Missions

Applications below [here]

What is Missions?

God’s purpose is to make Himself known, and to achieve this purpose, God sends certain people. Those whom God sends are often called missionaries. Missionaries are people sent by God to be God’s messengers, witnesses and spokesmen. Missions, simply put, is bringing the Gospel of Jesus Christ to those who don’t know Him as their Lord and Savior. It knows no limits in territory, people, places, or methods used to reach those who are lost.

Missions at IBC

Outreach & Missions

The IBC Mission Council endeavors to honor the Great Commission by organizing efforts at IBC in the following manner:

The Council oversees both “Outreach” and “Missions”.

While not trying to get too technical, if our efforts are intended to invite people to join an existing church, then the Mission Council defines that as Outreach; if, on the other hand, the goal is to plant a church, then that falls under our definition of Missions. Our church budget has funding categories for both Outreach and Missions. Outreach is typically a local, Clallam County effort—Christmas House and CEF are examples of Outreach.

So what’s the difference between “Home Missions” and “Foreign Missions”?

Home Missions are efforts within the North American continent, while Foreign Missions are efforts outside the North American continent. IBC funds go to both Home and Foreign Missions. Acts 1:8 gives us the responsibility to focus from local all the way to the remotest parts of the Earth.

Missions Priorities

So does “anything go” or are there priorities for how the IBC Missions Council allocates our funds?

Yes, we give the highest priority to efforts aimed at the 10-40 Window and within that Unreached people, a second-level priority to efforts aimed at Least-reached people and then a lower priority to Under-served people. Unreached people have essentially no culturally accessible witness of Christ. Least-reached people may have a culturally accessible witness of Christ, but lack a self-sustaining church. Under-served people are groups out of the mainstream that justify a unique effort of some type; examples of under-served people may be foreigners living our midst or people groups historically isolated from the Gospel.

What is the 10-40 Window?

The 10-40 Window is an area of the world that contains the largest population of non-Christians in the world. The area extends from 10 degrees to 40 degrees north of the equator, and stretches from North Africa across to China. It includes 2/3 of the world’s population and the majority of the world’s Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists. It is home to some of the largest unreached people groups in the world.

This is an area in which IBC has historical ties: The Monte Olivios Conference Center in Spain, the Liberian Conference Center, and COTN.

Why is there such an emphasis on unreached people groups? The priority is drawn from the following Scriptures…

Revelation 7:9 – After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb…

Romans 15:20 – And thus I aspired to preach the gospel, not where Christ was already named…

What does this mean to our current missionaries?

Nothing changes—We will continue to support all of our missionaries regardless of where they live, work and type of mission they have. If a missionary’s status (marital, family, retirement, death of a spouse, for example), work or project (they are asked to leave a closed country for example) changes, then we will evaluate their level of support in light of these changes.

What does this mean for future missionaries?

We will continue support a variety of missions projects with financial priority given to those works which support our missions priorities.

What does this mean for IBC?

We will use short-term projects help long-term commitments and goals. Priority is given to projects and trips that help our missionaries working in the 10-40 window.  We will continue the support of construction and training at the Liberian Conference center. We are planning short-term trips to Spain to help with construction now and other projects later.  We want to develop new missionaries sent out by IBC that can help existing works or start new works in the 10-40 Window. And we will continue to support other efforts that fall within our missions priorities.

Is there anything else to know?

Yes, one more thing, the Missions Council also supports works of mercy, like the Haiti medical team. These endeavors are intended to express the general providential care of God. These works of mercy represent scripture mandates such as Matthew 25:34–40.

What Can I Do?

While the call to be a part of God’s missional journey is non-negotiable, there is flexibility in the path that can be followed. Consider the following…

Missionary — Go and do. Consider joining a short-term team to explore the idea of foreign missions.

Business as Missions — Using business development as an access point to a community for the purpose of economic and spiritual development. Frequently it is welcomed even by developing nations that are traditionally closed to the gospel. Also known as “tentmaking.”

Mobilizer / Advocate — A missions mobilizer is a Christian who not only wants to get involved in evangelism and missions work but who wants to get other people involved as well.

Prayer — J.O. Fraser said: “I am feeling more and more that it is after all just the prayer of God’s people that call down blessing upon the work, whether they are directly engaged in it or not. Paul may plant and Apollos water, but it is God who gives the increase, and this increase can be brought down from heaven by believing prayer whether offered in China or in England…If this is so, then Christians at home can do as much for foreign missions as those actually on the field.”

Resourcer / Giving — Sharing your financial resources with a missionary or missions organization. It also can involve being a financial advocate for a missionary and helping find more financial supporters.

Trainer — Teaching others about missions or mentor a new missionary or someone thinking about missions.

Welcomer — Each year more than half a million international students enroll in American universities. These students represent the coming generation of world leaders. Yet few are ever welcomed into an American home, and even fewer ever attend a church.

Exploring Foreign Missions

What should I do if I want to explore the idea of foreign missions in particular?

The best thing to start with is to contact someone on the IBC Missions Council or a pastor on staff. We agree with the principle that is reflected in Acts 1:8; the pattern is that you engage locally, then regionally, then internationally. The IBC missions policy has been developed to establish a list of “best practices” to guide someone in exploring this idea.

Summer Missions Projects

What if I’m thinking about going on a summer missions project?

Please contact someone on the Missions Council or a pastor on staff. The IBC missions policy outlines the steps to pursue this. If financial support will be part of your need we do have guidelines in a missions policy as to how we approve and promote the project. We have a few projects that we’d like to ask you to consider that will assist in some of IBC’s long-term commitments.

Missions Funding

How do missionaries acquire the financial means to go about their efforts? Three ways…

Team Supported: This is where friends and associates pledge money to the missionary. (This has traditionally been referred to as ‘faith supported’ but really all missionaries have faith for their financial needs.)

Self-Supporting: This is where the missionary has a job or a government grant that provides most of the funding to undertake the work. This often is called “tentmaking missions” because the Apostle Paul made tents to underwrite a portion of his ministry.

Hybrid: Sometimes a mix of funding streams are necessary to create the greatest impact in the work; “business as mission” (BAM) would be an example of this.

IBC Missionaries

You can learn more about IBC’s missionaries and make donations to them online.

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