Family Shepherds by Voddie T. Baucham Jr.

Scripture delineates specific responsibilities for each institution, and ideally the relationship between the family, state, and church should be harmonious and complementary, each institution fulfilling their God-given roles within their distinct jurisdictions. God has established three institutions to bring order to creation and fulfill His purposes: the family, the state, and the church. While home schooling is not essential to the FICM, the vast majority of families in FIC homeschool their children.5 It should be no surprise that the FICM has close ties to the homeschooling movement and in many respects is its natural outgrowth.

The NCFIC, founded in 2001, is the flagship organization for the FICM and has a national network of more than 800 churches. Eric Wallace, president of the Institute for Uniting Church and Home (IUCAH).4.Voddie Baucham Jr., professor, author, and pastor of Grace Family Baptist Church near Houston, Texas3.Doug Phillips, president of Vision Forum Ministries2.Scott Brown, director of the National Center for Family-Integrated Churches (NCFIC)1.The FICM is not a denomination but rather a loose association of churches and organizations represented by a variety of denominational perspectives. Conversely they insist that virtually all age-segregated ministries and activities at church, such as Sunday School or youth ministries, are unequivocally unbiblical.

Advocates of family-integrated churches (FIC) believe that families should worship and fellowship together in age-integrated (i.e., multigenerational) services and activities. The FICM is comprised of evangelical churches, pastors, and laymen who share a distinct philosophical approach toward the family and church. At first glance the influence of the FICM might seem innocent and even beneficial for traditional churches, but instead it is proving to be problematic for many pastors and churches. In addition, families entrenched in the movement have been drawn to fundamental churches because of their emphasis on Biblical preaching and conservatism. Since the mid-1990s an increasing number of families within fundamental churches have gravitated toward the family-integrated approach.

The Family Integrated Church Movement (FICM) is having a growing impact within fundamental Baptist churches-and unfortunately it is not all good. January–March 2012 United Families Dividing Churches:Īn Assessment of the Family Integrated Church Movement Douglas Brown, Ph.D.

Family Shepherds by Voddie T. Baucham Jr.