The Antioch international movement of churches is a network of evangelical churches headquartered in Waco, Texas founded in 1987 by the couple Jimmy and Laura Seibert. The movement is primarily focused on church planting and is non-denominational. The movement became well-known after two of its overseas missionaries, Dayna Curry and Heather Mercer, were imprisoned by the Taliban in Afghanistan for illegal missionary work, around the same time as the 9/11 attacks on the United States. Origins Jimmy Siebert was the college department pastor of Highland Baptist Church (HBC) in Waco Texas. The department grew large leading to the eventual formation as a separate church "Antioch Community Church" with the blessing of HBC. It was announced as a multiplication event in 1987. The movement's first discipleship school was held at Highland Baptist Church in Waco, Texas, led by Jimmy and Laura Seibert in 1987 while Jimmy was still working for HBC as the college pastor. The first World Mandate conference was hosted in Waco, Texas in 1988 and following the collapse of the Soviet union, they began their first international church plants in former Soviet Union states. Jimmy Seibert Jimmy Seibert is also the founder and senior pastor of Antioch Community Church in Waco, TX, and the president of Antioch Ministries International. Seibert graduated from Baylor University and a former member of the fraternity Kappa Omega Tau. The Seibert family currently live in Waco, Texas. Despite a complete lack of seminary school training, his story of founding the movement is found in his first book, "The Church Can Change the World," which has been revamped in the book "Passion and Purpose." Seibert also co-authored "The Three Loves" with Larry Kreider. Positions, beliefs, and practices Antioch Community Church in Waco has an official statement of faith available on their website. It is a non-denominational church. Robert Ewing strongly influenced the Antioch Movement as he was a mentor for Jimmy Seibert. Ewing was an independent non-denominational evangelist not associated with the Baptist Church nor traditions. Ewing used the term "New Testament Church" also heavily adopted by Siebert. All the churches of the movement have a distinct focus on the development of small group communities, called lifegroups or smallgroups (insipired from Acts 2:42-47). The Baylor Magazine describes the Antioch church in Waco in this way: “Antioch engages members in daily Bible study and prayer, carried out individually and in the church's 100-plus small groups