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Nate Adams

Each church thriving

April 1, 2021 By Nate Adams

Recently our IBSA staff set aside a day for spiritual retreat and focus. Since the beginning of the year, our weekly chapel services have been focusing on the Bible passages that undergird key words and phrases in our new mission statement: “Deliver network value that inspires each church to thrive in health, growth, and mission.” […]

What’s really important

February 26, 2021 By Nate Adams

Crisis can bring clarity. When I first heard that simple observation from a friend, its truth immediately resonated with me. A crisis has a way of demanding our attention and diminishing the less important things in our lives. The result can be a clearer vision of what truly is important to us. In other words, […]

Common ground

February 1, 2021 By Nate Adams

Feb. 4 Town Hall

Years ago as my father was leaving his final pastorate and moving to a director of missions role, one of my fellow teenagers told me why he would miss my dad, his pastor, so much. Steve hadn’t grown up in a Christian home but started attending our church with his girlfriend. Not long after he […]

Stretching, growing, learning

December 28, 2020 By Nate Adams

Most of us are welcoming 2021 into our lives with a special enthusiasm, eager to say good-bye to a 2020 filled with pandemic pain and inconvenience as well as political, racial, and economic turmoil. We are all ready for a fresh start. But of course fresh starts are birthed out of past experiences. We are […]

Holly, meet Ivy

December 3, 2020 By Nate Adams

It has been several years since our family celebrated Christmas with a baby in the house. And yet this year there will be two! Ezra was born in June to our son Noah and his wife, Alyssa, and then in September Ivy Ann arrived, to the joy of our son Caleb and his wife, Laura. […]

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Apology renews debate on gender roles

Featured Columns

Let me ask one question

Sammy Simmons

I left the deacons meeting one proud pastor. It had been a tiring Sunday evening filled with meetings and preaching. However, I went home greatly encouraged by how God was at work using our leaders. In our meeting, five deacons told stories about how they had shared the gospel with someone during the past month. […]

Sketch of Garden Tomb in retro style

Serving the crucified Christ

Brent Cloyd

Filled with hate, ignorant of truth, lacking in faith, and void of righteousness, the Jews had plotted to kill Jesus. Rome took ownership of their plot and made a statement of their authority in the act of crucifixion. In the course of less than 24 hours, Jesus was arrested, accused, lied about, cursed, and beaten. […]

Redefine a winning season

Paul Cooper

My senior year of football, we stunk. Our preseason goal to win every week shifted to a goal to just win once. Which we did—the final game of the season. As church leaders, it can be easy to watch all the loss from this pandemic and think we need to lower the bar of what […]

More Columns

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

Lisa Misner

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 […]

News

Lake Sallateeska, Streator managers ready to welcome visitors

Leah Honnen

IBSA’s new camp managers moved to Illinois when many COVID-19 restrictions were still in place, limiting to a very small number the people they met in their first months at Lake Sallateeska and Streator. But they’ve used the last few months to prepare for a camp comeback this summer. At Lake Sallateeska, Manager Brock Vandever […]

All-time low membership: What does it mean?

IBSA Board adopts new statements, budget

More News Stories

Mission

Mission teams hit the road after COVID hiatus

Meredith Flynn

Ken Schultz hadn’t performed in nearly a year when he dusted off his suspenders for a mission trip to Africa. The pastor of Crosswinds Church in Plainfield and long-time entertainer recently traveled to Kenya with a mission team to share the gospel with schoolkids. Schultz wowed the crowd with juggling feats and sleight of hand […]

Replanting season: Young churches embrace opportunities for growth and new ministry

Anxious? Don’t miss your shot!

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