Iris Abilene: Camp Barkeley
Form 1023, Part IV
Narrative Description of Your Activities
Iris Abilene is the first United States base camp of Iris Global. While Iris Abilene is a separate legal entity, its methods and goals are the same as Iris Global. A letter of understanding between Iris Global and Iris Abilene is attached. See Exhibit______.
We encourage you to review the website of Iris Abilene: Camp Barkeley and Iris Global, base camp Abilene, to see pictures and video of our activities. Attached please find our brochure and business card, as well as print outs of information from our website. See Exhibit______.
Camp Barkeley is a Christ-Centered Camp on 1,000 acres of land located in Buffalo Gap, Texas, sanctified and set-apart for encountering the manifest presence of God. The land is dedicated to be a place of refuge and restoration for families, ministers, and sojourners seeking the presence of God. Iris Abilene hosts and facilitates training for local and world missions, church ministry, and holistic approaches to complete healing of the body, soul, and spirit.
We are committed to working with local leaders with the aim of furthering the advancement of God’s Kingdom in serving the poor and underprivileged through feeding programs, medical care, training programs for local and international ministers, conference hosting and local pastoral care. We partner with organizations nationally and internationally who aid countries in bringing relief.
Iris Abilene is committed to expressing a living and tangible response to the commandments Jesus called greatest: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength,” and “love your neighbor as yourself.” It is our conviction that the Spirit of God has asked us to make this love concrete to the world, incarnate in our thoughts our bodies, our lives and our every action. We are joint promoters with and for God in establishing His Kingdom on earth in all of its aspects but most especially in and through our passion to serve the least of these in our families, our city, region, and nations. Some of the organizations we partner with include:
· Love and Care Ministries
· Adventures in Missions
· Catch the Fire
· International House of Prayer (IHOP)
· Cyprus, Gateway
· Global Samaritan Resources
Iris Abilene exists to train and equip Kingdom leaders to abide in the love and presence of God, to know their identity in Christ, and commission them in their destiny to manifest the love and Lordship of Christ in their mountains of influence throughout the nations of the World. Specific activities planned are as follows.
The most important and recurring activity of Iris Abilene is to plan, staff, conduct and support Iris Global School at Camp Barkeley. Each School session is five weeks of intensive training for fifty individuals. Every speaker and teacher is required to have completed extensive training thru Harvest School in Pemba, Mozambique. Upon completion of Iris Global School at Camp Barkeley, students will be equipped and confident in releasing the Father’s heart, cultivating identity, facilitating inner healing, and be certified to go to the darkest places bringing the living hope and love of Jesus Christ.
The first Iris Global School is planned for August 19 – September 20, 2014. Fifty participants are expected to attend and pay a course fee of $1,500 each. Iris Abilene will provide a volunteer staff of 10-15 speakers and teachers for this School. See Exhibit______.
The Board anticipates two five week sessions of Iris Global School in 2015 and three sessions in 2016.
Other activities include the following:
1. January through February 2014, Iris Abilene is hosting CGA Healing Track through Adventures in Missions. Adventures in Missions is an organization dedicated to discipling and mobilizing the body of Christ. Seven participants are currently on site at Camp Barkeley. Adventures in Missions provides the staff and training for the 16 week course. Each participant will pay $280 to stay at Camp Barkeley for 8 weeks. Upon completion of 8 weeks of training, the participants will spend 4 additional weeks living in the Abilene community at host homes and participating in Abilene mission work. The final 4 weeks will be spent in national mission work. See Exhibit______,
2. Iris Abilene invites mission minded speakers and church groups to present programs and seminars. September 3-13, 2014, Iris Abilene will host Paul Cull, who will conduct a CERT first response training. The local fire department and community will be involved in role play and live enactment. Paul trains and leads disaster preparedness and response teams internationally. His organization trains civilians and missionaries to meet the immediate needs when disaster strikes. See Exhibit______.
3. Iris Global has expressed an interest in renewing and training their staff at Camp Barkeley in 2 week sessions semi-annually. Iris Abilene will host the group.
4. Norm and Angel Poorman are currently taking online classes through Global Legacy from Bethel Redding. Once qualified, Iris Abilene will have interns that come and stay at Camp Barkeley a year and serve non-profit organizations and churches in the Abilene area.
5. One of the Iris Abilene volunteer staff has trained for six months with International House of Prayer (IHOP). Iris Abilene hopes to sponsor a House of Prayer at Camp Barkeley, atop the mountain.
6. Iris Abilene has a heart to serve the local community of Abilene. We partner with a local ministry, Love and Care Ministries, which offers meals, clothes, showers, dental, medical and prayer to the homeless and less fortunate residents of Abilene. We believe blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. Our heart is to demonstrate power and love to those in our local community. Through this demonstration of kindness the Kingdom of God is displayed.
7. Global Samaritan is another non-profit organization established in Abilene we are privileged to partner with. Global Samaritan ships cargo containers all over the world filled with humanitarian aid, medical, dental, educational supplies, food, and much more. Iris Abilene will be shipping its next container filled with desks, chairs, and dorm beds, solar lights (Watts of Love), X-Ray machine, clothes, toys, and an industrial-sized bread oven. Our desire is to see Gods love be displayed through acts of kindness as we partner together to give hope.
Iris Abilene is a hub—an organization that gathers resources, including people, supplies, and medical care, and sends to meet human and spiritual needs, not only in Abilene, Texas but throughout the world. Collect kindness, give hope.