The first of the core principles guiding Love INC is that we are Christian. That seems straight forward enough, but it might be good to reflect for a bit on what that means. What came to my mind was the Emmaus song “They will know we are Christians by our love, by our love.” Not by what we do for them but why we do it. The beggar that approached Peter and John for alms received far more than what he had asked: he received the love of God through the disciples. I Corinthians 13:1 “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.”

Part of the defining difference with Love INC is that we try to focus on the person and their real needs rather than on the problem at hand. We look for their value and potential and seek to offer them God’s love as the disciples did for the beggar.

Just as Christianity is set apart from other religions because we serve a God who loves us, Love INC’s mission is set apart from other,very worthy, organizations by our focus on transforming lives.

One of the Core Principles that guide Love INC is Prayer. We believe one of the most valuable Kingdom resources we have is prayer. Prayer is integral to who we are and permeates everything we do. Nothing should be initiated without praying first. All Love INC meetings should open with prayer. All Love INC clients should be prayed for (and with if they desire it.) Each workday should start with prayer. As the Apostle Paul said; pray without ceasing. To be faithful to this principle, we have established a LoveINC prayer team. Our goal is that we would have one person in each church in the county that would agree to accept a weekly prayer list via email, pray over the specific requests and for the organization and its leadership. If they desire, they can also forward these requests to their home church’s prayer team. If you might serve in this important role, please reach out to us.

One of our gap ministries has some immediate needs:

First, the storage space we are currently using is no longer able to be donated. Therefore we need to either find a new donated space(approx 1000 sq ft covered and secure) or raise additional funding to pay the discounted rental (approx $200 per month). If you know of space in central Hancock County that might be donated please call the Clearinghouse at (317) 468-6300. If oyu are willing to donate toward the rental follow this link GoFundMe

Assuming God is faithful in addressing the space challenge, we have several families on a waiting list for washers and dryers (electric only).

Thanks

Deuteronomy 24: 19 “When you reap your harvest in your field and have forgotten a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it; it shall be for the alien, for the orphan, and for the widow, in order that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. 20 “When you beat your olive tree, you shall not go over the boughs again ; it shall be for the alien, for the orphan, and for the widow. 21 “When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you shall not go over it again ; it shall be for the alien, for the orphan, and for the widow. 22 “You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt ; therefore I am commanding you to do this thing.”

This Old Testament law did not require God’s people to harvest everything and take it to those in need. It required participation on the part of the receiver of assistance. This type of developmental compassion is a core principle of Love INC.

Love INC is about providing a hand up and not just a hand out. Although there is a time and place for providing hand outs (for example in crisis and disaster relief situations), Love INC is not a crisis intervention or disaster relief ministry. Love INC’s primary focus is helping the church transform people’s lives (physically and spiritually) so they can break the dependency cycle they are in. We seek to engage and hold accountable people receiving help, and work with them to strengthen the assets they have and develop new ones that allow them to break the cycle of poverty and dependency they find themselves in. We call this developmental compassion (as opposed to the traditional charity compassion so prevalent in our society today.) As a result, direct financial aid to clients (charity, with little or no relationship) is not intended to be a significant component of our ministry.

Acts 4:32-35

Sharing among Believers

“³² And the congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul ; and not one of them claimed that anything belonging to him was his own, but all things were common property to them. ³³ And with great power the apostles were giving testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and abundant grace was upon them all. ³⁴ For there was not a needy person among them, for all who were owners of land or houses would sell them and bring the proceeds of the sales ³⁵ and lay them at the apostles’ feet, and they would be distributed to each as any had need. ”

What we envision as God’s call to Love INC of Greater Hancock County:

We envision a community transformed by faith – where  Christian churches are united in purpose and fully engaged in actively living out their faith by lovingly serving people in need in Greater Hancock County.