In March of 2021, I became the Communications Pastor here at IBC. My first month consisted of Zoom meetings and prepping for our first in-person Easter service since the pandemic began. Over the past 15 months, I’ve seen a lot of things change around IBC. New ministry spaces were renovated for our Kids, Youth, and Arise ministries. New staff members have joined the team while some of my friends have transitioned off. We launched a new mobile app for our church and continued to offer the ability to livestream our Sunday morning services.
There’s been a lot of change in just the two years I’ve been a part of IBC, and many of you have been here much longer than I have. Many of you were here to see Barry Jones transition to be the Senior Pastor of IBC. Maybe you remember the days of doors hanging from the ceiling in Town Square. Some of you even remember the move from the Finley Road campus to our current location. Change is inevitable, yet it can be so hard at the same time. Whether it’s good change or bad, it will often test the foundation on which something is built. It’s a comfort disrupter. And when the comfort is disrupted, you get to see the true pillars holding something up.
A few weeks ago, I was sitting behind a camera ready to start our first (of many) interviews with IBCers for a video project celebrating 60 years of IBC. I remember looking down at my notes and reading one sentence that I knew I wanted to ask every single interviewee.
“In the midst of all the change, what has stayed the same about IBC over the years?”
I knew I wanted to ask it, but I wasn’t prepared for the responses—or even the manner in which they responded. We purposely interviewed a wide range of people, from folks who had been at IBC for 47 years to a current 19-year-old who had grown up here. No matter who I asked, their answers were quick and confident:
“Bible-based teaching.”
“The people.”
“Serving others around us and the world.”
A LOT has changed over the course of 60 years at Irving Bible Church, but in the midst of all the change, these are the pillars that IBC was and is built on. When comfort was disrupted, it was the biblical teaching, the community of people, and the missional passion that provided a steady foundation.
More change will eventually come. The global church will always change and adapt—it’s been that way since the beginning of the church in Acts and will be that way until Christ returns again. I don’t know what the next 60 years at Irving Bible Church will look like, or what changes are on the horizon, but now I know the pillars we’re standing on. That makes me excited for what God has in store for the future of this church. And it makes me proud to call this church my home.
We’ll be celebrating 60 years of IBC on August 28 at our Family Weekend celebration. Join us for one family-friendly service at 10:45 a.m. followed by food and fun from noon-2 p.m. Check out www.irvingbible.org/familyweekend for more details!