“God is moving at IBCB and as we move forward, we must have a strong, faithful prayer base.” Pastor Scott

Are you one of the 10% of Christians with a ministry of prayer?  You know who you are — a person that loves to intercede for certain concerns over prolonged periods of time, and in the process have experience how God actually answers prayer!  If so, you need to be a part of IBCB’s prayer ministry.

Starting in January, Pastor Scott with the help of Andrei Dinu is restarting a Pastor’s Prayer Partners Ministry.  Here’s what is expected of you:

• Weekly:  Pray for our pastors, leaders, and church on your assigned day
• Monthly: Join the Sunday morning prayer group to prayer walk our facility
• Quarterly: Participate in at least one 1st Friday Prayer Night
• Bi-Annually:  Attend the Prayer Breakfast & Day of Prayer Retreat

Please, contact the church office for more information, sign up at the Connect Point to attend the kick-off, orientation Prayer Breakfast meeting on 15 Jan. 2017 at 10:30 h.

“And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward.” Matthew 10:42 (NIV)

Here’s where you can “spend less” and help a person in need this Christmas.  If every adult in worship gives 20€, IBC Berlin could provide water for 33 people for an entire year!

https://my.charitywater.org/international-baptist-church-berlin/ibc-berlin-advent-conspiracy-2016

Thanks for your generosity and making a difference.

Bruce & Mary Boeckel are on their way to Berlin!  What began five years ago with „2nd Service, 2nd Pastor, 2nd Church“ dream is now becoming a reality.

On 10th November, this new missionary couple will be joining IBCB as part our vision to birth a new congregation/church in the Prenzlauer Berg area of Berlin.  Many IBCBers will become a part of a „launch team“ to assist Bruce & Mary as they prepare to plant a new English-speaking international church — New Hope International Church — among the 40K English-speakers on the other side of Berlin.

Pray for Bruce & Mary as they arrive and get settled in Berlin.  Ask God to provide permanent housing and a smooth transition to life in Berlin.

And praise the Lord that he is using us!

IBCB Mobilizing and Multiplying Disciple-Making Disciples!

After much prayer and discussion, we will discontinue our 15:00 h 2nd Service in favor of focusing on a ministry of equipping, training, and teaching.

In 2011, I led our church to consider prayerfully a vision of 2nd Service, 2nd Pastor, and 2nd Church.  At the time, we had lots of momentum as a church in attendance and activity.  People were uncomfortably crowded in worship and guests had a hard time finding a place to sit.  All signs pointed to these important next steps for us as a church.

After much discussion and after hiring Jürgen to help — 2nd Pastor — we launched the 2nd Service in the Spring of 2014.  Immediately, we saw new people coming to IBCB who had never come to our church before people; however, the service did not have what we knew we would need in order for it to suceed.

Momentum:  Over the period of time from 2011 to 2014 we lost lots of energy and lost our focus.  I did not do an efficient job of casting the vision nor facilitating the decision of starting the 2nd Service at the appropriate time.  In my opinion, we delayed the decision for way too long and our window of maximum opportunity passed us by.

Participants:  According to Win Arn’s “How to Start a Second Service” the success of a 2nd Service is directly affected by a critical mass of at least 50 participants committed to attending the service.  While we had a few faithful families dedicated to the 2nd service, I did not do an effective job of recruiting and convincing IBCBers to make this a part of our mission together.

So, in light of our current needs and in consultation with the leaders and pastor colleagues, I’ve recommended and we’ve decided to re-purpose the 15:00 h on Sunday to strengthening the EQUIPPING and TEACHING ministry of our church.  I’m looking forward to seeing how we can use this time to TRAIN and INSTRUCT people in the disciple-life and SUPPORT those who are in ministry through COACHING and COUNSELING.

Soon, you’ll see opportunities for you to attend ONE-SESSION lessons on subjects such as “How We Got Our Bible,”  “Managing My Finances in a Godly Manner,” and more … SHORT-TERM studies on subjects such as “Peacemaking,” “Emotionally Healthy Spirituality,” “Christianity Explored/Alpha”, and more.

If you have questions about our decision or if you want to suggest a topic of study, please, let me know.

I’m excited to see how God is going to use this to help us “multiply and mobilize disciple-making followers of Jesus Christ.”

Scott Corwin, Lead Pastor