Updated Dec. 20, 2019 A pastor shared a prayer request with us as part of IBSA’s pastoral prayer emphasis in October. He described his aging congregation: “For decades they have given generously and worked faithfully. But as they get older, they aren’t able to give as much or do as much ministry,” the pastor said. […]
Fresh fuel for tired engines
What volunteers really want is attention to their souls The current literature on ministry with volunteers emphasizes frequent expressions of gratitude with thank-you notes, recognition from the pulpit, and an annual banquet. After all, everyone wants to be appreciated, right? But addressing the question of “care and feeding” of volunteers, Dan Kimball points in a […]
Pastors need safe spaces
Depression often goes unshared in isolating vocation My mother, a fine Christian woman, committed suicide just before the Fourth of July in 1991. When that anniversary came around this year, less than a year after my wife died from cancer, it hit me pretty hard. It was almost like going through the events of those […]
Illinois influx? Not everyone is leaving the state
Three Illinois counties are among the top 40 locations in the nation where young people are moving. American mobility is at its lowest level since 1999. In 2017, the latest reporting year, 32.4 million people moved. Younger people, more footloose than the rest of the population, made up a big chunk of those relocations. You […]
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 […]
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