The year after Redemption City Church closed its doors, a new church is preparing to use its building as a hub for outreach and ministry in this community 60 miles northwest of Chicago. Gospel Grace, a church plant headed by Nate Praytor, has spent the summer meeting neighbors and gathering in two Bible study groups: […]
Church hits the ‘Mother Road;’ Red Hill’s outreach aims for a better city through gospel presence
Edwardsville | In a town proud of its Route 66 heritage, thousands gather every year to celebrate what John Steinbeck called “the Mother Road.” For more than 20 years, Edwardsville’s annual Route 66 festival at City Park has offered visitors fun, food, and classic cars. What was missing, realized church planter Rayden Hollis, was a […]
Stitchin’ time: Quilters on a mission to support Illinois families
“Each one of us has got some adopted grandchildren.” In a Sunday school classroom at Marshall Missionary Baptist Church, Alberta Siverly explains why she and her sisters meet here every week. Along with their friend Karen Wallace, the sisters are assembled to work on quilts for an annual auction held by Illinois’ Baptist Children’s Home […]
Storms spur Disaster Relief callouts in Illinois
Illinois Baptist Disaster Relief volunteers mobilized in the Metro East region after mid-August rain overwhelmed drainage systems and damaged many homes. “The people are desperate for our help,” said Sharon Carty, a Disaster Relief volunteer from Emmanuel Baptist Church in Carlinville. Carty was one of the volunteers at a Multi-Agency Response Center (MARC) at Granite […]
On Sept. 8: Our first act of discipleship
Editor’s note: Churches in Illinois baptized more than 700 people during One GRAND Month last April. September 8 is Baptism Sunday across the Southern Baptist Convention. For several years now, I have been greatly burdened by the declining number of baptisms across the Southern Baptist Convention. I believe the baptism numbers serve as one of […]
Why Illinois matters: Headlines affirm church influence urgently needed—especially here
Editor’s note: The 2019 Mission Illinois Offering and Week of Prayer is Sept. 8-15. Several recent news stories have left us surprised, even stunned. The report that, at the stroke of the governor’s pen, LGBT history will be part of the Illinois public school curriculum starting next year leaves some Christian parents wondering how to […]