THREE REGIONS
Throughout our history, the BIC has developed relationships with brothers and sisters in three major regions of the world: central and south Africa, southeast Asia, and Central America. These partnerships exist in regions where there are also national BIC churches.
THREE AREAS OF PARTNERSHIP
Our global team focuses its work in three areas: Relief and Development, Church Planting and Evangelism, and Leadership Resourcing.
It is the vision of the global team that every church in our denomination would be engaged in international partnerships. The global team provides the essential infrastructure so that the local church can focus on the fundraising and relationship building with their international partnership.
Relief and Development
Relief and development includes a variety of projects such as wells and clean water, health services, humanitarian aid, and education initiatives. The BIC has a history of investing in education initiatives in southeast Asia. In fact, our only child sponsorship program is an education initiative called the Nepal PEACE Project. For more information about the Nepal PEACE project, please visit the website.
Church Planting and Evangelism
Church planting and evangelism involves partnering with national churches to fund church planting pastors and construction initiatives.
Leadership Resourcing
Leadership resourcing includes projects and funding to equip pastors to carry out their work in their local context. This may include funding for leadership training, student scholarships, tuition support, and youth camps.
A CASE STUDY
In Canada, Wainfleet BIC church and Westheights BIC church joined with the BIC Church of Nicaragua, contributing more than $75,000 towards their vision of building a national ministry centre near the country’s capital city of Managua. This facility can provide a place to hold their AGM, training events, a Bible school, national youth and women’s conferences, and a space where the local BIC church can meet. The Nicaraguan leadership team have prayerfully and patiently overseen the construction to completion with dormitories now nearing completion due to the generous support of The Meeting House.
The cooperation and generosity provided the financial investments that helped lay the foundation of steel and concrete, making the footings that will support the pillars, walls, and roof. All this had to be done before the first block could be laid. The BIC of Nicaragua also gave sacrificially to this project and sent church members to work there for days at a time as volunteers. This ministry centre has provided a great space for the area local church to minister to more people.
It is a wonderful story of how our Canadian BIC churches are partnering with our brothers and sisters in other parts of the world. It is a picture of the hope we have for all of our churches as we live out the anabaptist vision of following Jesus and follow the Great Commission Jesus left for his church.