Ten Things We Love About InnerCHANGE

There are lots of organizations out there in the wide world doing good stuff. You might say to yourself, “Self, why are Peter and Liz so excited about doing this London thing with InnerCHANGE?”

Whelp….we could talk all day about this! Here’s the we-squashed-it-into-a-list-in-no-particular-order-just-for-you version:

Ten Things We Love About InnerCHANGE:

1)  Relationships.

While some organizations are built around programs, InnerCHANGE believes that deep and lasting change best happens in people’s lives through relationships. Think of the people in your own life who have really impacted and invested in you. This focus on knowing and loving people drives everything in InnerCHANGE.

2)  Community (more than a buzzword).

InnerCHANGE doesn’t launch people out into the void alone. They believe God’s work has to be lived out with other people, sharing resources and life together. And instead of asking what location people are called to and then dropping them into a country with whoever else happens to be there, InnerCHANGE takes the time to discern if the people who’ll live and work together on a team are a good fit. (In fact, this is what happened with us—London wasn’t even on our radar until the team members there who knew us invited us to come and check it out.)

3)  They are local.

It is not one size fits all. People ask us, “What does InnerCHANGE do?” and we say, “Well, it’s different in every place around the world.” They don’t just barrel in with a program and a checklist; they take the time to get to know a place and its people and see what the community needs.

4)  They want to work themselves out of a job.

InnerCHANGE understands that the best way to develop a community is to empower leaders from within. The goal is always to move into partnership with local leaders who eventually can take over the ministry.

5)  They like it when we’re healthy.

This may sound like a dumb thing to say. But do you know how many people burn out of mission work in the first five years? Nearly HALF. There is an entire team of people called “Staff Developement and Care” devoted to making sure we stay sane and lovable: mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and physically.

6, 7, and 8)  Currents!

InnerCHANGE focuses its life and ministry together through three streams: the missionary, the contemplative, and the prophetic. They concentrate spiritual formation around one of these themes each quarter, with the fourth quarter devoted to integrating the three.

• The Missionary: Being the hands and feet of Jesus. Ministering in word, deed, and power to proclaim the Kingdom of God.
• The Contemplative: You and your soul must be still and healthy. You must take time to know God and be with God before you will have anything to give to others.
• The Prophetic: Speaking truth to power. Calling the church to live out the justice and mercy of God once more. Demonstrating God’s priorities by our lifestyles.

We like that InnerCHANGE gives these three things equal weight.

9)  They are slow.

We mean this in a good way. InnerCHANGE does not rush to see results. They understand that lasting change takes time, and they don’t allow the breakneck pace of our culture to dictate how things unfold. (Heck, it took us six years to join the organization! and they let the conversation continue at our pace during that whole time.)

10) They are incarnational.

As the Message translation puts it in John 1: “The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood.” We think that’s a pretty good model.

If you’re interested in reading more about InnerCHANGE, there’s a series of core writings called “Postcards from the Journey” that have been put together to give you a window into InnerCHANGE is and what we’re about. You can download the PDF file here.

Which one of these ten things resonated with you the most? We’d love to hear about it!

Image: Suat Eman / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Tagged as: InnerCHANGE, why