Serve @ Sommerfest Sign Up
Leave a reply
Category Archives: bible study
The “N” in NCD (Natural Church Development)
NCD Results Guide
Pentecost and the Missions of Mission
Pentecost and missions go hand in glove! Jesus’ promise to send the Spirit after his ascension was one of power to be witnesses (See Acts 1:8) to the whole world beginning at home.This is the season of “missions” @ IBCB. This next week, I’ll be teaching for the first time our “Go on Mission” Class. In that class we will see how “missions” — being global disciple-makers — is an integral part of God’s mission — making disciple-making followers of Jesus Christ. Sign up for this inaugural teaching/training event.
We are reaching out to our local community in two ways this Spring/Summer — the Intercultural Festival (10 June) and our IBCB & Friends Street Festival (9 July). Once again, IBCB will be a part of the Steglitz Intercultural Festival by hosting a booth and presenting on stage (Foster’s Gospel Choir). [Jürgen Ferrary, Associate Pastor of Outreach and Evangelism, is a co-coordinator of this year’s event.] We will use this as an opportunity to invite people to IBCB’s International Day (19 June).
Together with the Nazerene Gemeinde and Power House Ministries, IBCB will be hosting a street festival on Rothenburgstr./Wrangelstr. complete with stage performances, children’s games, grill party, grafitti prayer wall, a Gospel Benefit Concert, and more. We will be prayer walking our community and inviting people to the street festival and an “open door, welcome-the-community” Sunday event on 10 July.
We have two missions trips this Summer — Hungary English/German Camp and Romania VBS. We’re praying and asking God to raise up six people to “go on mission” through “missions” by participating in these opportunities, and we’ll be asking you to partner (financially) to help support those who participate. Of course, all of us will pray.
Why are we so fixed on these things? Because that’s the mission God has given us as his church. Without missions the church is NOT the church. A church serious about following Jesus will continue the mission of Jesus, God’s mission for his people, the purpose of the Spirit’s power: being a witness to the gospel good news of the Kingdom of God — starting at home and taking it to the corners of the earth.
May God fill us with the power of his Holy Spirit so that we may be about the missions of mission!
Mobilizing Everyday Disciples
Pictured here are EuroLeaders from Portugal to Hungary, from Finland to Malta … with most countries in between!
This past weekend, I had the privilege of joining a group of like-minded Europeans committed to mobilizing everyday disciples to participate in church-to-church evangelistic partnerships in order to fulfill the Great Commission. The conference focuses on inspiring individuals, churches, and organizations to host multi-church projects in order to multiply the impact of their evangelistic efforts within the church and in their local communities.
Since 1973 this group has been coordinating international evangelistic partnership projects such as the Berlin Youth Project (2013), the Berlin-Holland Youth Exchange, the Hungary Language Camps, and soon the IBCB & Friends Street Festival. We anticipate two teams — one from Hungary and one from Finland — joining us on 9. July for our local street festival being coordinated by Jürgen Ferrary, IBCB Associate Pastor.
During the conference, I facilitated a focus group discussion on the opportunities and challenges of evangelism presented by refugees and marginalized people (i.e. minorities, trafficked people, et al). Many churches are responding to the needs of refugees on an individual/personal level as people find the church; some churches are reaching out to find refugees whom they can serve.
For more information on International Commission, check out their website: http://www.ic-world.org. To find out more about YOUR responsibility to “go on mission” sign up for our CORE Class #4 — Go on Mission (21. May).