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Webcast plans for 40 days of prayer for racial unity

February 6, 2023 By Diana Chandler

Pastors Ed Litton (left) and Fred Luter will hold a Feb. 9 webcast announcing 40 days of prayer for racial reconciliation in the Southern Baptist Convention.

Unify Project will announce in a Feb. 9 webcast plans for 40 days of prayer for racial unity in the Southern Baptist Convention, project co-chairman Fred Luter told Baptist Press. The webcast, featuring Luter, Unify Project co-chairman Ed Litton and Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission President Brent Leatherwood, will update viewers on the project’s work […]

Chicago pastor urges support to quell gun violence

July 20, 2022 By Diana Chandler

Assistant Pastor T.J. Grooms

New Beginnings Church of Chicago Assistant Pastor T.J. Grooms ministers in Parkway Gardens, a low-income housing development where a mass shooting occurred early July 1 next door to the South Side church. “I know everybody in that community,” Grooms said. “I knew three out of the five that were shot. It happened in the wee […]

‘Just horrific’: Illinois Baptists minister after Highland Park shooting

July 6, 2022 By Diana Chandler

Screenshot WGN News

Mass shootings don’t generally happen in affluent Highland Park, where a gunman killed eight and wounded 30 others gathered for a July 4th parade. “That’s the last place that you would normally, and I say normally, expect stuff like that to occur,” said Rick Dorsey, administrative counsel chairperson with the Chicago Metro Baptist Association. “We’re […]

Voddie Baucham to be 2023 SBC Pastors’ Conference presidential nominee

March 22, 2022 By Diana Chandler

Voddie Baucham

Voddie Baucham, dean of theology at African Christian University in Lusaka, Zambia, will be nominated for Southern Baptist Convention Pastors’ Conference president at the 2022 SBC Annual Meeting in Anaheim, according to a story published at the Daily Wire, a conservative news site conceived and founded by political commentators Ben Shapiro and Jeremy Boreing. The nomination […]

Sunshine, resilience noted as residents recover from tornadoes

December 14, 2021 By Diana Chandler

Amazon warehouse in Edwardsville, IL following December 10 tornado strike. Screenshot KSDK-TV St. Louis

Pastor Stan Ballard noted Monday’s “beautiful weather” as he described the resilience of the 1,500 or so people in Monette, Ark., in the face of death and destruction from unseasonable tornadoes. “One lady put on Facebook – whose home was destroyed – she said, ‘I’ve lost my home, I’ve lost my car and I’ve lost […]

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Featured Columns

Online fraud

Six steps to protect your church from online fraud

Jeff Deasy

Several SBC churches and entities have been hit with online fraud nearing $1 million each. Their dramatic losses serve as warnings to all our churches. The Florida Baptist Convention lost more than $700,000 in a transfer involving a fraudulent email that was intended for the North American Mission (NAMB). A similar scam involved an email […]

"My unlikely Ebenezer"

My unlikely Ebenezer

Amy Richards

My husband’s cheerful voice on the other end of the line said, “I found a cool piece of wood.” I answered with an indifferent “OK,” but he continued, untouched by my disinterest. I listened, but my mind circled with questions. What in the world am I going to do with junk wood he found in […]

SBC: Striking a healthy balance

Nate Adams

A pastor once told me that he didn’t feel he should serve on one of our statewide committees because he wasn’t in complete agreement with the SBC’s Baptist Faith and Message statement. He cited Article VII on “Baptism and the Lord’s Supper.” He said he felt it described what is commonly referred to as “closed […]

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Former Central Association DOM Tom Miller dies at 92

Illinois Baptist Staff

Thomas E. “Tom” Miller died June 3. He was 92 years of age, and was preceded in death by his wife, Pauline, in November 2022. Miller served as Director of Mission for the Central Baptist Association from 1979 to 1994. He pastored several churches in the Decatur area, including Hammond Missionary Baptist Church, Macon First […]

News

Nick Volkening, campus ministry at U of I (left) and Jonah Christiansen, Salt Network campus ministry at Illinois State participate in an exercise together.

Leaders target college evangelism in confab

Lisa Misner

College ministry leaders met to make evangelism a chief goal of their work on Illinois campuses. Baptist collegiate leaders and their families gathered at a retreat center near Starved Rock State Park over the Memorial Day Weekend for what they hope will become an annual event fostering ministry collaboration. Church Planting Director Kevin Jones, who […]

Wellman nod fails, Robinson respects decision

Church Renewal Journeys revitalize churches

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Mission

Metro East church plant hosts multiplication meeting

Metro East church plant hosts multiplication meeting

Ben Jones

Pastors and church leaders from around the Metro East area gathered in Collinsville May 17 for the second Multiply Illinois Hub. These quarterly regional events are designed to encourage and equip those interested in church multiplication. Heights Community Church, planted in 2016, hosted the gathering in their newly renovated home. With the St. Louis skyline […]

Sallateeska baptism demonstrates SBC connections

A first-time ministry to migrant workers is very fruitful

More Mission Stories

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