Mission and Core Values

Our mission is to mobilize the Church to transform lives and communities In the Name of Christ.

1. We are Christian. Everything we think, say, and do is in the name of Christ.
2. Prayer is an integral part of who we are.
3. We follow Christ's example of valuing the poor and needy.
4. We value unity of the Body of Christ.
5. We value transformation in the lives of people and communities.
6. We value churches living out the two great commandments to love God and love their neighbors.
7. We value building Christ-like relationships.
8. We value the connectedness of the Love INC movement.
9. We model excellence.
10. We value continually maturing in our capacity to meet people's needs.

History

Love INC was founded in 1977 as a way to encourage churches to become more engaged with the poor and to inspire a greater number of Christians to put their faith in action.

Love INC's founder, Dr. Virgil Gulker, was a social worker and outreach director in Holland, Michigan, in the late 1970s. Deeply committed to helping people trapped in poverty, he was certain God had called others to the same mission. As he talked to church members and pastors, Dr. Gulker came to understand that Christians did indeed want to help the needy, but they had few ideas about how to do so. Many times people did not even recognize that they were gifted in ways that could have a positive impact on someone else's life.

It was clear to Dr. Gulker that if churches were to better serve their communities, they needed leadership, organization, training, encouragement, and prayer. He developed the Love INC model to fill these critical roles. Love INC taught churches to assess their capabilities, and it unified local congregations so that, working together, they could more effectively help their neighbors.

One man's idea for an integrated church ministry in Holland, Michigan, began to inspire Christians in many different regions. Others duplicated the Love INC model--with its successes--as they sought to meet the needs of hurting individuals and families in their own communities. By the late 1980s, there were 50 Love INC affiliates operating in 14 states.

As the Love INC ministry grew, so did the need for national leadership and support. In 1988, Love INC became an operating department of World Vision U.S., an international Christian relief and development organization, where it remained for the next 15 years. Under World Vision, Love INC continued to grow throughout the 1990s, and in 2001 Robert Odom was appointed president of Love INC. In 2003, Love INC separated from World Vision and again became its own national nonprofit organization, headquartered in Minneapolis.

Today Love INC has over 135 affiliates in 30 states, representing a network of nearly 9,000 churches, 6,000 community agencies, and more than 300,000 volunteers helping more than 1 million people in need each year.