ABOUT

What is Love INC?

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Love in the Name of Christ is a proven model that networks local churches, church volunteers, and community organizations together to help people in need. Through Love INC, churches and individual Christians are mobilized to work together, across denominational lines, to provide coordinated help to the poor with basic needs such as food and clothing, to longer-term responses such as life skills training and transitional housing programs.

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Founded in 1977, today there are more than 140 Love INC affiliates in 30 states, representing a network of more than 9,000 churches, 6,000 community -based organizations, and 300,000 volunteers meeting more than one million needs each year. The Love INC National Headquarters assists communities in developing new affiliates and supports existing affiliates by providing training, technical assistance, marketing materials, networking opportunities, and best practices.

Statement of Faith

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This organization shall continually and steadfastly uphold and maintain the following statement of faith of the organization:

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• We believe in the entire Bible to be the inspired, the only infallible, authoritative Word of God.

• We believe that there is one God, eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

• We believe in the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, in His virgin birth, in His sinless life, in His miracles, in His vicarious and atoning death through His shed blood, in His bodily resurrection, in His ascension to the right hand of the Father, and in His personal return in power and glory. We believe that believing in Jesus Christ is the only way to eternal life.

• We believe all mankind is sinful and in need of salvation, which is the forgiveness of sins and regeneration by the Holy Spirit. This salvation is obtained through the grace of God and faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, and not as a result of good works.

• We believe in the continuing ministry of the Holy Spirit by whose indwelling the Christian is enabled to live a godly life.

• We believe in the spiritual unity of believers in our Lord Jesus Christ.

• We believe in the spiritual foundation for this corporation and the Statement of Faith shall not be amended or deleted from Articles of Incorporation except by vote or written consent of the board members. It is the duty of the Board of Directors to continually and steadfastly uphold and maintain the Statement of Faith.

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Why do communities need Love INC?

• Existing resources operating independently are not adequate to meet current and growing levels of need.

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• One church alone cannot deal with all of the complex issues of poverty. It takes churches working together, across denominational lines, to meet these multifaceted needs.

How does Love INC work?

The Love INC model has three levels. Each level goes deeper in fulfilling Love INC's mission to transform lives and communities In the Name of Christ.

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• Level One: The Clearinghouse The Clearinghouse is the foundation of Love INC. Love INC receives requests for help, screens the requests for extent of need and legitimacy, and refers the requests to a local church ministry, church volunteer, or community agency. Love INC follows up to ensure the need was met and to offer spiritual support. Through the Clearinghouse, Love INC also identifies gaps in services and resources in the community and helps churches develop ministries to "fill in the gaps" of needs not being met by government or agencies.

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• Level Two: Relational Ministry Love INC helps individuals and families in chronic need make lasting changes in their lives. Through Relational Ministry, Love INC trains and links church members with people in need on a long-term basis to provide mentoring, goal setting, skills training, and spiritual and emotional support, along with the full array of services and resources available through the Love INC network.

• ​Level Three: Comprehensive Community Development Love INC goes even further to meet the needs of communities by addressing the deeper issues that contribute to poverty and hopelessness, such as lack of affordable housing and health care resources.

Why Does Love INC work?

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• Love INC has over 30 years of experience mobilizing churches to meet the needs of its community, resulting in proven best practices.

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• There are untapped resources in the Body of Christ that Love INC mobilizes on behalf of those in need.

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• Love INC gives Christians specific, manageable opportunities to put their faith and love to work in the service of people in need.

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• Love INC meets needs through loving relationships, and Scripture tells us that love never fails (1 Corinthians 13:8).

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Who Benefits from Love INC?

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• People in need receive coordinated help through a network of church and community services and resources.

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• Churches model unity of the Body of Christ as they work together, across denominational lines, to fulfill their Biblical mandate to help the poor and needy.

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• Church members receive opportunities to use their unique gifts and talents in specific, manageable ways to serve others.

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• Community agencies refer people in need to Love INC to fill gaps in services, and receive referrals from Love INC of verified needs that are appropriate to the agency's services

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Our Core Values...

• We are Christian. Everything we think, say, and do is in the name of Christ.

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• Prayer is an integral part of who we are

• We follow Christ's example of valuing the poor and needy

• We value unity of the Body of Christ

• We value transformation in the lives of people and communities

• We value churches living out the two great commandments to love God and love their neighbors

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• We value building Christ-like relationships

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• We value the connectedness of the Love INC movement

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• We model excellence

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• We value continually maturing in our capacity to meet people's needs

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Our History

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In 1993, a local Christian woman named Shirley Tollefson discovered a national movement that had been in existence since the late 1970's. The movement was called Love In the Name of Christ (Love INC), and it was just the tool she was envisioning for her own church and community in Skagit County.

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Shirley contacted the National Love INC Office to find out more about what Love INC is, and how they operate. She found a handful of churches who saw the value and importance of many local congregations working together to serve their community. Love INC of Skagit County was born.

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The first ministry formed by the local churches, through Love INC, was the donated furniture ministry. Volunteers would pick up and deliver used beds, furniture, appliances and medical equipment to those who were in need. Volunteers were given the opportunity to meet a very real and practical need for a family, as well as share the love and hope of Jesus Christ.

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With these opportunities, came the awareness that the Body of Christ (Christians) have so much to offer our neighbors in need. And so new ministries were birthed out of a desire to, not just give people what they temporarily need, but to instill in them the Hope that comes from living a life dedicated to Jesus Christ. This would require an investment of time, relationship, and Godly mentoring. In 2003, Love INC of Skagit County introduced its Loving Hope Mentoring Program. A program that allows Christian volunteers to develop one-on-one relationships with families in need, and to teach them how to manage their finances in a God-honoring way.

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In 2007, the Homes of Hope transitional housing ministry became a reality, and now Love INC can offer some participants in the Loving Hope Mentoring Program a home for their family to stay in while they are being mentored and getting back on their feet, financially.

Today, the Love INC of Skagit County network includes nearly 80 churches who participate in some way. More and more Christians are recognizing how they (and their church) can be so much more effective in their ministry efforts when they use Love INC as a tool to connect them with other ministries, and people with needs in our area.