Missions Mobilization: Prayer, Participation, Partnership

Dec 7, 2018

A mobilized church is a church devoted to missions! As a means of supporting our mission of “multiplying and mobilizing disciple-making churches” the Building Connections Missions Team want to challenge you and your church to connect with the IBC, IBC churches, and/or like-minded organizations to be mobilized for missions.

IBC Partnership Opportunities

Children’s VBS and Autumn Bible School, Olaine, Latvia – Send a team of children’s workers to support our EBF Mission Partnership missionary, Oskars Lusis, in his church plant near Riga. Each summer and autumn during their school holidays they reach out to families in their community through these events. Contact person – Scott Corwin (connections@ibc-churches.org).

Young Adult Camp, Izmir, Turkey – Send a team of young adults (as many as 10) to join this annual event hosted by the Alliance of Baptist Churches in Turkey. They have requested that we provide one or two speakers, worship instrumentalists, fellowship game hosts, and participants to enjoy the fellowship of learning and supporting their young adult leadership team. Contact person — Justin Hendricks (jnh.eic@gmail.com).

IBC Church Projects

Volunteer Trip to Lesbos, Greece, Serving at the Refugee Camp – The refugee camp in Lesbos is a crisis area where you will see individuals, families and children living in extremely challenging conditions. Your team will work with a Greek Christian NGO — our on-the-ground partner organization – doing a variety of practical, hands-on, servant tasks, such as:

Welcoming newly arrived refugees, serving them food and water, and providing them with a hygiene kit, blanket and a set of clothes;
Setting up tents or even cleaning toilets and picking up rubbish from the grounds
Sorting clothes and other goods at the warehouse;
Supporting any special events such as concerts, or crafts sessions for women.

The work is not glamorous. You will be there to serve (6 days per week, 8 hours per day). You will work alongside a wonderful team of people who have the same heart to serve those in need. For more information, see all4aid.org. Contact Person: Rodrigo Assis da Silva, Multination Church (Bethel), Frankfurt, (rodrigo.assis.br@gmail.com)

Moldova Mission Firewood Project – For the past five years, Aviano Baptist Church (ABC) has been helping to bring firewood and the love of Christ through our Moldova Mission Firewood Project. You, too, can be a part of this project that ministers to some of Europe’s poorest people through this simple but powerful way of meeting a very practical need – firewood for winter heating. How can you or your church get involved?

Pray — Pray for the people of Moldova and the team that ABC sends each year.
Partner — Give financially to support the project in Crihana Veche. By God’s grace, the 25,000€ need has been met every year. Perhaps your church could sponsor the work of the Chrihan Veche Baptist Church foster home for orphans whose operating budget requires 500€ per month.
Participate — Pray about your church joining the ABC team that delivers firewood, and basic food items and shares the gospel through home visits, children & youth ministry activity, and evangelical services. Take your own team and extend the work to another village.

For more information about how to do any of these or if your church would like to start a similar work in another village, please, contact us. Contact Person: Barry Cole, Aviano Baptist Church, (pastor@avianobaptist.church).

Other Opportunities

Youth Missions Project: 9-14 March – Receive a team of 6-10 teenagers and their sponsors from First Baptist Church McKinney, Texas, for a week of evangelistic outreach. We are looking for six to eight IBC churches in Europe to host a sub-group of the 60-70 teenagers who are trained and equipped to do creative evangelism (homes, schools, youth outreach, community). Contact person – Scott Corwin (connections@ibc-churches.org).

Missions Port Elizabeth, South Africa (open) – Send a team of 6-10 adults to work with Bruce and Shirley Davie (formerly of IBC Zürich) on a pilot project of what they hope to become an annual event designed to strengthen their network of churches and their home and school for orphans. Contact person – Scott Corwin (connections@ibc-churches.org).

Hungary English Bible Camps 2019 – Send a team to partner with a Hungarian Baptist church or Baptist school to teach English using the Bible and Christian lessons to children and/or teenagers in a week-long English Bible Camp. Choose which week – 21-30 June, 28 June-7 July, 5-14 July – and you will be paired with a church and/or school. For more information, visit www.hungarycamps.com. Contact person – Janice Byrd (thebyrds@hungarymissions.com).

Receive a Team of University Students — Samuel Sims, who is with South Carolina Baptist College Ministry, wants to bring a group of up to 10 university students to Germany in June 2019 for 3-4 weeks of ministry in Germany. Contact person – Scott Corwin (connections@ibc-churches.org).

Jim Erwin, Executive Director of International Baptist Church Ministries, has a vision of connecting IBCM member churches with IBC churches that have short-term missions needs. Do you have a short-term missions need – church retreat, VBS, or evangelistic outreach? If so, we want to help connect you with a church that has a heart for supporting IBC churches. Contact person – Scott Corwin (connections@ibc-churches.org).