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Trinity Christian College will close

November 4, 2025 By Illinois Baptist Staff

Trinity Christian College

Palos Heights | After 66 years in operation in suburban Chicago, Trinity Christian College will close at the end of the 2025-26 academic year. The school’s final commencement will be May 8, 2026. The liberal arts school offered degrees in 70 programs. It was named among the top schools in the Midwest region by U.S. […]

Panel at Annual Meeting to address campus ministry

October 28, 2025 By Illinois Baptist Staff

IB file photo

Springfield | A panel of campus ministry leaders will address gospel opportunities among the young adults at Illinois’ many colleges at the IBSA Annual Meeting in Springfield Nov. 4-5. The special focus is one of four highlights on the program that also celebrates the centennial anniversaries of the SBC’s Cooperative Program and Baptist Faith & […]

Kimbrough moves to Lake Sallateeska

October 23, 2025 By Illinois Baptist Staff

Jacob Kimbrough

Springfield | Streator Baptist Camp manager Jacob Kimbrough will become the new manager for Lake Sallateeska Baptist Camp, following the departure of Brock Vandever in October. “Jacob’s leadership at Streator camp these past five years has been exemplary,” IBSA Associate Executive Director Mark Emerson said. “He was able to build upon the momentum of the […]

Visit Resource Central in the Annual Meeting Exhibit Hall

October 14, 2025 By Illinois Baptist Staff

IBSA Annual Meeting Exhibit Hall

The IBSA Annual Meeting this November 4-5 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Springfield is more than just the Association’s business meeting or a joint worship service. It is also a conference that connects local church leaders with people and resources that can help your church solve challenges and grow. This year’s Exhibit Hall should […]

Retired Pastor Joel Newton dies at 63

October 13, 2025 By Illinois Baptist Staff

Joel Newton

Joel H. Newton, 63, died October 11. Newton retired from Woodland Baptist Church in Peoria in March after serving 23 years as its pastor. During his 43 years in ministry, he was active in Baptist life, serving on the Illinois Baptist State Association Board of Directors. During his tenure as pastor, Woodland developed a reputation […]

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Featured Columns

Chuck Kelley

Blinded by bright spots: Kelley warns of trends we’re ignoring

Chuck Kelley

(Ed. note: One IBSA Annual Meeting keynote speaker has been concerned about the direction of the SBC for a long time. As a professor at New Orleans Seminary, he warned in 1983 that the denomination had plateaued. He pointed to the loss of evangelism among Methodists that led to their decline. “They never mounted a […]

Site where Paul is believed to have baptized Lydia.

Lydia’s quick response

Meredith Flynn

“A God-fearing woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, was listening. The Lord opened her heart to respond to what Paul was saying” (Acts 16:14). The account of Lydia is a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment in the middle of the Book of Acts. Her story is only three verses long, but […]

Family reunion

Nate Adams

As I was preparing for my first IBSA Annual Meeting as Executive Director almost 20 years ago, I remember one long-time staff remember exclaiming, “I just love the Annual Meeting! It’s like a big family reunion.” Having just moved back to Illinois three months earlier, I didn’t yet share his enthusiasm. I was still meeting […]

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Unity, cooperation reign at IBSA Annual Meeting

Eric Reed

Springfield | If 1925 was a year to remember, with the birth of a unified missions funding system and the denomination’s first official statement of faith, then 2025 was also a year to remember. Southern Baptists celebrated the centennial anniversaries of Cooperative Program and the Baptist Faith and Message. Illinois Baptists marked the coming 20th […]

News

Illinois Capitol Dome

Pritzker considering suicide bill

Eric Reed

Springfield | Gov. J.B. Pritzker seemed surprised by passage of an assisted suicide bill for terminally ill patients when pressed by a group of reporters this week. “I’m looking at it, Pritzker said in Chicago Monday. “It was something that I didn’t expect and didn’t know was going to be voted on, so we’re examining […]

Morris H. Chapman, former EC president, dies

Danny Akin announces retirement

More News Stories

Mission

“While we have not yet arrived at the destination we envision, I believe we are clearly headed in the right direction,” said IMB President Paul Chitwood to trustees in the May 22 plenary session. IMB Photo

IMB trustees appoint new missionaries, elect first woman chair

Leslie Caldwell

Richmond | International Mission Board trustees approved 65 fully funded missionaries for appointment during their May 21-22 meeting near Richmond, Virginia. The missionaries approved for appointment will be recognized during a Sending Celebration on Tuesday, June 10, at 10:08 a.m. CDT in conjunction with the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting in Dallas. The event will […]

Metro East church plant hosts multiplication meeting

Sallateeska baptism demonstrates SBC connections

More Mission Stories

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