IBC Blog

IBC Stories

What if I don't want to read the Bible?

After growing up in a Christian household, being immersed in biblical community, and serving and leading within the church, I found myself in a season of not wanting to participate in the "Christian To-Dos". I found it difficult to admit to my mentor and friends not that I just wasn't reading the Bible but that I didn't want to. But then, the more I talked about it, the more I discovered that for many Christians, Bible reading - especially the part of a daily devotional schedule - is one of the bid "shoulds" of faith. Many of us have been told that we should read the Bible, but we've hardly ever been told how to stick with it or why we should want to in the first place.

IBC Stories

A Profound Experience

We set up our tent, had dinner together, and got settled in for the night. There was conversation and laughter everywhere. You could feel the peace and our night was serenaded by someone in the camp who was singing beautifully and playing the guitar. Everyone signs up to help with the cooking and cleaning, so we woke up Saturday morning to a team of people preparing the famous “awesome breakfast.” The day consisted of hiking, horseback riding, kayaking, and all kinds of fun, I even took a nap!

IBC Stories

Staff Stories: Shannon Lewis

All it took was a simple invite.

Shannon Lewis lived in a foster home until the age of 15. After her grandparents reached an age where they could no longer be her legal guardians, Shannon entered the foster care system at a young age. For many, the foster care system is a source of comfort and structure. For Shannon, it was a source of trauma and abuse.

“It was a very abusive home,” Shannon said as she looked back on those memories of her teenage years. “I remember just kind of feeling like there was something on the other side. It wouldn’t be like this forever.”

IBC Stories

Amy's Baptism Story

“Prison was the worst experience, but the best experience for me because I found Jesus.”

After years of struggling with addiction, Amy found herself getting into the driver’s seat of a car on a night that would change her life forever. Amy was intoxicated to a point that she still doesn’t fully remember the events of that night to this day. What the police report and eye witnesses would later tell was that she drove her car into a parked car and telephone pole before striking and injuring a pedestrian.

IBC Stories

Staff Stories: Oscar Camacho 2

Wednesday. 12:30 p.m. The Hatch

Every Wednesday, around noon, you could stroll past the Hatch (a lounge area backstage at the Irving Bible Church) and smell sweet, Cuban coffee brewing. Inside, you would find staff members gathering for lunch and community while Oscar distributed coffee amongst the group. It was a time to simply “turn off” from work for an hour. One hour to simply be in community, talk about anything, and build relationships. Better known as the Cafecito Club.

IBC Stories

Staff Stories: Nat Pugh

“We are in.”

Three simple, yet powerful words Nat Pugh said across the table at a dinner in Rhode Island over 30 years ago. After nine years with the company he worked for, Nat was up for a promotion. He, along with his wife Dana, was visiting the home office of the company in Rhode Island when the offer came from the senior vice president. Without hesitation, Nat uttered those three simple, yet powerful words—we are in.