In Matthew 16:24, Jesus calls His followers to deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow Him. I have been thinking lately about how blessed we are to have so many individuals, families, and churches who have truly taken up their cross and joined the Lord in His work, through partnering with the ministry of ICM. For Jesus, the cross involved unimaginable sacrifice. While our sacrifice will never compare to His, the Bible makes it clear that following Jesus means being willing to experience pain or discomfort for His sake. I think of our families who host babies born to mothers who are currently incarcerated. They agree to love and care for these precious children, knowing that eventually they will leave their host families and be reunited with their mothers. Though our passion at ICM is to reunify families, there can be pain involved when the role of the host family changes from full time caregiver, to a supportive "friend of the family" once the child returns home. I think of the churches and families who continue to make financial sacrifices in order to support the ministry of ICM. We would not be here without our generous donors. I think of the staff members at ICM who forgo more lucrative careers in order to serve the Lord and do the blessed, but sometimes challenging work of loving families who are in crisis. These are just a few examples of the ways those in the ICM family truly TAKE UP THEIR CROSS in order to join Jesus in His redemptive work in the lives of others. We are so blessed to be a part of this sacred mission!
SAFE FAMILIES SUNDAY!!!
February 11th is Safe Families Sunday! Our staff are excited to be at several churches in our region, to not only celebrate how the Lord has used this beautiful ministry to mobilize the Body of Christ in coming along side families who are in crisis, but to also expand the reach of our Safe Families program in order to bless more families. The celebration of Safe Families will continue in additional partnering churches throughout February and March. To learn more about these events and the mission as a whole, go to www.safe-families.org.
If you or your church are interested learning more about the ministries of ICM and ways in which you can partner with us, please contact Nadia at director@icmfamily.org or call our office at (217) 355-4446.
PRAISES AND PRAYERS
We praise God for the churches and individuals who enable our ministry to exist through their financial support!
We thank God for the volunteers in our Safe Families and Parenting Partners programs.
We ask God to minister to the families we are currently serving who are in crisis or experiencing the impact of brokenness in their lives.
We ask that the Lord expand the ministry of ICM in order to reach more families in need.
BECOME A CHAMPION OF ICM
You can help us encourage and restore families across Illinois. Discover all partnership options by clicking the "Donate Now" button.
