International Baptist Church Brussels (IBC Brussels)

Mission

A mission is a statement is a concise statement that describes the purpose of an organization. We believe at IBC Brussels that the mission of the church universal is found in the Scriptures and applies equally well to our local church body. The mission of IBC Brussels is:

To encourage and equip the church to glorify God, through His Son Jesus Christ, the Head of the Church, in the power of the Holy Spirit. We do this obeying the words of Christ in the:

a) Great Commandment1 to love the Lord our God with all our hearts, soul and minds, and to love our neighbors as ourselves, and the

b) Great Commission2 of Jesus Christ to make disciples at home and around the world.

Core Values

Core values are those principles that guide an organization’s internal conduct and its external relations with the world. Again, we at IBC Brussels believe that the Scriptures give us significant guidance in terms of the core values that should characterize the church – the Body of Christ. Lacking any of these, the church is not faithful in modeling that which is presented in the Scriptures. The core values of IBC Brussels are:

a) Worship and Praying – being passionate about God, regularly communing with Him, serving Him and others as daily lifestyle, and joining together in biblical, corporate worship;

b) Learning – regular leading and being exposed to the expositional Bible preaching and teaching, making disciples of Jesus Christ, and training for Christian ministry;

c) Outreach – sowing seeds of the Gospel for biblical growth of the kingdom of God, supporting global mission, and planting of new churches;

d) Fellowship – becoming easier to connect, building loving community, and partnering with gospel churches.

Vision

Vision concerns how an organization will look in near future; for example five to ten years hence. In casting a vision for IBC Brussels we aim to prayerfully consider and communicate how we sense the Lord wants us to look and what we should be doing such that we are more effective in fulfilling our mission and living out our core values. This vision will be specific to our local body as it takes into consideration our current state, congregation, and the strategic environment we find ourselves in. The vision for IBC Brussels is based upon the four pillars of our core values elaborated below and will address specifics

1 Matthew 22:37-402 Matthew 28:18-20

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areas of focus to help us move collectively forward in unity, love and obedience toward these objectives. It will be necessary from time to time to reassess this vision in terms of the Lord’s leading.

a) Worship and Prayer – The vision of IBC Brussels is that our worship and prayer, in greater measure, reflect the following:

Our worship is a response to the awesome truth of the gospel through by which we receive new life in Christ and are reconciled to the God the Father.

Our worship is a value that encompasses all of life and is not compartmentalized. We follow Paul teaching by offering our entire bodies in worship as a living sacrifice. Our Sunday worship gatherings are the beginning, not the end, of our life as a worshiping

community such that we come together so that we might continue in worship throughout the week and in all of life.

Our worship is a matter not of style but of substance where the substance of our worship centers on Christ and the message of His gospel.

In worship, we declare the Word of truth in a way that is understandable to outsiders so they might know the truth and join in our praise.

We worship in spirit and truth with a worship that is filled with fear, awe, exuberance, joy and intimacy with God.

Our worship includes prayer, not only on Sunday, but also as a praying community throughout the week.

In order to realize this vision in terms of worship and prayer, with God’s grace, we seek to do the following:

b) Learning – The vision of IBC Brussels is that our learning, in greater measure, reflects the following:

Our learning is a life-long commitment to the teaching and learning of the Bible, the Word of God.

Our learning the Bible and of Christ is far more than just a transfer of information about God, but rather a real-life transformation by the grace of God into greater Christ-likeness.

Our learning is a matter of the mind, but it is also a matter of the heart and life. We are a “Word driven” community that is shaped and formed by the teaching of the Bible in

worldview, and also in very practical ways, and therefore continually teach the Bible in our children’s, youth and adult ministries, and from the pulpit.

Our learning is centered on the expositional or expository method of preaching and teaching. Our learning is not simply a ministry value, but also something that shapes our leadership –

Christ is the head of the church and He rules by His Word.

In order to realize this vision in terms of learning, with God’s grace, we seek to do the following:

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c) Outreach – The vision of IBC Brussels is that our outreach, in greater measure, reflects the following:

Our gospel outreach is an expression of Christian love for our neighbor. Our gospel outreach takes its form through affirmation of the love and truth of the gospel

demonstrated in the lives we lead and through proclamation of spoken word that communicates in love and truth the gospel message in clear terms.

While some are called as Evangelists and others to full-time missions, all disciples of Christ are faithfully participating in building the kingdom of God through gospel outreach.

Our outreach proceeds from us locally, regionally, nationally and globally as we are a people who facilitate, prioritize and maximize the kind of courageous gospel witness and lifestyle that will see many people come to faith in Jesus.

Our outreach is not dumbing down the message; it is culturally and missionally incarnating the message into a different era and culture.

We clearly understand and can communicate the gospel message, which can easily be remembered by God, Us, Jesus, Response

o God – made us to be in a relationship of loving obedience.o Us – we have all rebelled against God’s rule and therefore have received the just

punishment of death.o Jesus – but God, both just and loving, sent His Son Jesus to take the punishment we

deserved by dying in our place.o Response – if we accept Jesus’ death for us and trust in Him then we receive His life; if we

reject His death for us we stand condemned. Our outreach is a global matter, and we have God’s heart for the world, not merely our own

neighborhood.

In order to realize this vision in terms of outreach, with God’s grace, we seek to do the following:

d) Fellowship – The vision of IBC Brussels is that our fellowship, in greater measure, reflects the following:

Our fellowship is unity with Christ and therefore community with each other. Our fellowship results in sacrificial acts of care following the model of Christ who suffered and

died for our sake. Our fellowship is exemplified by integrated acts of shepherding, caring for one another and

unusual practical generosity for the support of the work of the gospel. Our fellowship is Christian love – a unique sign of the truth of the Christian gospel. Our fellowship embraces the risk of needing each other and being part of an interdependent

community. Our fellowship is costly and is expressed in personal, financial and relational generosity.

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Our fellowship is the great cure for the loneliness of our age such that we find many are attracted to our fellowship, and then drawn to Jesus, the center and heart of our community.

In order to realize this vision in terms of fellowship, with God’s grace, we seek to do the following:

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