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2700 West Johnston Ave
Hemet, CA 92545
(Between Sanderson
and Kirby)
Map this address
Don Peterson, Pastor
Chris Engel, Pastor of Student Ministries
office: (951) 658-5120
fax: (951) 766-4526
e-mail: ivbf@verizon.net
PHILOSOPHY OF MINISTRY
Our Mission
(What we hope to accomplish; the outcome we desire as a body)
Our Mission is to love the Lord and each other wholeheartedly. Then, we desire to deliberately reach out to the unchurched with the life-changing message of Jesus Christ. In this way we will replicate our first love for God and one another in others also.
Cp. Matthew 22:36-40 and Revelation 2:1-7, esp. vs. 4
Our Vision
(How we plan to fulfill this mission; our reason for existing as a body)
Our Vision is to develop a local church in the Inland Valley that will become a center for spiritual growth and will touch the world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
We will achieve this by growing...
- stronger through worship
- warmer through fellowship
- larger through evangelism
- deeper through discipleship
- happier through ministry
- healthier through missions.
Cp. Matthew 5:14-16, 9:35-38, 28:18-20, Acts 1:8 and Ephesians 3:14-21, 4:11-16
Our Style
(How we will worship)
We will intentionally worship in a traditional Christian manner with a sense of the present to make it bright, uplifting, and relevant for the Glory of God who is our audience.
Cp. John 4:21-24 and I Corinthians 10:31-33
Our Ministry Attitude
(How we will relate to one another)
We each belong to the same Lord as part of His Body, the Church, in an eternal bond. This union enables us to submit to one another, respect one another, affirm one another, be accountable to one another, pray for one another, forgive one another, bear the burdens of one another, and to place the needs of others and of the body ahead of our own.
Our ministry will be a team effort dependent upon the Holy Spirit. We desire that it be accomplished not only dutifully, but also joyfully and with fulfillment. We intend that our Christian service celebrate our diversity in Christ, but also appreciate our unity in Him. We propose to refresh one another as we serve Him together.
Cp. Ephesians, chapters 1-6
We believe that the people doing the ministry know best its nature and needs. We want to support and empower our ministry committees and their personnel in their service to God rather than to control or impede their work.
Cp. IVBF Operations Manual, page 3, Article II
Our Focus
(The people we aim to reach and serve)
Jesus purposed to reach the other sheep that He desired to become part of His Flock. He also commanded us to give our attention to those of other ethnic and geographic origins. He demonstrated this Himself as He ministered to Mary Magdalene, Zacchaeus, the Samaritan woman and many others in the New Testament. The Apostle Paul went first to Jews, then on to the Gentiles.
Cp. John 4, 10:1-18, Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 16:15,16, Luke 19:1-10, Acts 1:8 and Rev. 22:17
Following these models we resolve to reach out to the following groups:
- The prodigals who have lost fellowship with God and the church.
- The religious who have never developed a personal relationship with God.
- The irreligious who have not before had much interest in God and are unchurched.
To reach these we will:
- Instigate personal relationships with neighbors, co-workers, and others.
- Integrate Christ and our testimonies in our dealings with others.
- Invite others to church services and outreach events.
- Include others in our homes and lives for friendship and fellowship.
- Involve ourselves serving others as our spiritual giftedness enables.
- Invest our resources in missions to others ethnically and geographically.
This outward focus is essential if we are to do the will of God. However, that does not mean that we intend to neglect our ministry to those already in the church family. To the contrary, we covenant to accentuate ministries to believers making them higher in quality and deeper in content because we understand evangelism and discipleship to be a life-long process rather than an isolated event.
Our Fiscal Responsibility
(How we will fund our ministries)
We will support our ministries by voluntary, purposeful giving as an act of worship to God in response to our understanding of His vision and leading. No attempts to raise funds through coercion, manipulation, guilt or other such strategies will be tolerated. We will seek to be sensible, accountable, and good stewards of all of our God-given resources, individually and corporately. “A simple man believes anything, but a prudent man gives thought to his steps.”
Proverbs 14:15. Cp. Luke 6:38, I Corinthians 16:2 and II Corinthians, chapters 8 and 9
This philosophy of ministry was developed and adopted by the IVBF membership in a series of Town Meetings held from 1995 to 1997. We don’t expect each other to memorize these tenets. We’d rather they become a part of our lives and so communicate our Savior to others.
Maranatha!