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PEER Servants was founded in 1988 as Christian Technical Support (CTS) by Dick Cummings, Jacqueline van Tol, and Mary Ann Strzepek. Dick was in New England Rehabilitation Hospital recovering from a neurological tumor – Jacqueline and Mary Ann were two of his physical therapists. Dick, a new believer at the time, enjoyed the sessions with his two Christian therapists as they would discuss what it meant to follow Christ. He also read about the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh and was convinced such an organization could be established with a Christian foundation that was committed to serving the poor in the name of Christ. |
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| Todd Engelsen was the first volunteer recruited by the founders, and together they researched what micro-enterprise development (MED) was all about and how it could be applied to Mexico City. What was needed was a partner, and after some months of contacting prospective partners, Carol Baitinger from Latin America Mission’s Christ for the City program in Mexico City called. In 1991, La Buena Semilla (The Good Seed), the first of the PEER Servants’ MED partnerships was established. |
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| In 2004, CTS had grown to 12 partnerships and almost 100 volunteers. It decided to change its name to PEER Servants, where “PEER” was a word that described how they partnered with organizations around the world and was an acronym for “Partnerships for Economic Empowerment and Renewal”. “Servants” described their role both as servants of Christ and the role of serving the global church. |
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| Key dates in the history of CTS/PEER Servants are as follows: |
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