every module can be read on the site; Module 14, Training Trainers, is a good place to begin.

04 · TrainingPastors, Elders and Groups.

One curriculum is written for all three.

Pastors

The full seventeen-module pathway.

Elders

A proposed pathway of about 18 to 24 months, adjustable to work and family.

Groups

A proposed core pathway for every believer, from the same modules.

Those who may lead would add two steps. Assessment is a careful look, over time, at character, calling, doctrine and household. Residency is a season of serving under experienced pastors. No ENDS cohort, a group who train together, has formed yet, and no course makes anyone a pastor.

In keeping with James Bell's Baptist convictions, the office of elder, also called pastor or overseer, is held by qualified men (1 Timothy 3:1–7; Titus 1:5–9), recognized by each congregation under Christ. The same training would equip women and men across the church to disciple newer believers, teach children, care for the grieving and open their homes.

05 · ChurchesEach One Its Own Church.

Each church we hope to plant will be its own church, with its own name, elders and decisions, and its own members: baptized believers who profess faith in Christ. None will be a campus or carry the ENDS name or the hub's. We have chosen this for small towns, and we honor the many churches that serve faithfully through campuses.

In rural America, most of the churches we hope to plant would begin in a home, and some in a storefront or a rented room; none is required, and no family has to host. Many pastors may be bivocational or covocational, holding another job by necessity or by calling. They need shared leadership, rest and fair pay where possible, and their households must never become unpaid staff. Full-time support remains a good option, and lower overhead never means weaker teaching or less care.

Many towns already have faithful churches. Sometimes the wiser work is to revitalize one, renewing an established congregation's life and mission, or to replant one, helping a dwindling church begin again.

06 · NetworkTogether by Choice.

An established church may choose to join a network for training, care, accountability and shared mission. The network has no authority over a church's life; each church governs itself under Christ. In 1749 the Philadelphia Baptist Association described its churches the same way: independent, and joined by their own free consent (Philadelphia Baptist Association, 1749).

After a planter is sent, coaching would continue: regular time with an experienced pastor who prays, listens and helps with hard decisions. Some churches would train many leaders, others would send one family, and each is faithful. Today this network of churches is a hope we are praying toward.

07 · GlobalSent Abroad and at Home.

The work is one, and it takes root in many places. In Thailand, SLMIF, founded by Rev. Dr. Yupho Mathusonsawan, now also lists an online USA–Canada cohort of its Academy for 2026–27 (SLMIF, accessed October 2026). In India, Mission Impact India, led by David Livingstone, reports a network of about 250 national pastors. Both lead their own work, and ENDS stands with them and learns from them.

Now we are seeking to do the same work here at home, like a missionary sent both abroad and at home, with one calling in both places (Acts 1:8). We hope to plant a church in rural America that grows into a hub, and we are praying for its leaders and for the sending churches that will stand with it.

Where It StandsBeing Honest About Our Stage.

What is in place, and what is not yet

Training. ENDS's own curriculum has not yet been taught, and the elder and group pathways are proposals. SLMIF's Academy belongs to SLMIF.
The hub and new churches. We are seeking to plant a church that grows into a hub. No hub, town, church or date has been named, no church has been planted through ENDS, and no gifts are sought for this work.
Giving and governance. Online giving is not yet open, and ENDS has not yet funded any pastor. ENDS is pursuing 501(c)(3) recognition and has not received it, so gifts should not be represented as tax-deductible. A board and financial oversight are still being established.

The accountability page lays this out in full, and the FAQ answers common questions.

Take a StepWhere You Might Fit.

None of these asks for a decision today. James Bell is the contact for every conversation, and writing creates no enrollment, ordination, placement or promise of support.