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Sex ed bill ready for Illinois House vote

May 25, 2021 By Lisa Misner

Illinois Baptist

A controversial sex education bill has moved from an Illinois House committee on Tuesday, May 25, and its next and final stop is a vote by the full House. The bill, containing a large portion of the REACH education requirements, will require special LGBT-favored curriculum, if a school system chooses to teach sex ed. A […]

Churches and individuals face challenges if Equality Act is passed

May 24, 2021 By Lisa Misner

U.S. Capitol

A bill awaiting passage in the U.S. Senate will redefine sex and require accommodation of divergent views of sexuality by institutions and individuals—likely including churches and Christians—if passed into law. The Equality Act promises tolerance and neutrality for gay and transgender people, but a Chicago law firm specializing in religious freedom cases says the proposed […]

Illinois sex ed bill poses new threat

May 4, 2021 By Lisa Misner

Interior Illinois Capitol Dome

Illinois lawmakers re-referred both the REACH (HB 1736) and Healthy Youth (HB 3071) Acts back to the House Rules Committee, but it didn’t mean those bills were dead. Instead, they were given new life and combined into one amendment that was added to Senate Bill 818 as Amendment 2. The new bill still mandates the […]

Trafficking survivor begs ‘notify parents’

April 29, 2021 By Lisa Misner

Brook Bello was raped at the age of 11, sex trafficked at 15, and forced to undergo multiple abortions by her trafficker. “Had my parents been notified, my mother would have [known] what city I was near.” Bello (right) believes law enforcement could have been alerted, and she may have been rescued sooner. That’s why […]

Evangelicals blamed for vaccine fear, but pastors, leaders promote shots

April 14, 2021 By Lisa Misner

Vaccine in vials with syringe on grunge background

Some in the media are warning the COVID-19 pandemic may last longer than necessary due to members of the evangelical community refusing a vaccine due to spiritual convictions or uncertainty regarding vaccine safety. An article headlined “How white evangelicals’ vaccine refusal could prolong the pandemic” appeared in the April 5 issue of the New York […]

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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

Trinity Christian College

Trinity Christian College will close

Illinois Baptist Staff

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. […]

Pritzker considering suicide bill

Panel at Annual Meeting to address campus ministry

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

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