Friends in Action, Intl. was birthed from a need to support missionaries and their efforts in remote locations. Since 1942, New Tribes Mission (NTM, now known as Ethnos 360) has commissioned and supported missionaries across the globe. In 1991, Jerry Smyth and five other men associated with NTM saw an ever-increasing need for construction projects to assist missionaries in areas lacking infrastructure. With NTM’s input, FRIENDS of NTM was created as a separate corporation and subsidiary of NTM in 1992. The name changed to Friends in Action International in April of 2000.