Since 1970

helping victims of war, poverty, natural disasters, disease and famine

Our History

Bob Pierce founded Samaritan’s Purse in 1970. His mission for this organization was “to meet emergency needs in crisis areas through existing evangelical mission agencies and national churches.” After World War II, Bob Pierce traveled throughout Asia as an evangelist and journalist with Youth for Christ.

While on a university lecturing circuit in China, he stumbled across some courageous women who were living among lepers and orphans, sacrificing everything to share the love of Jesus Christ. Through their selfless love, God gave Pierce a vision for ministry. He dedicated himself to finding and supporting other such Christians who were caring for the poor and suffering in the distant corners of the world.

In the summer of 1973, Bob Pierce met his eventual successor, an adventurous young student named Franklin Graham with a growing heart for world missions. Intrigued by his many stories from the field, Franklin began to spend more and more time with the seasoned Christian statesman. In 1975, he accompanied Bob on a life-changing tour of some of the world’s neediest mission fields. God has blessed the organization under Franklin’s leadership, and the ministry has seen explosive growth.