Our History
Bawtry Hall is owned and managed by Action Partners Corporation (Company No. 00094558 Charity No. 225364), formerly Sudan United Mission Corporation (Incorporated in 1907).
Sudan United Mission Corporation was formed to send missionaries to sub-Saharan Africa. In 1988 the organisation took a new name – ‘Action Partners’, to better describe its new vision for partnership ministries with indigenous churches. In 1990 a new charity was registered as Action Partners Ministries to continue the overseas work while Action Partners Corporation continued to own and be responsible for Bawtry Hall as the operational base. It was also a centre for training for Action Partners and other Missions, thus developing as a Centre for Mission. In 2009 Action Partners Ministries joined Pioneers International changing its name to Pioneers U.K .
Today in a world very different from that in 1907, both Action Partners Corporation and Pioneers UK are pursuing their different global mission goals.
Action Partners Corporation now exists to advance the Christian faith by:
- Providing education and training facilities
- Providing hospitality and conference facilities
- Developing the church’s role in mission both at home and overseas
Background
The Sudan United Mission Corporation (SUM) was founded by Dr Karl Kumm in 1904. Dr Kumm was a young German doctor with a real passion to tell people about the message of Jesus Christ. Initially with just three English pioneers, Dr. Ambrose H. Bateman, Mr. John G. Burt and Rev. John Lowry Maxwell, Dr Kumm set sail for Nigeria to establish a church and provide education and medical work. The SUM began a series of survey trips through the vast regions of North Central Africa, the primary goal was to establish a chain of churches across the continent. In spite of intense hardship and sometimes persecution, the Christian faith spread in remarkable ways and the Church of Christ In Nigeria (COCIN) was brought into being.
By 1985, SUM had moved from “pioneering” to “partnership” with COCIN. With this new emphasis on partnership, and by working with indigenous churches and agencies, “Action Partners – Christians Reaching the World” was born.
In 1988 Action Partners (SUM) began to look for a new headquarters and training base for its’ multi-cultural teams. The purchase of Bawtry Hall, a 100 room mansion house which had been empty for 4 years was a huge step of faith. The building had been ruthlessly adapted to serve as HQ for No. 1 Group, Bomber Command during and after WWII. There was only one shower among the numerous male toilets, many ceilings were ruined by leaking roofs, the decoration and the grounds totally neglected.
As the Council of Action Partners (SUM) sat on borrowed chairs, with the grass a metre high outside, they were challenged by the words of King David, from the old testament of the Bible “This palatial structure is not for man but for the Lord God” and he added “the house for the Lord should be of great magnificence and splendour in the sight of all nations” [The Bible: 1 Chronicles 29:1; 22:5]
Today the work of Action Partners continues to grow and flourish through the development of strategic relationships that support the growth of Bawtry Hall. The vision of Action Partners is to see Bawtry Hall operate as a significant Kingdom facility that powerfully connects both local and global mission.
