OUR HISTORY

Our Beginning

In 1995, Louis Arce, a member of Merrimack Valley Baptist Church, approached his pastor seeking advice on finding a mission agency that would support his vision of using his building skills to fulfill the Great Commission. At that time, such innovative ministry approaches were uncommon, with few agencies willing to facilitate this type of service. This need led to the birth of Independent Baptist Mission (IBM).
Initially established as a ministry of one local church serving its own members, IBM grew beyond its original scope by 2009 when other missionaries learned about this small New England mission agency with its unique ministry philosophy. As interest grew, IBM welcomed these missionaries, formed a Board of Directors, changed its name to IBMGlobal, and registered as a DBA tradename in New Hampshire. The organization aimed to become a mission agency from New England for New England, and from this foundation, IBMGlobal began to expand both in size and global impact.

Our Beginning

Our Founder

Larry Clouse, the founding Pastor of Merrimack Valley Baptist Church, established IBMGlobal after serving as a church planter with Biblical Ministries Worldwide for ten years in the South Pacific. Afterward he returned to the USA where he pastored in Pontiac, Michigan, while also serving as Professor of Missions at Midwestern Baptist College. Five years later he moved to New England to impact the most unchurched part of North America.
In 1981, he planted Merrimack Valley Baptist Church in New Hampshire and faithfully pastored it for 34 years. Larry served as the Executive Director of IBMGlobal from its founding in 1995 until December 2020. Today, he continues his ministry as a missionary facilitated by IBMGlobal, leading the revitalization of Fellowship Bible Church in Burlington, Massachusetts, while also serving as an emeritus advisory council member to the IBMGlobal Board of Directors.

Our Founder

The Next Generation

In December 2020, Jamie Smith assumed leadership as President of IBMGlobal. Jamie remains deeply committed to preserving the philosophical foundation that has made IBMGlobal unique while guiding the organization to reach its full potential. This vision required building a dedicated team and organizational infrastructure capable of meeting the needs of both current missionaries and those yet to join.
Under Jamie's leadership, IBMGlobal has achieved organizational autonomy while maintaining strong familial ties with Merrimack Valley Baptist Church. The organization is now a registered non-profit corporation in New Hampshire with 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status.
To fulfill this mission, God has assembled a passionate team of servant-leaders specializing in missionary mobilization, strategic planning and training, member care, global safety and security, process management, and missionary finances.
In 2024, IBMGlobal reached another milestone by purchasing its first office building and relocating to Epsom, New Hampshire. This strategic move positioned the organization to better mobilize and serve the missionary community and churches throughout New England and across North America.
What began as a small ministry of a local church supporting just one missionary family has flourished into an organization that now facilitates 43 commissioning churches and their 82 missionaries serving in 17 nations around the world.