What fuels our mission?

Sep 1, 2022

- Tom Albinson

I love being part of the IAFR team! We recently all came together for our annual missionary conference - this year in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado.

I came away with a fresh sense of how our faith in Jesus Christ fuels our mission and unites us as a community. I'm so glad to be a part of a team that sees Christ in one another, even when we may not always be in agreement.

We share some deeply held convictions that fuel our mission and bind us together.

God is rescuing the world.

We believe God is rescuing all of creation, including us, from the curse of sin. A day is coming when the will of God will be done on earth as it is heaven. God invites us to partner with him in the restoration of all things.

So, we are people of hope, knowing that come what may, the kingdom of God will ultimately prevail. We look for signs of the kingdom around us.

God is pursuing relationship with us.

We believe God is pursuing relationship with us. Loving God and our neighbor are our highest purpose and a means through which God is renewing all things. We cannot accomplish our mission without being in relationship with God and the refugees, asylum seekers, and internally displaced persons we serve.

So, we are not satisfied with ministries that are purely transactional in nature. We pursue relationships with the forcibly displaced people we serve. We encourage others to accept God's offer of relationship and to partner with him in the renewal of all things.

Every human being is made in the image of God.

We believe that no one is beyond the love of God. Refugees, asylum seekers, and IDP are more than people in need - they bear the image of God.

So, we consult with, learn from, and partner with the forcibly displaced people we serve. We look for ways to affirm their God-given dignity.

We are deeply loved by God.

We believe that because God loves us, he has rescued us and invites us to partner with him in the renewal of all things. Our shortcomings and brokenness do not change God's love for us or his desire to use us.

So, we are a grateful community that listens to God. We look for ways in which we can partner with God in our ministry contexts. We encourage one another to keep thinking, learning, and growing. Our response to one another's brokenness and shortcomings is redemptive.

We are utterly dependent on God.

We believe that God is at work in and through our lives, community, and in the world - including places of deep pain and uncertainty along the refugee highway. We are utterly dependent on God as we partner with him.

So, we recognize that our competency does not come from within ourselves. God makes us competent to pursue the mission he has put before us. We look for signs of God at work around us. We exercise wisdom and faith as we pursue ministries and outcomes that are only possible with the help of God.

Imagine the joy and privilege of serving together with such a team!

Would you pray with us for God to call others to join with us in our mission of helping people survive and recover from forced displacement?