The purpose of LICM could be stated most concisely as a ministry of "Proclaiming Christ to Christians." In order to grow in maturity and wholeness and fruitfulness and Christlikeness, we must be feeding on the truth from God's word about the Lord Jesus Christ, who lives in us as our hope of glory. Another way to express our purpose is that we are involved in pointing God's people to the Lord and His word.
This is done primarily through Bible study seminars including: Counseling God's Way, Growing in the Grace of God, The Church: How Jesus Builds It, Promise Believers, Contending for the Faith, and related themes. Our messages also go out through Church Services, Pastors' Conferences, Retreats, Bible Colleges, Schools of Ministry, overseas ministry trips, through audio and video studies and through this website. Additional teaching themes commonly deal with The Sufficiency of Christ and His Word, The Psychologizing of the Faith, The Ability of God's Word, and Knowing God. A newly developing avenue of ministry is writing. A compact paperback entitled Psychologizing the Faith has been published by The Word For Today. Another book entitled How to Counsel God's Way has recently been reprinted and made available in English and German. Other books and writing projects will be following soon as the Lord allows.
The Lord used Chaplain Ray Hoekstra to begin the International Prison Ministry (IPM) in 1972. The Chaplain then directed IPM until he went home to be with the Lord on November 20, 1997, at the age of 84. For decades, Chaplain Ray and his wife, Leola, made thousands of ministry visits into prisons across America and the former Soviet Union. They also distributed free Bibles, Life-Changing testimony books, and Christian study books to prisoners who requested them. Their ministry was supported in prayer and donations by Christians who listened daily to IPM's national radio broadcast.
Upon Chaplain Ray's "home-going" to Glory, his beloved wife and partner Leola Hoekstra continued to faithfully direct IPM until 2002, when IPM's board of directors appointed Pastor Bob Hoekstra (Chaplain Ray's son) Director of the ministry. Pastor Bob is also the founder and director of Living in Christ Ministries (www.livinginchrist.org), which now operates as the teaching and discipleship arm of IPM. IPM continues the extensive distribution of Bibles, testimony books, and biblical literature to inmates in jails and prisons all across the United States. IPM also is involved with overseas parnerships in ministry to prisoners in Ukraine and India.
The purpose of both IPM and LICM can be stated most concisely as the ministry of evangelism and edification. This takes place at home, abroad and behind prison bars. Our hearts desire is to proclaim liberty to the captives and to point people to the Lord and His word. In order to grow in maturity, wholeness, fruitfulness and Christlikeness, we must be feeding on the truth from God’s word about the Lord Jesus Christ, Who lives in us as our hope of glory (Col 1:27).
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Pastor Bob Hoekstra was the founder and director of Living in Christ Ministries and the International Prison Ministry, which his father, Chaplain Ray Hoekstra founded in 1972. Pastor Bob had been in Ministry since 1967. LICM now operates as the teaching and discipleship arm of International Prison Ministry. IPM continues the extensive distribution od Bibles and Bible study resources to inmates in jails and prisons all across the United states. IPM also actively remains actively involved in ministry partnerships overseas.