IBSA News

Illinois Baptist State Newspaper

As declines continue, Floyd calls Baptists to evangelize

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Southern Baptist churches reported fewer members, worship attenders, and baptisms in 2018, according to the latest Annual Church Profile (ACP) report compiled by LifeWay Christian Resources in cooperation with Baptist state conventions. Church membership declined by 192,404, down 1.28% to 14.8 million members, while average weekly worship attendance declined by 0.43% to 5.3 million worshipers. […]

Pastors’ Conference a call to character ‘from above’

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Birmingham, Ala. | Whether in suffering or dealing with a social media firestorm, lean into the godly character that the Holy Spirit is fashioning in your heart — that was the core challenge of the 2019 Southern Baptist Pastors’ Conference June 9-10 at the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex in Birmingham, Ala. The worked their way through […]

Acteens celebrate 50

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Illinois leaders key to founding and continuing ministry Illinois’ very own Evelyn Tully was honored at the 50th anniversary celebration for the founding of Acteens. The event was held at national Woman’s Missionary Union headquarters in Birmingham ahead of the Southern Baptist Convention meeting. Tully was the first national director of the WMU’s missions organization […]

Anxiety rises as church membership falls

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A recent Gallup poll found only 50% of Americans self-reported as members of a church, synagogue, or mosque in 2018. That’s a sharp drop from around 70% in 1999, a number that had stayed fairly steady in prior decades. The decline matches up with the nation’s “steep increase” of “nones,” or people who don’t identify […]

Improving ordination: More careful interview process needed to protect churches

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The ordination process of Southern Baptist churches is a weak spot when it comes to protecting congregations from sexual predators, according to a report released May 9. The report, “Above Reproach: A Study of the Ordination Practices of SBC Churches,” was conducted by Jason A. Lowe, an associational mission strategist in Kentucky, in response to […]