The National Center for Family Integrated Churches
The National Center for Family Integrated Churches (NCFIC) is a network of families and gospel-centered, Protestant, biblically-ordered, family-integrated churches (FIC) that embrace the sufficiency of scripture. FIC seek to eliminate unnecessary age-segregated structures; therefore, children typically attend all of the corporate worship gatherings with their parents rather than attending a separate children’s ministry.[1]
The NCFIC is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to the restoration of biblical church and family life. NCFIC also seeks to connect local churches with one another for mutual help, seeing this as the pattern in the early church. NCFIC is not a denomination or confederation of churches, but rather a network and resource for family-integrated churches and families seeking them. It is a ministry to churches by Christian leaders who see faithful fathers and mothers struggling to find a meaningful, family-affirming relationship with their local church. All the men who work with NCFIC believe in biblical church authority and are all under the oversight of their own local churches with regard to their moral lives.
Purpose[edit]
NCFIC's purpose is to correctly understand God’s complementary vision for church and family, rightly diagnose the problems that impede this vision, and effectively communicate biblical solutions that rebuild family-affirming churches. NCFIC does not believe that family-integration is the only—or even the primary—issue in selecting or establishing a local church. But it is unquestionably a defining issue of our day as the modern church has lost the essential family culture that is see modeled in the New Testament.
Mission[2][edit]
- Proclaim the sufficiency of Scripture for church and family life
- Promote the centrality of the church in God’s plan for families
- Recover the biblical doctrines of manhood and womanhood in church and family life
- Explain the complementary roles of church and family
- Facilitate church planting and relationship building
- Communicate the biblical doctrines of the church and family
- Restore the biblical pattern of age-integrated worship, discipleship, and evangelism
Beliefs[edit]
The NCFIC believes that programs that separate families by age or gender are unbiblical and not found in historical Christianity. The leaders take exception to the typical program-oriented church model prevalent today, citing it as weakening the family structure and offering little to no scriptural foundation.[3] NCFIC pursues holiness in modesty, worship, and music.[4]
The NCFIC is committed to affirming the historic faith of biblical Christianity including the precious doctrines of the sufficiency of Scripture, the priesthood of the believers, the historico-grammatical approach to interpretation, the sovereignty of God, and the Lordship of Jesus Christ.[5] The NCFIC views the Nicene Creed, as a standard of basic Christian orthodoxy, and confessions (primarily the Westminster Confession of Faith and the London Baptist Confession of 1689) as invaluable (though not infallible) summaries of scripture. Creeds and confessions affirm the authority of God’s Word and provide the hermeneutical framework for correct interpretation. The NCFIC sees the responsibility to raise and disciple children resting on the shoulders of the parents, versus the church itself.[6]
A Declaration of the Complementary Roles of Church and Family[edit]
The declaration is a statement of NCFIC's beliefs regarding what the Bible says about the roles of the two greatest institutions the Lord has given us, the church and the family, and how these two institutions should relate to one another.[7] The declaration states posits that Scripture is fully sufficient for ordering of the church and family, that Jesus Christ is the Head of the Church, and that the only hope for churches and families is in Christ and His Gospel.
Approach[edit]
NCFIC produces resources for equipping churches and families.[8] This includes articles, testimonies, national and regional conferences, books, and audio and video resources. The NCFIC seeks to support, versus replace, local churches. The NCFIC works for godly change within pre-existing local churches and through planting family-integrated churches.
Network[edit]
The NCFIC connects like-minded, and biblically-ordered churches and families through a network of 800 churches.[9] The network serves as a resource for family-integrated churches and families. The common denominators for those registered in the database are:
- Expressed a basic, orthodox understanding of Christianity as defined by the Nicene Creed
- Formally testified to at least substantial agreement with the NCFIC Declaration on issues of unity between church and family.
These are the only known points of agreement among the churches and families in the directory.
