Springfield | The highlight of the event may have been having a photo made with the outgoing President of the Southern Baptist Convention, dressed in his Texas flag shirt and cowboy hat, standing next to a cardboard cutout of a cow like those he raises back home in Farmersville. More likely it was the opportunity […]
Priority offers hope and spiritual refreshment
Springfield | “I appreciate what God does each year that he brings us here,” said Vivian Johnson. “Here” is the annual Priority Conference, a women’s leadership event. “Our women’s department has grown quite a bit because of their experience,” she continued. “One thing that I have a concern about is somebody saying they’re giving their […]
VBS opens doors for discipleship
Most people who walk into Freedom Church in Neosho, Missouri, start with a worship service. It’s an on-ramp to the church’s discipleship pathway, a natural starting point on the journey from being a first-time visitor to a growing, serving follower of Christ. For kids and families, said Pastor Jack Lucas, that first worship service is often […]
Illinois missionary joins God in pursuit of neglected peoples in Uganda
Sonya Herron stood beneath a small tent among a group of lepers, and others from the village, and shared the gospel with boldness. She called people to walk in the light as Jesus is the Light and challenged them to be fully committed to Christ. Afterward, an older man, missing one leg, came forward on […]
Illinois DR vet expands reach
As Disaster Relief teams from Ohio and Indiana state conventions assessed storm damage that left three dead in mid-March, one of the leaders on the ground was familiar to Illinois Baptists—former state Disaster Relief director Butch Porter. At least three were reported dead in Ohio in a wave of storms that also left dozens injured […]
Barber promises ‘Law’ ballot vote during Illinois visit
Springfield | The highlight of the event may have been having a photo made with the outgoing President of the Southern Baptist Convention, dressed in his Texas flag shirt and cowboy hat, standing next to a cardboard cutout of a cow like those he raises back home in Farmersville. More likely it was the opportunity […]
Illinois DR teams aid volunteers in neighboring states
Bettendorf, Iowa | Illinois Baptists reached out to officials with the Iowa convention to offer help as they are rebuilding their disaster relief teams. In the first shared event, 39 people were trained in disaster relief ministry at First Baptist Church, Bettendorf, on February 24. This was a joint training for Illinois Baptist State Association […]
How churches can help overcome mental health stigmas
Springfield | The group of church leaders were exchanging their own experiences with mental issues. A recently widowed pastor shared how his congregation didn’t know how to minister to him, leaving him to grieve alone at home where he’d fallen into a deep depression. A mother said she’d found a letter her daughter had written […]
Abuse in the SBC
With SATF recommendations approved, the hard part begins
“The recommendations before you are not from Guidepost, they are from the task force,” Bruce Frank, chairman of the Sexual Abuse Task Force told messengers as they prepared to vote on a set of history-making recommendations at the SBC Annual Meeting June 14-15 in Anaheim, Calif. The task force was assigned and authorized by action […]
IBSA President on abuse response: From difficulties to determination
A 288-page report on any subject is daunting, but as a Southern Baptist, pastor, and president of IBSA, I felt a responsibility to keep the report open all last week and slowly read through it. I made notes and wrote down personal thoughts, and as I reviewed them afterwards, I was surprised to discover a […]
Former Illinois pastor accused; two relationships occurred in youth ministry in 2002
Former Illinois pastor Wes Feltner is accused by two women of abusive relationships, one of them sexual, when he was their youth minister in Indiana 17 years ago. The charges came to light as Feltner is lead candidate for the pastorate of First Baptist Church of Clarksville, Tennessee. The story was reported by the Clarksville […]
Longtime Chicago pastor resigns; sexual abuse prior to ministry among reasons
Charles Lyons resigned as pastor of Armitage Baptist Church in Chicago following what church leaders called a “corrective leave of absence” that began in October 2018. Read…
Resources
- Protect your children, protect your church https://www.ibsa.org/3327-2/
- Caring Well https://caringwell.com/
News Stories
Warm welcome for Texan
Springfield | SBC President Bart Barber and his assessment of current issues in the denomination were both well received during the Texas pastor’s visit to Illinois. Coming to the Midwest one more time before the 2024 SBC Annual Meeting convenes in Indianapolis in June, Barber spent about four hours on April 16 meeting pastors and […]
Illinois Baptist honored by peers
Richmond | The Illinois Baptist team was cited for excellence in journalism and design at the 2024 Baptist Communicators Association awards held in Richmond, Virginia April 23-25. The annual gathering of journalists and media specialists from SBC entities recognizes achievements for a wide range of publications and multimedia. The IBSA team received first place nods […]
1,000+ march on Illinois Capitol
Springfield | More than 1,000 people attended the Illinois Right to Life March in Springfield April 17. Among them was a former gubernatorial candidate who called recently passed House Bill 4867 a “death bill.” Jesse Sullivan, who ran in the Republican primary for governor in 2022, criticized House Bill 4867, which amends the Illinois Human […]
Pioneer missionary forgotten over mental illness
Thomas Jefferson Bowen was the first Southern Baptist missionary to focus on winning Muslims to Christ and the first missionary sent by the convention to Central or South America, but generations have not known his name. By 1860, Southern Baptists only had mission work in four countries, and Bowen was responsible for two. He was […]