East-West Ministries began because two men couldn’t resist the call of Christ’s great mission . . . go into the world and multiply His disciples. East-West Founders John Maisel and Bud Toole spent the 1980s traveling secretly behind the Iron Curtain. During this time, the two men trained 4,000 to 5,000 students underground through Biblical Education by Extension (BEE). Communist governments soon collapsed—resulting in the fall of the Iron Curtain in the early 1990s. The 300 million people who had been taught the doctrines of atheism began to seek real answers . . . resulting in an incredible spiritual hunger. A new need arose—to train church planters and pastors in these nations characterized by restricted Christian activity during its 70 years of communism. John Maisel and Bud Toole recognized this need and responded.