Internship[edit]
The NCFIC also offers an internship for young men designed to expand their vision of God and refine their understanding of the church and the family. The program features a rigorous program consisting of reading approximately 20 books and the entire Bible, memorizing multiple Scripture passages, and completing various writing exercises.[10] During this season of life, interns are engaged in ministry to families and churches through their daily work at the NCFIC offices through audio, video, and written communication. Interns also benefit from local church involvement and mentorship by the men and families at Hope Baptist Church.
Prominent Advocates[edit]
Scott Brown is the president of the NCFIC. Dr. Voddie Baucham,[11] Paul Washer,[12] Dr. Joel Beeke,[13] and Kevin Swanson,[14] are frequent speakers at NCFIC events as well as contributors to the ministry through writing and interviews.
Criticism[edit]
Critics of the NCFIC believe the organization:
- Undervalues the perceived benefits of age-segregated ministries.[15]
- Elevates the family ahead of Christ[16]
- Fails to appreciate age-segregation in church history[17]
- Denies the value of youth ministry[18]
- Has proponents that can be divisive in age-segregated churches as they encourage family-integration[19]
- Places too much emphasis on home education versus public education[20]
- "Issue-oriented" reaction against segregation, versus bibically motivated[21]
- Is closer to a denomination than a network of churches[22]
References[edit]
- ↑ Challies, Tim (2013-01-23). "What Is Family Integrated Church?". Tim Challies. Retrieved 2019-12-06.
- ↑ "NCFIC.org". The BIRTH CONTROL Movie Project. Retrieved 2019-12-06.
- ↑ "What is a Family-Integrated Church, and is it biblical?". GotQuestions.org. Retrieved 2019-12-06.
- ↑ Raymond, Erik. "Family Integrated, Rap, and The Gospel". The Gospel Coalition. Retrieved 2019-12-06.
- ↑ "Statement of Faith". NCFIC. Retrieved 2019-10-18.
- ↑ JMH. "Q & A on Family Integrated Churches | For His Renown". Retrieved 2019-10-18.
- ↑ "A Declaration of the Complementary Roles of Church and Family". NCFIC. Retrieved 2019-10-18.
- ↑ "NCFIC". NCFIC. Retrieved 2019-10-18.
- ↑ Anne, Julie (2014-06-12). "The Family-Integrated Church Movement is Getting Some Much-Needed Heat from Critics". Spiritual Sounding Board. Retrieved 2019-12-06.
- ↑ "Internship Opportunity". NCFIC. Retrieved 2019-10-18.
- ↑ "Voddie Baucham". NCFIC. Retrieved 2019-10-18.
- ↑ "Paul Washer". NCFIC. Retrieved 2019-10-18.
- ↑ Beeke, Joel (2012-11-06). "NCFIC Conference, Asheville, NC". Joel Beeke. Retrieved 2019-12-06.
- ↑ "Kevin Swanson". NCFIC. Retrieved 2019-10-18.
- ↑ Challies, Tim (2013-01-23). "What Is Family Integrated Church?". Tim Challies. Retrieved 2019-10-18.
- ↑ "If the Family Is Central, Christ Isn't". www.christianpost.com. Retrieved 2019-10-18.
- ↑ "Is Family-Integrated Worship the Historical Norm?". The Aquila Report. 2016-02-26. Retrieved 2019-10-18.
- ↑ Steve, Dr (2011-10-12). "A Response to the Family-Integrated Churches". YouthWorker. Retrieved 2019-12-06.
- ↑ "United Families Dividing Churches: An Assessment of the Family Integrated Church Movement". Faith Baptist Bible College. 2012-01-05. Retrieved 2019-10-18.
- ↑ "What is a Family-Integrated Church, and is it biblical?". GotQuestions.org. Retrieved 2019-10-18.
- ↑ "What are Family Integrated Churches? | The Wartburg Watch 2019". Retrieved 2019-12-06.
- ↑ "NCFIC: a new family integrated church denomination? – Pastor Mathis". pastormathis.com. Retrieved 2019-12-06.
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