what we do
we mobilize + equip the Local Church for Justice and Compassion Ministry Worldwide.
i-61 is a global ministry of justice and compassion. It is a ministry developed by and based out of the Vineyard Boise Christian Fellowship, but it has been embraced as an agency of Vineyard Missions USA. Our mission is to mobilize and equip the local church for justice and compassion ministry worldwide.
Isaiah 61:1-4
The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
because the Lord has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor;
he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and the opening of the prison to those who are bound.
This verse starts the passage that our ministry was founded on.
We seek to embody the vision stated in Isaiah 61:1-4 (and quoted by Jesus in Luke 4:18-19) by bringing good news to the poor.
We do this by training individuals and churches, bringing awareness, and being a bridge between ministries around the world working in the field.
Our ministry was founded by Tri Robinson, the founding pastor of Vineyard Boise Christian Fellowship. He states:
“The ministry of i-61 has been a work in progress for as long as I have been in full time ministry. It has evolved and been refined through the last 35 years. It really launched in 2006, when I wrote a book called Saving God’s Green Earth, which really called Christians to environmental stewardship within the evangelical church.
“The book opened up conversations around the globe with people who deeply cared about extreme poverty and the connection with environmental issues. I realized then, that there was more than this one issue driving world poverty. God highlighted to me seven key world crises that are most responsible for the exploitation of people and the advancement of extreme poverty. These seven areas grew into the ministry focus for i-61 as we sought to bring redemption and life to that which has been destroyed. Our heart is to free the captives and bind up the brokenhearted because that is what Christ commissioned us to do (Isaiah 61/ Luke 4:18-19).”
i-61 as a Network: Join today
We serve the entire Vineyard movement as a covering of relationship, communication, and encouragement to dozens of Vineyard ministries around the world who are working in the area of justice and compassion. We identify ministries that touch the seven areas of world crises and invite them into the i-61 community. Some of our network ministry partners include orphanages, ministries who work to stop human trafficking, education programs, environmental projects, agriculture projects, and medical outreaches. We value being a bridge-builder between ministries, bringing support to those in the mission field, supplying them with workers, and mobilizing churches to walk alongside these vital ministries. We hold weekly meetings where we connect with our ministry partners around the world.
i-61 as an Equipping Agency
The issues embraced through i-61 Ministries require highly skilled workers to address these critical concerns. Training is one of the essential features of our ministry.
Some have described i-61 as being like a Christian Peace Corps where participants must undergo a rigorous season of training before they engage in the hands-on ministry.
All i-61 training is experiential: our students learn by doing. There is local training available through Vineyard Boise Christian Fellowship.
i-61 as a Voice
The greatest objective of i-61 is to move the needle of evangelical Christian culture concerning issues of justice and compassion. It is our desire to see Christians everywhere on the front lines of a world that is in crisis. For this reason we endeavor to be that loud voice that is crying out on behalf of those in poverty to take action. The very name ‘i-61’ is a message of God’s mandate for his people to engage in his personal decree to fulfill the Messianic manifesto of Isaiah 61. This is done through speaking, writing, and every form of social media. Read about the seven areas of world crisis and our small group series.