Irving Bible Church
About
Who We Are
IBC is on a journey committed to growing in Christ, connecting in community and joining the mission.
Welcome to Irving Bible Church. We are an independent, nondenominational church with a 40-year history located near I-635 and Beltline. Of course, those are just technical details. Your natural question is, "just who are you and what are you really about, anyway?"
Why are we here?
IBC is on a journey committed to growing in Christ, connecting in community and joining the mission. This commitment comes from Jesus' words in the Great Commandment & Great Commission.
Great Commandment: "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Jesus replied: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all y our soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." (Matthew 22:36-39)
Great Commission: Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." (Matthew 28:18-20)
How Do We Do This?
Growing in Christ
At the heart of the journey is the gospel of Jesus Christ, the story of the Son of God coming into our dark world to bring light, life, hope and transformation. The journey begins when we trust Christ, but it doesn't end there. God's desire for each of us is for our hearts and lives to become more like the one who has saved us. (Ephesians 4:11-13)
Connecting in Community
The gospel story draws us into the community whose lives have been transformed by Jesus. This journey is not one we undertake alone. We are designed to do life together as a community of Christ-followers. It is essential that we walk with one another on the journey. (John 13:34-35)
Joining the Mission
The gospel tells us that one day God will take all that is broken in this world and make it whole. Those of us who are on the journey together are called to be people who do what we can to make glimpses of that day show up in our day. We do this by telling the gospel story and demonstrating gospel-shaped love to a needy world. (Matthew 28:18-20)
Our Culture
Churches, just like people, have unique personalities or, perhaps a better word, cultures. This is why two churches located next door to each other and with identical belief statements can still be so different from one another. And this is a good thing for where would we be if all churches felt and acted the same?
So, just what is the culture or ethos of Irving Bible Church? Well, the best way to find out is to come and see. But for those who want a preview we will take a shot at describing it using adjectives that we hear often from people experiencing IBC.
- Forgiving/grace-extending: People make mistakes, people blow it and people do wrong. This is true of folks who come to IBC and of those of us who have been in the church for years. It is the human condition. Fortunately God deals with our failings through pure grace providing forgiveness and redemption to us freely and undeserved. We believe that we need to treat each other as God has treated us. This core value of forgiveness and grace really forms the base for IBC culture. It allows us to be genuine, relaxed, energetic and free.
- Genuine/real: We do not feel it is necessary to act like we have it more together than we do. Besides, it is counterproductive to do so. After all, open and genuine people can grow. People wearing masks can only hide.
- Relaxed/free: Christ came to set us free. Free from our sin, free from arbitrary, man-made forms of righteousness and free, through love, to pursue Christ and his ways. It is this freedom that gives followers of Jesus a unique perspective and the basis to live in joy.
- Energetic/engaging: We believe that Christ has called us to action and therefore you will find people at IBC enthusiastically involved in all kinds of service in the name of Jesus.
About Us
What We Do
Every church is unique in the ways it approaches worship and how it spends its time and money. The IBC Sunday experience is largely aligned with the seasons of the Church calendar year and their respective liturgical Scriptures—Advent, Christmas, Lent, Easter, and Ordinary Time. IBC is not all about rites and rituals but about a thriving relationship with God, one that is enriched by interweaving ancient faith practices with contemporary style. But IBC is not primarily a Sunday experience. From drilling clean water wells in Africa to supporting the Kutchi people in India to providing Reading Buddies to local elementary schools, IBCers take the strength gleaned from their worship times and apply it in very practical ways. Here’s more about
what we do.
How We Worship
No matter your background or personality, everyone has specific ideas of what it means to worship God. The IBC worship experience has been evolving over the years through different styles and practices to what it has become today. We believe the heart of the worshiper yearning to connect with God is the most important factor in an effective approach — beyond specific forms or formalities. Here’s a little more about that.
Serving Others
Serving others is a key element of joining the mission at IBC. Whether across the street or around the world, IBCers find ways to meet the needs of individuals and communities. For 10 years, IBC has been a committed partner of the Kutchi people of India, providing missionaries and resources to bring help and hope to this unreached people group. Among other domestic and local efforts, SchoolWorks is IBC’s initiative to provide Lunch Buddies and Reading Buddies for kids in the Irving ISD and surrounding ISDs
Church Events
Whether it’s the Easter Eggsperience or the Pentecost Festival, IBCers like to eat, play, dance, laugh and enjoy each other as we celebrate special holidays and events in the life of the church. The most important events at IBC center around Easter (Holy Week activities, Eggsperience, Easter Sunday), Pentecost Sunday, Back to School events (August/September), and Advent celebrations and events. Check out the pictures on these pages for a taste of the spirit and personality of events at IBC.
Getting Together
The common church term “small groups” has a lot of weight — or a lot of baggage, depending on your background. At IBC we recognize the value of providing groups where people can connect with one another on a deeper level. Here’s an article from Chatter (April 2011) introducing IBC’s small group pastor, Ryan Sanders.
The Season of Epiphany
