“IBSA has made a major impact on how we do ministry in the west side of Chicago,” said Maurice Gaiter, pastor of Empower Community Church of Chicago. Last year, Gaiter attended an IBSA-hosted event led by State Evangelism Director Scott Harris that he called “life-changing.” “It has given us the model to make Jesus known,” […]
Passing the baton to a younger generation
When Tyler Sterchi was fairly fresh out of college and interviewing for his first church staff position, the pastor quizzing him said, if Sterchi were called, he would become the next pastor of that church. Twelve years later, it happened. That’s what you call long-term planning. It’s also a well-executed hand-off of leadership, something mostly […]
IBSA Annual Meeting Wrap-Up: Celebrating the roots that make us strong
Think of it as a pep rally before the big game. Both the Cooperative Program and the Baptist Faith and Message will mark their 100th anniversaries in 2025. A grand celebration for these two pillars of Southern Baptist missiology and theology is planned for the SBC Annual Meeting in Dallas in June, but in Illinois, […]
SBC: Busy convention with multiple reports, extra discussions, & so many motions
Indianapolis | If you judged by secular news reports, or even other Christian media, you might think that the vote to limit the pastorate to men only was almost all the 2024 Southern Baptist Convention addressed. Or you might think that messengers opened a can of worms with the resolution on in vitro fertilization that […]
2023 Annual Church Profiles show marked recovery
The stories from two Illinois Baptist churches that have witnessed surges in baptisms say much about our recovery from the lows of the pandemic period measured most notably in 2020 and 2021. One church says they have added teaching opportunities that have resulted in salvations. Another church says they’re not doing much different than before, […]