The purpose of the ICR is to discern legitimate ministries/churches/persons that are preaching the true gospel of Jesus Christ and recommend them to the Board for mission assistance.

Requests for assistance are put through a rigorous approval process. Applicants must be registered with their local governments as churches or ministries and must be authorized by their government to receive funds. Applicants must be members of the WCICC and in good standing with the WCICC. There are no exceptions to these rules.

Financial Policy of WCICC and ICR

The World Council of Independent Christian Churches and the International Christian Relief fund receive hundreds of requests per day for assistance.

The WCICC and the ICR understand the requests we do receive however we are required by scripture to be sure the requests we do respond to meet the principles of Christian Stewardship and Financial Accountability.

The majority of these requests are from people “begging” for money with no “legitimate” ministry.. Almost every request is the same and they all have the same hardship story. The WCICC and the ICR simply can not reply nor consider all of them. The WCICC and ICR have instituted a point system for considering theses requests. The higher the point value the greater the chance is of the request being considered.

The WCICC and ICR feels continual begging to be non-Christian in principle. This is not to say the need is not real, however one must consider why they are in their current financial crisis.

The scriptures are very clear in that God will meet the need of those he calls into ministry. Further and continual begging reflects the wrong image to the world as to God meeting the needs of Christians. While we know this is not a poplar view the WCICC and ICR will take the higher road.

Paul mended tents, Peter was a fisherman, Matthew was a tax collector but all carried their own financial responsibilities. The scriptures are clear; if you do not work you do not eat.

In addition, the WCICC and ICR believe that Christians should be exercising a very basic principle and promise in the scriptures.

Matthew 6:24-26 NIV
24 "No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.
25 "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?

Luke 19:22 NIV
22 "His master replied, 'I will judge you by your own words, you wicked servant! You knew, did you, that I am a hard man, taking out what I did not put in, and reaping what I did not sow?

Galatians 6:7-8 KJV
7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap . 8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.

In summary we believe one must give to receive.

Again we do not believe continual begging honors Christ. Please consider the following scripture.

Psalms 37:23-26 NIV
If the LORD delights in a man's way, he makes his steps firm; 24 though he stumble, he will not fall, for the LORD upholds him with his hand. 25 I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread. 26 They are always generous and lend freely; their children will be blessed.

1 Timothy 5:8 NIV
8 If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

Matthew 6:2-4 NIV
2 "So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Matthew 7:9-12 NIV
9 "Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! 12 So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.

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ICR Application