We are the network of national conferences of the Brethren in Christ Church. Established in 2006, our goal is to facilitate communication, build trust and cooperation within our global community, and to establish common and mutual understanding through our set of core values.
We wish to be the common voice for the international BIC community in speaking to issues of shared interest. We believe our role is to provide support and fellowship among international BIC church leaders.
We hope that in fulfilling such duties, we can better address areas of mutual concern and facilitate discussion of contentious issues surrounding our lives. By fostering world wide connections and acting as a global medium, we want to develop leadership of emerging church leaders and spread our knowledge. We wish to identify issues, create discussion and research and consider appropriate action.
Values
Anabaptism
The theological roots of the Brethren in Christ Church reach back to the Protestant Reformation. At that time, reformers called Anabaptists stressed the importance of a personal responsibility toward one’s baptism (believer’s baptism), as well as the importance of discipleship, and obedience, the separation of church and state, the practice of non-resistance, and the necessity of community.
This Anabaptist strain within our church’s “theological DNA” shows itself most particularly in our emphases on the community of faith, to serving compassionately, to living simply, and to pursuing peace.
Pietism
We Brethren in Christ draw a portion of our identity from certain German believers who, in the seventeenth century, rejected the overly intellectualized expression of the Christian faith that had become popular within certain segments of the church. The Pietists stressed the importance of genuine conversion and a warm, personal experience of renewed life in Christ.
This awakening experience swept through Europe and on to America. For Brethren in Christ, the Christian faith is a relationship with God that is to be enjoyed with the heart, even as it is affirmed with the head.
Wesleyanism
We Brethren in Christ have also been deeply influenced by the teachings of the eighteenth-century British scholar and preacher, John Wesley. The Wesleyan movement in America – also known as the Holiness movement – emphasizes conversion as a conscious acceptance of God, the empowerment of the Holy Spirit, and daily growth in holiness.
Brethren in Christ value the free gift of salvation in Christ Jesus and the transforming power of the Holy Spirit and we are unashamed in sharing the Good News of the Gospel with others.
Members
Thuma Hamukang’andu
Zambia
Bijoy Roul
India
Todd Lester
Canada
Alan Robinson
United States
Danisa Ndlovu
Zimbabwe
Jose Otamendi
Venezuela
Questions
How is IBICA funded?
- Each international church upon joining us is requested to provide the equivalent amount of 1% of total congregational contributions towards it national budget
- We also require support from many individuals or congregations donors from across the BIC church family.
How can I contribute?
- In the USA: send cheques payable to “IBICA” ℅ BIC US offices, P.O. Box A, Grantham PA 17027
- In Canada: send cheques payable to “IBICA” ℅ BIC Canada-Global, 2700 Bristol Circle Oakville ON L6H 6E1