About Us
ICM empowers leaders in remote communities (Asia, Africa, India) through Bible schools, building churches and hope.
International Christian Mission (ICM) is reaching the nations.
International Christian Mission was born out of a prayerful vision to engage in the Great Commission, collaborating with local churches and mission groups to fulfil the mission of making disciples of all nations. Our approach involves utilizing the transformative “Bible School in a Backpack” (BSIB) program, which leverages the Church Planting Institute (CPI) Modules developed by Rev. Gerald Rowlands.
Bringing Bible School to Rural Villages
The core of ICM’s ministry lies in empowering pastors and leaders, providing them with training resources that strengthen their efforts. Our emphasis is on equipping leaders to effectively disciple their communities. Our primary focus is in rural villages, across Asia, Africa and the Indian subcontinent, where we take the Bible School directly to the people. Through the local churches, we facilitate discipleship in their own languages and contextual settings, equipping them to spread the message of the Gospel and establish new churches.
Beyond Limitations: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Impact
ICM has played a pivotal role in establishing over a thousand churches and new outreach initiatives. We believe in the potential of ordinary individuals who might have lacked the opportunity to serve God due to limitations in education or resources. Through our efforts, these ordinary men and women have been transformed into extraordinary servants of God, actively contributing to the fulfilment of the Great Commission and participating in the harvest of souls.
Our Vision
To disciple every believer for the purpose of evangelism and church planting, especially within rural communities.
Our Mission
To mobilize believers in remote and rural regions across the globe. Our aim is to empower them to evangelize, baptize, disciple, and establish churches. We achieve this by providing BSIB materials in native languages and partnering with local churches. We also engage with the communities through Short-Term Missions.
The ICM Church Planting Institute (CPI) Program
The CPI (Church Planting Institute) training program emerged due to the pressing need to educate a substantial number of workers for the harvest field, particularly in East Malaysia, where numerous rural churches lacked dedicated pastors for their congregations. The conventional practice of sending students to accredited Bible Schools proved inadequate to address the churches’ needs, given the time and resources required for such training. Additionally, many graduates from urban Bible Schools were hesitant to return to their villages to serve.
Effective and Affordable: The Comprehensive Church Planting Training Solution
The ICM CPI Program was initially introduced in Malaysia in 1995. Developed by ICM in collaboration with other ministries, this church planting training program aims to equip and prepare potential lay leaders and pastors in the areas of evangelism, discipleship, and church planting. Its design focuses on providing comprehensive, effective, cost-efficient, and swift training. As an independent parachurch mission organization, ICM collaborates with all denominations to fulfil the Great Commission of making disciples in the nations they serve.
Bringing Bible School to the People with BSIB
The ICM CPI Program is succinctly described as “bringing the Bible School to the people rather than bringing the people to the Bible School.” Therefore, it yield out church planting / training program called “Bible School In a Backpack (BSIB)” consisting of three fundamental modules covering essential teachings on evangelism, leadership, church planting, and growth.
The majority of those trained through the program now serve the Lord full-time in various capacities within their Church Denominations, primarily in rural communities. Since 1995, thousands of pastors have received training, leading to the establishment of hundreds of churches as a direct result of the ICM CPI Program’s impact.
Bible School in a Backpack (BSIB)
BSIB makes church planting training accessible to all.
The Bible School in a Backpack (BSIB) is a church planting/training program initiated by ICM to conduct Church Planting Institute (CPI) courses, devised by Rev. Gerald Rowlands. These courses consist of three progressive CPI modules, ranging from “Personal Foundations” to “Further Church Growth,” aimed at bringing the Bible school directly to the people instead of requiring people to attend a physical Bible school.
In short, it is a Bible School in a Backpack. It is made concise so that it can be easily transported for distribution to the remote and sometimes almost inaccessible areas.
Foundations for Faith, Roots for Churches
The BSIB modules developed by ICM are simple yet comprehensive, with the primary goal of imparting believers with the fundamental biblical teachings on faith, salvation, and assurance in a cost-effective and prompt manner.
This approach allows even the most isolated and unreached communities in remote areas to receive Bible-based education, equipping them to establish churches within their own communities.
This training serves as an excellent foundational resource, not only for remote and marginalized areas but also overcomes barriers related to education, financial constraints, and geographical distance.
Faith in Every Tongue
Presently, ICM is conducting BSIB training in West Malaysia, Sabah, Sarawak, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, India, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The modules have been translated into multiple languages, including Bahasa Malaysia, Bahasa Indonesia, Tamil, Iban, Nepali, French, and Pakistani. Efforts are ongoing to translate these modules into Vietnamese and Laotian to cater to the needs of these communities.
