Editor’s note: For the January 1 issue of the Illinois Baptist, pastors and leaders from IBSA shared their thoughts on the challenges and opportunities facing the church in 2021. You’ll see them here every Wednesday this month. Scott Foshie, IBSA director of revitalization In 1920, Arthur Flake came to the Southern Baptist Sunday School Board […]
Life pursuit: Couple clings to hope on adoption journey
“Are you sitting down?” When adoption specialist Regina Thompson called Jennifer Money in October 2019, she knew what she had to say was potentially life-changing. Money and her husband, Daniel, had recently adopted a little boy after years of struggling through an often difficult process. Now, Thompson and Baptist Children’s Home and Family Services had […]
2021 Forecast: Evangelism shifts to an ancient model, with modern technology
Editor’s note: For the January 1 issue of the Illinois Baptist, pastors and leaders from IBSA shared their thoughts on the challenges and opportunities facing the church in 2021. You’ll see them here every Wednesday this month. Fran Trascritti, IBSA administrative director of leadership development Who would have thought even a year ago that churches […]
News Stories
AL pastor to be nominated for SBC president
Ed Litton, pastor of Redemption Church in Saraland, Ala., is the third announced candidate for SBC president. Former SBC president Fred Luter announced his intention to nominate Litton at the denomination’s annual meeting in June. “With Ed’s commitment to the Great Commandment and the Great Commission, he is what our convention needs to help us […]
Baptists and a new, ‘blue’ White House
Ahead of Wednesday’s inauguration, evangelicals are preparing for a chillier relationship with the Biden administration due to the President-elect’s positions on abortion, LGBTQ matters, and other issues on which evangelicals and the President-elect hold vastly different views. Additionally, violence at the U.S. Capitol Jan. 6 increased tensions across the nation, including among Christians who continue […]
Anne Graham Lotz to speak at Priority Women’s Conference
Evangelist and teacher Anne Graham Lotz will be the keynote speaker at Priority, an annual conference of Illinois Baptist Women to be held at the Bank of Springfield Center in Springfield April 23-24. Lotz is the daughter of renown preacher Billy Graham, and the author of 19 books, including “Jesus in Me.” “Anne will help […]
Merritt replaces Stetzer as Resolutions chair
Former Southern Baptist Convention President James Merritt (right) will chair the 2021 SBC Resolutions Committee, replacing Ed Stetzer of Wheaton College’s Billy Graham Center. Stetzer would have chaired the committee at the 2020 SBC annual meeting, but the event was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Stetzer informed SBC President J.D. Greear he is unable […]
Encouraging Words
Are you weary? Run on.
We set up a makeshift pulpit in our dining room. With the camera balanced on cardboard boxes and books, my husband preached while I served as executive producer—a role I gained overnight. Immediately after his sermon, I taught children’s church via video conference from a desk in our bedroom. I also held an open invitation […]
God with us
I love people and deeply miss the connectedness that’s hard to have in the middle of a pandemic. I recently had a senior adult lady who I haven’t seen in months come by the church I pastor. My first comment to her was, “Ida, I’ve missed being WITH you so much I would almost hug […]
Leaders
Illinois Leadership Summit goes online
Challenges presented by the pandemic are proving to be growth opportunities for IBSA conferences and leadership events. Because of limitations on attendance in a single location, the 2021 Illinois Leadership Summit will be available online for the first time. Future Focus: Leading Your Church Beyond COVID-19 will be the theme of the event on Jan. […]