Dream, Focus, Values + History
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Our Dream
We dream of a world where every child is loved, safe and developing their God-given potential.
Our Focus
Partnering with the global Free Methodist Church, we advocate for the spiritual, physical, cognitive and social development of children.
Our Guiding Principles
Guiding principles focus our daily actions.
Community.
We celebrate the spirit and actions of partnership with individuals and congregations locally and globally. We seek to express the unity of the body of Christ in its rich diversity.
Humility.
We celebrate humility before God and humanity. We desire respectful cross-cultural relationships.
Integrity.
We celebrate honest, trust and mutual accountability. We hold ourselves and our partners to high standards of fiscal responsibility.
Image of God.
We celebrate the image of God in every child. We seek to confirm this with actions that encourage both girls and boys to mature to their full, God-given potential.
Family.
We celebrate the human family as divinely designed for the benefit of children. Where possible, we minister to children in the context of their families and offer opportunities for parents to expand their capacities.
Watchfulness.
We celebrate the privilege of guarding and protecting children in our care. Especially when ministering to children in residential environments away from parents, we vigilantly protect them from predation and abuse.
Giving Voice.
We celebrate the ministry of standing with and for children, blessing them and giving voice to their hurts and hopes.
The Transforming Gospel.
We celebrate the power of the Gospel to transform lives. We seek to express the Gospel in word and deed, cultivating faith and hope in anticipation of children becoming fruit-bearing adults.
Creation.
We celebrate the goodness of creation. Seeing life as a whole, we provide opportunities to partner with those who work to heal the land and we teach children to value life in all its forms.
Generosity.
We celebrate generosity as a life-giving grace. We seek to serve out of an abundance principle and encourage generosity from all.
Stewardship.
We celebrate stewardship of people, capacities and resources. We seek to increase the value of all and desire that every stakeholder make an investment.
Flexibility.
We celebrate flexibility to make possible Kingdom purposes being fulfilled in lives and communities.
Our Values
To envision a world where every child is loved, safe and developing their God-given potential, we have to dream of impacting far more children. ICCM is proud of 52 years of history, grateful that over 100,000 children’s lives have been improved through sponsorship—but it’s not enough! At the moment, more than 2,000 children are enrolled in ICCM and awaiting a sponsor. They’re praying that someone will give $38 a month to provide life-changing benefits for them.
Sponsorship provides education and/or school supplies, nutrition, activities for all aspects of their development, and that indispensable reality, hope. For most of the vulnerable, sponsorship provides protection from traffickers. For girls, it often delays their being forced into an early marriage. Sponsorship can change the whole trajectory of a child’s life! Please sponsor a waiting child today.
Our History
50 years of investing in children around the world
Today, ICCM is changing thousands of lives in 33 countries. That first school in Hong Kong is no longer there, but the children who first attended that school are now able to sponsor children in other countries.
More than 300 children are now supported by sponsors in Hong Kong. Recently, the daughter of a man who attended a Hong Kong ICCM school began to sponsor a child in India. So, it comes full circle. Thanks be to God!
Serving God through serving children: Pictured here are the three most recent directors of ICCM. (Left to right) Ann VanValin, Bishop Linda Adams, and Alma Thompson. Together they represent years of service and dedication to Jesus and his children.
1965
In 1965, missionary Dr. Alton Gould started the first International Child Care Ministries sponsored school in Hong Kong. That first school met on a rooftop of a Hong Kong housing project. After visiting India and Africa, Dr. Gould felt a burden to expand to other countries. Step by step, ICCM’s effort to support Free Methodists in their international outreach to children and families grew to a global ministry.
1990
Ann VanValin led ICCM through years of remarkable growth from 1990 to 2008. Child sponsorship tripled. Many schools in Haiti and several children’s hostels in India were initiated.
2008
Linda Adams was appointed Director of ICCM in 2008. New child sponsorship opportunities opened in multiple creative access countries, Liberia, Costa Rica, Thailand, and Togo.
International Child Care Ministries
PO Box 51710
Indianapolis, IN 46251
CONTACT
Phone: (317) 616-4740
Toll Free: (800) 342-5531 x502
Email: iccmsocial@fmcusa.org
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The greatest expression of our hope is to love others; to be part of the healing of brokenness in all its forms, for all people. We are thrilled to serve kids and communities regardless of race, ethnicity, identity, gender, faith and religion, or any other way in which discrimination can happen. ICCM is a ministry of the Free Methodist Church, USA, a registered 501(c)3 non-profit.