Springfield | It was a celebration of tears and laughter, as messengers at the IBSA Annual Meeting honored Executive Director Nate Adams ahead of his planned retirement. Two moments stand out.
The first was when the elder Adams his introduced his son Noah, now a pastor in Colorado, who was invited to preach. The proud father teared up a bit, as might be expected.
Retiring IBSA Executive Director Nate Adams reaches out to one of his grandchildren who has just “driven” into the 2025 IBSA Annual Meeting in a replica Honda Accord.
The second was laughter from the crowd as the Adamses’ young grandchildren drove a toy Honda Accord into the ballroom at the Crowne Plaza. It was a replica of the three Hondas their grandfather drove across Illinois for the past 20 years. The procession was sweet, and slow, and funny.
In between those moments, Nate and Beth were brought to the stage. Their service to Illinois Baptists was commended with a resolution, a memorial obelisk, and words of gratitude.
“I love three things about Nate Adams,” IBSA President Doug Munton said. “I love that he leads,” he said, pointing briefly to two decades of leadership that produced spiritual and financial stability and kept IBSA on mission.
“I love that he prays,” Munton continued, “and he has prayed many times for me…. And, I love that he cries.”
At his turn to speak, Adams commented that he couldn’t dare to get choked up again, since this tendency had been pointed out.
A message written to retiring IBSA Executive Director Nate Adams by an Illinois Baptist messenger at the 2025 IBSA Annual Meeting November 4-5 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Springfield.
Adams thanked Beth, his wife 40 years, for her role in his IBSA ministry. He pointed to his parents, Tom and Romelia, partners in ministry to Illinois who paved the way for his service to the IBSA family. And he shared a few photos of his family. From three school-age boys when they moved to Springfield in 2006, the Adams family now includes three daughters-in-law and six young grandchildren.
Adams also showed a photo from his favorite film, The Wizard of Oz. “For those of you who haven’t seen the movie, it’s the sequel to Wicked,” he said. The crowd chuckled. The photo was from the end, where Dorothy has returned home to learn the value of her family.
“As many national SBC leaders have told me, You have something unique here (in Illinois),” Adams said to the 492 Illinois Baptists (381 messengers, 111 guests) in the meeting. “Thank you for being my family.”
The crowd stood to its feet and applauded. Afterward, they lined the hallway to shake Nate’s hand and eat his favorite pie—French Silk.
“When Nate first became Executive Director, my mother said, ‘He looks awfully young, but I know his father,’” said Rita Klundt of Liberty Baptist Church in Pekin, while standing in line. Tom Adams wrote a column for the Illinois Baptist for 34 years. When Nate visited churches, he said he often met people who had clippings tucked in their Bibles.
“Nate never treated me like a small-time pastor,” said Sherman Smith of Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church in Medora. Smith served on the Credentials Committee. “He always knew me, knew my wife’s name. I was impressed with that.”
Pastor Ronnie Tabor of Crossroads Church cited the 2019 reorganization of the state staff to focus on health, growth, and mission as one of Adams’ main achievements. That was “phenomenal for our church in Centralia and for our revitalization work,” he said. “It helped our church tremendously— we went from 40 to 220.”
Messengers and guests were invited to write cards and drop them in the window of the actual Honda Adams drove. It was on display in the Exhibit Hall, like a giant white mailbox.
A messenger writes a note on the window of retiring Executive Director Nate Adams’ Honda Accord in the Exhibit Hall of the 2025 IBSA Annual Meeting.
Adams will serve until April 1, 2026. His successor is expected to be named in December, and to be in office in January, allowing for a three-month onboarding process.
Adams is the longest serving IBSA Executive Director, recently surpassing both B. F. Rodman, the first head of the state association from its founding in 1907 to 1926, and Noel Taylor who reached 19 years before his retirement in 1965. Eleven men have served as Executive Director of IBSA.