Philippians 2:2 (NLT)
“Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose.”
 
We believe that with ONE HEART and ONE PURPOSE we will reach our city, our state and beyond through achieving our vision. 

To draw people into a ever increasing personal relationship with Jesus Christ

IRCC exists too see people who are outside the family of God drawn into a personal relationship with Him and then to grow and mature in that relationship so that the church God sees for IRCC becomes a reality.

The church God sees for us is a healthy harvesting church for everyone

• Where its people are totally devoted to Jesus Christ and His cause after experiencing a personal encounter with Him which has transformed their life
  

• Where its people are personally committed to seeing their friends, neighbours,co-workers and family who are outside the family of God being drawn into a personal relationship with God
  

• Where its people are irrevocably dedicated to loving each other as Jesus Christ loved them and as a result deep and lasting friendships are established which form the basis of a loving caring and gracious community of Christ followers
  

• Where its people discover their God given talents, gifts and abilities and then utilize those gifts in serving with joy and gladness in he life of the church
  

• Where its people believe in the supernatural power of God which works miracles in the lives of people

• Where its people become so numerous, it size so great, its influence so permeating in its community and its credibility so respected that it cannot be ignored by the political, corporate and other leaders of our city, state and nation

• Where its people are known throughout the community as authentic followers of Jesus Christ displaying humility, love, faith, generosity, grace and sacrifices of self and having an open heart to the prompting of the Holy Spirit
  

• Where its people are absolutely motivated to doing good in their community and the community abroad and therefore having favour with the people of those communities and with God

• Where its people become Christ centred leaders in every area of society exercising influence and as a result the culture of society is changed to reflect the value of Godly righteousness

• Where the leadership and resources of the church will influence and bless other churches throughout this nation and beyond

• Where other congregations are planted in geographical locations within this nation and overseas so that there is an ever increasing percentage of people being drawn into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ

• Where unity reigns and the blessing and favour of God is always upon its people thus bringing joy to the heart of God in all the people of the church do

This is the church that we believe that God sees for us
This is Ipswich Region Community Church
Together we will see this vision a reality

The Core Values of Ipswich Region Community Church

IRCC is a collection of diverse people who come from differing backgrounds occupations and experiences and whom have slightly different values with regard to serving Christ.
However any church must have certain common values which reflect who we are as a church.
The common or core values are those deeply held beliefs that describe the soul of the church. The core values of the church are not open to compromise and the deeply held convictions of IRCC .

The Core Values of IRCC are

• Love God
• Love People
• Love the House of God
• Love the Fullness of the Life in God
  

Love God

We believe that to love God with all your heart, soul and mind is the most fulfilling and intimate relationship any believer can attain to. As a result of that relationship we believe that the ongoing pursuit of full devotion to Jesus Christ and His cause should be the desire of every believer.

This core value includes a commitment that we are a

• Worshipping Church
  We will express our passion and devotion to God through joyous praise and intimate worship

• Generous Church
  We will reflect the heart of God by being a generous church in the sacrificial and extravagant giving of our time, talents and gifting, tongues and resources

• Praying Church
  We will be a people of prayer both n our individual lives as believers and corporately together as a church

• Sacrificial Church
  We will do whatever it takes to see the church of Jesus Christ built. We will demonstrate an excellent spirit in all we do because excellence honours God and inspires people

• Spirit Filled Church
  We believe that God gives gifts to his people as he directs. Though the ministry of the Holy Spirit we want every believer to demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit and use the gifts for the benefit of others

Love People

We believe that all people are important and loved by God and therefore must be valued and loved by us - the "Household of Faith" must be loved by and cared for and those individual outside the family of God matter to the church and to God.
This core value includes a commitment that we are a

• Evangelistic Church
  We are committed to the salvation of individuals as a journey of faith and the most effective way to reach people with the gospel of Jesus Christ is by authentic, loving relationships

• Contemporary Church
  We are committed to being relevant in the presentation of the gospel through the use of state of the art technology to believers and those who are still seeking God and attend our church

• Church Planting Church
  We are committed to planting multiple congregations throughout South East Queensland and then in other parts of Australia and overseas

• Community Church
  We are committed to provide programs that help build our community to be a better community

• Missions Church
  We are committed to providing support to individuals and groups that are extending the kingdom of God overseas

Love the House of God

We believe that the local church is God's ordained expression for His redemptive purpose for all people everywhere. The church is described as "The bride of Christ" and "The body of Christ" and as Christ loved the church so should all believers.

This core value includes a commitment that we are a

• Bible Based Church
  We are committed to bible based anointed teaching that is culturally relevant but doctrinally pure

• Loving Grace Filled Church
  We are committed that loving grace filled relationships permeate every aspect of church life and that deep and mature relationships are the hallmark of a healthy church

• Serving church
  We are committed that every believer discover their spiritual gift and then as a unified community of servants steward those gifts though serving in the life of the church and extending the kingdom of God

• Discipleship Church
  We are committed to every believer will grow and mature in their Christian walk

• Leadership Church
  We are committed that the church shall be lead by believers with leadership gifts and therefore we will develop , train and mentor leaders in the life of the church

Love the Fullness of the Life in God

We believe that the Christian life is the most rewarding, fulfilling and successful life and individual can lead.
This core value includes a commitment that we are a

• Connected Church
  We are committed to diverse small groups throughout the life of the church. The most effective pastoral care and life change in individuals happens in small groups

• Educational Church
  We are committed to the provision of Christian based education for primary and secondary school students therefore presenting a Christian influence to students in our community and beyond

The Structure of a Healthy Harvesting Church

To be a healthy harvesting church IRCC must be structured according to health. A healthy church is a growing church. Therefore the church shall be divided into six departments known as "Communities" that reflect the attributes of a healthy church. The term "Communities" is chosen because each of the 'departments' now known as "Communities" such be as far as possible biblically functioning communities with pastoral care, nurturing and support a hallmark of each community.

