Category Archives: bible study

International Student Ministry @ IBCB

We have an opportunity to strengthen our ministry to international students by partnering with Jennifer Barry (IFES Missionary) by hosting her as an international student missionary working through IBCB with SMD. We will be discussing and voting on this matter at our 8. March, Church Family Business Meeting.

Watch the video explanation (click on the image below).

Read about the opportunity profile and summary:

Three Ways You Can Connect w/ People @ IBCB

Call to Action: Take a step toward getting connected!

One of the things that’s true about International Baptist Church Berlin: we are a friendly church! Guests always give us high marks for friendliness. Our Connect Point, Hosts, and people do a great job of welcoming worshippers.

However, being a friendly church doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s easy to make friends. In fact, getting connected to others in meaningful, close relationships takes initiative and effort. While we want to make that as easy as possible, it still requires that you take steps to “get connected.” Here are three ways you can connect w/ people @ IBCB.

Stay for Coffee Time/Newcomers Brunch

When worship is over, don’t rush out. Take your time. Grab a cup of coffee and introduce yourself to someone. Stop by the Connect Point and meet one of our hosts. If you have kids, talk to the other parents and the volunteers. They aren’t too busy to talk with you.

Check out our bulletin/calendar to sign up and show up for our Newcomers Brunch. It’s a one-hour opportunity to get to know our church and other newcomers. We’ll have a chance to get to know you and let you know how you can take the next step to get connected like…

Join a Small Group

One of the best ways to “get connected” is to join a small group. It’s impossible to know everyone in our church; it’s tough to connect on a deeper level with people on Sunday. So, we have small groups that meet in homes throughout the week. You can try out an existing group, participate in our semi-annual Small Group Connect, or start your own small group.

Join a Ministry Team

There’s a place for you to make a difference and to get to know people at the same time. Join one of our many ministry teams. No matter what your stage in life you can get connected to a group of people that volunteer their time for a purpose. For example, the Hosts that welcome people to worship get to know a lot of people but also get to know one another on their team.

These are just three ways you can get to know people @ IBCB, but you have to take the first step. Click the following link and indicate your interest in joining a small group or a ministry team. We’ll have a leader get in touch with you. CLICK HERE

At IBCB we connect people to Jesus, one another, and God’s purpose in the world. Take a step toward “getting connected” and we’ll help you get connected to others.

Your Pastor,

Scott Corwin

Here’s What God Did! What’s God Going to Do?

CALL TO ACTION: Download “31 Days of Prayer” App and Pray

It’s 2020! Can you believe it?

This time of the year puts people in a reflective mood. At least it does for me. This week I spent a bit of time looking back on the last twelve months. There were some tough times, but there were a lot of good times. Here are just a few of my personal memories:

Scott Corwin, Pastor
  • Laurie left the classroom after 30 years of teaching. We’re enjoying more time with each other sharing life and ministry together.
  • Laurie and I vacationed with friends in Scotland exploring the beauty of that country while chasing down some of Laurie’s family heritage.
  • Our daughter, Katie, and her husband, Paul, moved back to Berlin after working in China for the past couple of years. We’re happy to have them in town.

I have wonderful memories of our experience together as a church family, too. All in all, it was a great year at IBCB. Here are a few things God did this past year:

  • Our Teen Ministry has matured and grown. We have two teenage groups that meet on Sundays and the ministry has started a new small group for the “Older Teens” [18-21].
  • Our Kids Ministry coordinated our first VBS in over a decade. The team mobilized our church to serve a great group of kids as we celebrated the good news of the gospel through our Athens themed lessons.
  • Our Marriage Ministry hosted another “The Significant Marriage” seminar with five multi-cultural couples and has plans for organizing two seminars in 2020.
  • Through your Missions Offering, we supported another two church starts among the world’s most unreached people in Baghdad, Iraq and Maghar, Israel. [We continue to be a generous church by giving away 16% of our receipts to further God’s Kingdom cause through our partners.]
  • We began our ReFresh 2020 process that will help us “refresh” our vision of God’s purpose and call on our life together as a church.

We have lots to be grateful for as we look back on 2019, but we also have lots to look forward to in 2020, especially as we continue our ReFresh process. God has a big dream for our church and we want to hear from him. That’s why we’re beginning the year with our “31 Days of Prayer” and Fasting. Here’s how you can join in:

  • Pray Daily: Download the “Pray for Your Church” app here: https://31dayprayerchallenge.org, or download the Kindle file here: PrayForYourChurch and pray daily for our church.
  • Pray Weekly: Join our prayer team as we gather every Friday night in January at our church facility to ask God to refocus our attention, renew our passion, and refresh our vision.

When I’m looking back on 2020 this time next year, I’m confident that we will be able to celebrate another year of all that God has done. He is faithful, and we, too, will be faithful to God’s presence and his purpose through our church.

God’s blessings on you and IBCB for this year,

Scott Corwin, Pastor

P.S. I’d love to hear your story. How did God grow you this past year? How did your life @ IBCB make a difference in your life? Hit reply and let me hear from you.

Be A Disciple, Make A Disciple: The Stages of Growth

“But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.”  2 Peter 3:18

God longs for us to GROW in GRACE and KNOWLEDGE of Jesus Christ.  This week we’ll explore “GROW.”  Next week, we’ll consider “GRACE” and “KNOWLEDGE.”

I’m not into growing plants, but I enjoy the benefit of living with someone who is. It’s great to watch the plants under the watchful eye and attentive care of a “gardener” naturally progress through the stages of growth.

I find it interesting that in the “sprouting” stage seeds have all the nutrients they need to germinate and begin growing.  When a seed becomes a “seedling” it spreads its root system to quickly absorb nutrients in order to grow into its “vegetative” stage where it produces stalks and foliage. Once the plant starts “budding” it begins its reproductive cycle resulting in “flowering” and “fruiting.”

Plants — quite naturally — given the right conditions and the right care will grow through all the stages of growth. The same is true for us as disciples following Jesus. We, too, will grow naturally and progress through all the stages of growth given the right conditions and care.

The Bible is clear that we begin our life of following Jesus as spiritual babies — “infants” — when we are “born again.”  With the “pure milk of the Word” infants become “children” who learn to feed themselves (i.e. read the Bible), talk (i.e. pray), and walk (i.e. obey in love). Eventually, the process of growth leads the disciple to become an “adult” who assumes responsibility not only for themselves but also for others. Finally, as God guides and provides adults become “parents” who reproduce infants and mentor children.

Here’s the point:  growth is a natural by-product of God’s activity in the life of a disciple.  There’s progress, movement, and development that is aided by the watchful attention of a disciple-maker.

  • At what stage are you in the process of disciple growth?
  • Are you stuck in a stage or are you moving towards maturity?
  • Have you seen “new births” as a result of you sharing your faith?
  • With whom are you spending time to mentor them in their disciple life?

Pray that God will give you the grace and knowledge that you need to grow as a disciple and disciple-maker.

Check out these stages, by looking through Sunday’s slides.  Be sure to check in next week to see the means by which God grows us.