ICCM Update

Motto

Brief update on ICCM. Back in January I shared that the GraceDC Institute was a church-based entity dedicated to equipping current and future Christian leaders for cross-cultural ministry. I want to share with you this morning our motto. We needed to get at a message that would indicate the problem and challenge, particularly in evangelical spaces, when it comes to the ministry of reconciliation across lines of division. It message would also offer hope.

“Equipping churches with the competence and confidence to welcome others as Christ welcomes us.”

When we find this call to welcome others in Scripture it’s an active call. It’s a call to pursue others. And it’s regularly given in the context of conflict because of differences. The last part of the motto comes directly from …

Churches find themselves lacking competence and confidence to do this.

Mission

So, our mission in living out this motto is to embody a pastoral approach. Not that everyone involved in the Institute is going to be a pastor, but our approach will be pastoral. That is, we will be coming alongside churches for an extended period of time as we help them develop intercultural competency.

There are a number of good conferences on cross-cultural ministry, reconciliation and justice ministry. When you attend those conferences, you get an unbelievable amount of good information and fellowship. But there’s a gap between the conference experience and what to do on the ground in your local ministry.

This pastoral approach has some elements to it.

We’re pursuing formation, not simply education.We’re pursuing gospel sanctification. We’re pressing the primacy of the local church. We’re pressing the primacy of prayer over human power and human opponents.

Means

How are we going to do this?

We are a good way through our first year, and the goal of the first year is to develop a strategic plan that’s going to layout our approach.

This includes assessing the needs in detail through research (externally, internally)

This includes determining how we’re going to market the Institute (Phillip Holmes)

This includes developing our curriculum (Anna Rozzo).

This includes fundraising (externally, internally).

Pray for us.