IFCB Statement of Faith
These things we believe and hold to be true:
God
- That there is but one God, a personal conscious Being, Creator of all things seen and unseen, eternal (without beginning or end) as three distinct Persons: the Father, the Word, and Holy Ghost.
- That the Word became flesh, and was born of the virgin Mary, henceforth to be known as the only begotten Son of God, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ: Who lived a sinless life, was crucified, died, and rose again, We hold that Jesus will return soon to establish His kingdom.
The Bible
- That the Bible is the all sufficient, inspired and infallible Word of God.
- That Scripture can only be interpreted by Scripture under the direction of the Holy Spirit.
- That the Bible is for Christ’s followers the only authoritative and infallible rule of faith, practice, doctrine, daily living and church administration, and the final standard by which all creeds, doctrines and actions must be measured.
Salvation
- That mankind and creation is in a fallen and sinful state, and every human soul is in desperate need of redemption from the fearful penalty of sin: everlasting separation from God in eternal perdition.
- It is impossible for man to justify himself before a perfect God.
- We believe in salvation through the New Birth experience by repentance from dead works and faith towards God alone, as the only provision for man's sin.
- We hold that Jesus took our sin upon Himself on the Cross of Calvary and gave us His righteousness and we must personally accept His offer of forgiveness and remain faithful to Him on the basis of scripture.
Church
- That there is but one true Church consisting of all from every denomination who have truly been born again.
- The Church finds its expression in local, area bound, assemblies each of these to be autonomous, under the headship of Christ and the care of local elders.
- We yearn for the unity of the Spirit, such unity seen as with other Bible-based evangelical Christians, churches, and ministries – even where we may not share all of the same nonessential doctrines.
- However we reject - as a false unity - ecumenicism or unity with any form of non-evangelical versions of Christianity, having a different doctrine of salvation and a basis of doctrinal authority other than the Bible.
Future Things
- We believe in the catching away (Rapture) of the saints and the bodily second return of Christ after which He will establish His millennial kingdom on earth.
History
IFCB started as Overcoming Faith Fellowship International (OFFI) in 1992 as a response to a great need amongst like-minded ministers for fellowship, mutual accountability and a desire to raise the standards of holiness and the supremacy of the Scriptures in the church.
Since then it has reached many parts of the world and today its members hail from countries across the globe.
In 2004 the first president retired and Anton Bosch was voted in as the new president. The change in leadership also initiated a review of OFFI’s position statement and objectives in order to bring it more in line with current leadership. In 2005 the name was changed to International Fellowship of Christian Believers (IFCB) to more accurately reflect who we are.
Our Vision
Our vision is to create a fellowship where all those who find themselves sidelined by modern trends in Christianity may find a home. We provide a forum for teaching, encouragement and fellowship for the many who have found themselves isolated because of their commitment to old fashioned values of the centrality of Jesus Christ, the sufficiency of Scripture, integrity and holiness.
Our vision is to seek fellowship with people of God, who stand for all that the Word of God reveals to us as truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. We have proposed not to be men pleasers, nor to tickle ears, but to "preach the Word (to be) instant in season, out of season; (to) reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine" (2 Timothy 4.2 KJV).
Our vision is to find men and women of integrity who understand what it means to "buy the truth and sell it not" (Proverbs 23:23 KJV). We need people who will not bow to every wind of doctrine and who will earnestly contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.
Our Leaders
IFCB operates under an international board with offices located in Sun Valley, California but has members in many parts of the world. Some of these members have organized themselves into local fellowships within independent countries.
Anton Bosch
Anton is currently the president of IFCB. Anton met the Lord Jesus as his Savior in 1968. In 1971 he entered the Theological College of South Africa where he was awarded the Diploma in Theology. In 2001 he earned the degree BTh(hons) and in 2004 he was awarded the degree Master of Theology cum laude.
For 24 years after graduating he served in the ministry with the Assemblies of God in South Africa. Under their auspices he served seven successive churches in different cities. He also traveled widely conducting seminars and preaching as a guest speaker.
He established Plumbline Ministries in 1996 which reaches to all parts of the world through tapes and writing. He continues to minister regularly in churches and conferences throughout Africa and the United States. Anton has established a number of independent churches and is also the Pastor of Sun Valley Community Church.
He is the author of Building Blocks of the Church and Contentiously Contending
Jewel Grewe
Gary Osborne
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Malcolm Harris
A brief overview of my journey.
I came to a saving knowledge of Jesus at a very early age and grew up in a Christian home with an emphasis on the supremacy of the Scriptures. My father was in the ministry with the Full Gospel Church and the Assemblies of God at various times during my formative years. At one of the Youth Camps in my early teens, the Lord graciously filled me with the Holy Spirit, under the ministry of Carl Cronje. My growing hunger for a greater knowledge of the Word, lead my then Fiancé and myself, into fellowship with the Assemblies of God. We, by God’s grace and enabling, became actively involved in ministry in the local assembly, participating in the ‘open ministry’ meetings and later became very involved in taking Bible Studies at various places. This led to us stepping into full-time ministry which sent us to establish a new assembly in Windhoek, Namibia. Over time I found my responsibilities increasing in the Movement, until I shared general oversight with other brethren over all the local assemblies in the Movement. Despite the honour and challenge of this position, my desire for the simple fellowship of the saints was not diminished, nor was it fully satisfied. What I found in leadership was that the demands of the administrative and organisational side of the work eclipsed and clouded the New Testament principle of the independent local expression of the church with Jesus as her Head.
Now, after over thirty years of full-time and part-time ministry, nurturing and establishing a number of local assemblies, teaching in Seminars and preaching in various churches in different parts of Africa, the UK and Switzerland, we have found ourselves brought back to our roots, by the Lord’s gracious intervention, to simple gatherings of believers in the beautiful Garden Route area of South Africa.
Along this ministry journey the Lord has mercifully brought us through many mistakes and failures, the tragic loss of our 25-year-old daughter, the minefield of church politics, heretics, horror stories, hyper-doctrinal emphases, legalists and the like. But God in His wisdom, grace, love and mercy, has kept us and provided for us in every way.
In the final analysis, I am an unprofitable servant and just a sinner, saved by grace.
It is from these years’ in the trenches’ that I humbly offer my services to the International Fellowship of Christian Believers, with the prayer that the Lord will use my small measure to edify the Body of Christ and glorify Him!
Jerry Pryde