We honour a triune God as the of creator all life

‘In the beginning God created....’

When we say that our first value is to “LOVE GOD”, our first challenge is to define who God is. We are living in an age of spirituality. Most people in our society claim that they believe in God, but unfortunately many are trying to create God in their own image.

The God that we love is not just an influence or a force. We believe in a personal God who is God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. He is one God, eternally existing in three persons. We may find it difficult to explain or define the trinity, but there are many things we know about God because he has chosen to reveal Himself to us in the Bible.

We could use many words to describe who God is, but some of His attributes that come readily to mind are love, holiness, mercy and justice. Another word that defines the God we honour is ‘Creator’. We do not believe that the universe came about as a result of a mindless ‘big bang’ or that life forms came out of a primordial soup as a chance accident of time and space.

We believe in a divine architect who designed and created an awesome cosmos before looking at His creation and affirming that ‘it is good’. Sin may have marred God’s creation, but it is still incredibly good! We believe that the greatest expression of God’s creation came about when he created humankind. All creation was good, but only Adam was created in the image of God. As men and women, we have a unique standing in God’s creation and we have the opportunity to live in a unique relationship with the Creator.

Because He created us and communicates truth to us about Himself, we have the capacity to love Him in a way that no other part of creation can love Him. That is why our first key value is to love God. We love God because of who He is and because of how wonderfully he has made us.

We celebrate God’s Presence through dynamic praise & worship

‘Come into his presence with singing,’ says Psalm 100. ‘Enter into His gates with thanksgiving and into his courts with praise.’

Some people have a perception that a church is a quiet, sombre place, but we believe it is a place of celebration. Every weekend, throughout Australia, our churches are filled with people of all ages who love to make a joyful noise because they have a reason to rejoice and celebrate.

We believe in worshipping God extravagantly – with the harmony of voices, all kinds of instruments and with the freedom to clap or raise hands. If a worldly celebrity can command endless applause and standing ovations, how much more does our Lord deserve to be exalted by our praise! Yet praising God is not limited to singing a few songs once a week in a church service.

True worship is a lifestyle that embraces the entire spectrum of life. You can praise God at any hour, seven days a week – in the car, in the shower or in the middle of the night. Our worship is not based on ritual or tradition, but is a real expression of our intimate relationship with God. The contemporary music and freedom of worship is one of the reasons why the younger generations are being drawn to Jesus Christ and our churches are seeing explosive growth in the number of young people in our congregations.

The distinctive, fresh sound of new songs have always emanated from our churches in recent years, there have been many singers and musicians in our movement whose songs have begun to have international impact. People such as Darlene Zschech, Russell Evans and Gary McDonald were all mentioned in the Bulletin magazine’s feature on Australian Christian music in October 2001. The music is touching the world. As the Bulletin writer concluded “who knows one day we may all know the words to Shout to the Lord.’
We obey God’s commission through holy spirit empowered world mission

In John 14:15, Jesus says, ‘If you love me, you will obey what I command.’

The last command Jesus gave us during His time on earth was ‘to got into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature’ (Mark 16:15). Nothing has changed. This is still our commissioned purpose and if we truly love God, we will obey Him and spread this gospel to every tribe, tongue and race.

God in His wisdom does not give us a job to do without enabling us. He gives us the resource – the Holy Spirit. In Acts 1:8, Jesus says ‘But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.’ So as we receive the power of the Holy Spirit, we are empowered and equipped as witnesses for Him.

We have been commissioned and world missions is our goal! We must obey. Jesus obeyed and came. We have been just as sent and commissioned to spread the Gospel to the ends of the earth as Jesus was. We have the same mission Jesus had. Our purpose is to light the world and we have the Holy Spirit’s empowering to help us accomplish it.
We declare God’s infallible word through contemporary ministry

We are glad to be a part of a fellowship that honours and values the Word of God.

We believe that the entire Bible is inspired by God (2 Tim 3:16) and that the authors were not giving us their own opinions, but were moved by the Holy Spirit to write what they wrote. (2 Peter 1:20) Consequently, what they wrote is God’s inerrant Word to us today. It is truthful, accurate and reliable. It gives us answers to life’s questions and show us how to live successful and fulfilled lives. It is our final authority on all matters of belief and practice and, most importantly, show us how to develop our relationship with God. We are a fellowship that understands and accepts the challenge of communicating this Word in ways that relation to our society.

The message of the Bible is just as relevant today as it was to the world when it was first penned, but the challenge to the Church is to effectively communicate that message to those around us. Someone has stated that the message of the church should never change, but the method of declaring that message should always change. We must always be looking for contemporary ways in which to communicate the truth of God’s Word.

While our message must always remain firmly grounded in the truth of the Bible, we must be a fellowship that understand sour society and is able to present the truth of God’s Word in ways that are attractive and understood by our world.

The Apostle Paul is our example in this. He boldly and uncompromisingly declared the whole gospel at every opportunity, but always endeavoured to communicate this message in ways that related to his hearers. Describing this approach, he declared that he had ‘become all things to all men that he might win some’ (1 Corinthians 9:22). This is the mandate of the Church: to uncompromisingly declare the truth of God’s word in ways that arrest our society and see the Gospel spread throughout each generation.