My name is Amanda Hoffman and I am thankful to have the privilege of recently being elected to serve on the IBCM Board. I live in Bellevue, NE with my wonderful husband and our four amazing children that God has graciously blessed us with through foster care. We have lived in Nebraska for over 15 years as both of us are prior military. My husband is now a sergeant for the Omaha Police Department, and I am a stay-at-home mom. We attend LifeSpring Church in Bellevue.
When I was approached several months ago by IBCM Board President Thomas Narofsky to consider volunteering to serve on the board, I didn’t know if it was the right time to add anything additional to my plate. My husband and I were in a hectic season filled with transitions. He was recently promoted, and his hours were shifting from nights to swings while I continued to work during the day. We had recently left our church and were prayerfully considering LifeSpring as our new church home. We were also preparing for me to leave my job in a few months and become a stay-at-home mom after 13 years of working full-time. God had also brought a new foster baby into our home in January of 2024, so all last year felt like a blur transitioning from three to four kids and taking care of a newborn baby while juggling opposite schedules. However, I knew this busy season was only temporary and would eventually come to an end. I didn’t want to pass up an opportunity God was giving me due to my current circumstances, so I said yes.
I decided to serve on the IBCM board because I was directly impacted during my youth by the work this ministry does for English-speaking churches abroad. I grew up in a military family and my father’s last station in the Air Force before retiring was at Ramstein Air Base in Germany where I attended middle and high school. These were pivotal years in my spiritual development and although I didn’t get saved until my mid-twenties, I am forever grateful to have called Faith Baptist Church in Kaiserslautern my church home for four years. I’ve experienced first-hand how the partnership and support IBCM provides to these international English-speaking churches furthers God’s kingdom and reaches people for Christ and that’s an exciting endeavor to be a part of!
In addition to serving on the board, I have also volunteered to be chair of the Prayer Committee. As believers, one of our greatest tools – if not the greatest tool we have – at our disposal is prayer. God speaks to us through His word, and we speak to Him through prayer. The foundation that makes our relationship personal is by our daily communication with Him through praying and reading His word. God’s design for prayer is to align our will to His and grow our faith in Him. Ephesians 3:20-21 says, “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever Amen.” How incredible to ponder that before we even utter anything to Him, He is ready and able to answer our prayers far beyond what we could ever imagine.
As the chair of the Prayer committee, I invite you to partner with me in prayer each week and pray for the IBCM, IBC, and English-language churches and ministries because we believe in power of prayer:
- Monday – Pray for the IBCM, the IBC and English-language leaders
- Tuesday – Pray for the churches in Central and South America
- Wednesday – Pray for the churches in Europe and Eurasia
- Thursday – Pray for the churches in Africa and the Middle East
- Friday – Pray for the Lord to open new opportunities for the IBC
- Saturday – Pray for the Lord to open new opportunities for the IBCM
- Sunday – Pray for each church’s service today
“And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.” Matthew 21:22
In Christ,
Amanda Hoffman, Director
International Baptist Church Ministries