The Fellowship Foundation, also known as the International Foundation, is a non-profit organization whose purpose is to encourage one another and people throughout the world to carry out the first and Great Commandment "to love God first" and "to love your neighbor as yourself". This is accomplished by seeking to adhere to the teachings and precepts of Jesus.

 

The Foundation was founded in 1935 by Abraham Vereide; the current leader is Doug Coe. It holds one regular public event each year, the National Prayer Breakfast, which is held in Washington, D.C.

The people involved with the Foundation also develop friendships across all of the lines that typically divide people, including race, religion, politics, and socio-economic status. A fundamental pursuit of these friends is to serve people who are poor or disadvantaged.

 

Our (Fellowship Foundation) Purpose is :

1.     To develop and maintain an informal association of individuals banded together in the spirit of Jesus, and then go out as "ambassadors of reconciliation", modeling Jesus' principles, based on loving God and loving others.

2.     To work with the people of many nations, and as their hearts are touched, impact the poor, the oppressed, the widows and the young people of their country in a positive manner.

3.     To develop young people's groups that meet for friendship and fellowship and who observe the teachings of Jesus Christ, including the power of loving others as you want to be loved.

 

The friends involved in the Foundation place an extremely high value on the sanctity of relationships, and value what takes place in the hearts of people led by God. The priority is to encourage around the world "people to people" relationships. We support and encourage the importance of special gatherings and events where people can meet together.

 

The men and women involved believe reconciliation is their calling. Because of that they adhere to these foundational principles:

· That the purpose of all life is to "Love the Lord our God with all our heart, with all our soul and with all our mind, and to love our neighbors like ourselves." (Matthew 22:23-40);

 

· That the "work of God" is "to believe in the One He has sent" (John 6:28-29);

 

· That God is love and that He cares for everyone. (John 3:16)

 

· That The Kingdom of God as taught by Jesus is: "Seek first God's Kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be added to you as well." (Matthew 6:33)

 

· That maintaining relationships is important (Matthew 18:15-16), as is not letting the sun go down on divisions between people. (Ephesians 4:25-27)

 

· That we are not to become judgmental. Jesus said the way you judge others is how you will be judged. (Matthew 7:1-5)

 

The International Foundation:  

The foundation is a network of friends from all walks of life and all ages joined together by our interest in the specific person, wisdom and reconciling power of Jesus. The Foundation operates within a collaborative rather than a hierarchical structure. A core principal of this structure is that the organization is to serve the people, not the people serving the organization. As a 501(c)3 corporation, one of the functions of the Foundation is to provide administrative and accounting support to small groups of people who come together in the spirit of Jesus Christ to serve others around the world in countless different ways. The Foundation handles the legal and financial aspects faced by the people involved in the various projects, professionally and in compliance with all governing laws and regulations.

 

The International Foundation governance is a board of directors  responsible for financial oversight and general policy, including ensuring compliance with the bylaws of the Foundation and with all IRS regulations and federal and state laws. In addition, the board approves the annual budgets for each project and oversees the annual audit.

 

Directors engage with the understanding that they truly "serve," and do not "run" the work of the Foundation. As such, they do not list their service as a resume credential so as to not confuse their motivation. One of the directors' most important servant leadership functions is to pray for the many friends, colleagues and volunteers whom they serve.

The financial policy of the Foundation is founded in reliance on God to provide the means to conduct the work He initiates. All individual service operations are accountable for ensuring that they have sufficient funds to cover their activities.

 

The financial philosophy is based in the belief that God will prompt individuals who share a common concern to support the work through voluntary contributions; therefore, no general solicitations are conducted by mail, via the internet or through presentations at group functions.