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Illinois Baptist State Newspaper

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Table Talk

What the glorified Christ shows us about our future

April 25, 2025 By Jason Alligood

Book cover

I remember as a child when I would have a nightmare, I would run to my parents’ door and wake them. Usually, my mom would be the one to comfort me. These were her words: “Think about heaven and all that awaits us there.” She had a sense that all would not be well this […]

There’s more than one way to grow your ministry

March 24, 2025 By Bryan Price

Coffee shop

One of the top requests that churches in Illinois ask of our state convention is “Help us grow our church.” As a pastor myself, I want to offer some clarifying versions of that request. First, “Can you help us be the church in our context with the resources that we have?” Here in the metro […]

My mentor saved me from rookie mistakes

January 27, 2025 By Daniel Kim

Daniel Kim

“Daniel, as part of your role at Gospelife Church, you’ll be meeting with Dave as your life mentor,” the executive pastor said. “Take the initiative to connect with him and aim to meet weekly or bi-weekly.” I walked out of my meeting feeling a mix of confusion and uncertainty. I had just stepped into my […]

Feeling thankful is not enough

November 26, 2024 By Brandon Porter, Baptist Press

Give thanks

Have you ever considered that we could be thankful and never give thanks? Imagine having a heart full of gratitude but never expressing your thankfulness. A search of the New Testament for the words “thanks,” “thanksgiving” and “thankful” reveals some interesting finds. In the CSB, I counted the word “thanks” 38 times, “thanksgiving” eight times […]

Giving thanks is an act of faith

November 26, 2024 By Eric Reed

Thanksgiving Cornucopia

With Thanksgiving still a ways off, I’m having trouble making a list of the things to be thankful for. Perhaps I shouldn’t confess it, because God’s blessings are always plentiful, but my list seems anemic, a bit of candy confection rather than well-grounded thanks. Maybe that’s why for a couple of months I’ve been singing […]

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Featured Columns

Paul Cooper

What’s greater than independence? Hebrews 10:19-25

Paul Cooper

We got news from my sister in New Mexico, and my brother, Dave, immediately called me. He wanted to see her, but the 20-hour drive was too hard to do alone. It would be easier with his brother. We could share the load. Even so, we would spend more than half our time on the […]

George

Our nation’s half-celebration at 250

Eric Reed

During these red, white, and blue months, YouTube keeps sending me a video clip. It’s King George’s solo from the musical “Hamilton.” Amid endless rapping and stamping of boots and swishing of tailcoats by Founding Fathers, a lone figure walks slowly to center stage, decked in satin knee breeches, ermine cape, and a crown. And […]

Our new open door

Scott Foshie

Could it be that Jesus has opened wide a new door of shared ministry and missions for Southern Baptists to walk through together? That’s the question that continues permeating my mind after our time together in Orlando. We need to remember we ‘have but little power’ in ourselves. Southern Baptists have always found themselves called […]

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Mindy Cobb’s endless summer

Illinois Baptist Staff

Mindy Cobb moved to Chicago with her husband, Lindsay, nearly 50 years ago to be a part of a church plant and hasn’t looked back. In Longevity, a collection of essays by Nathan Carter, Cobb shared she originally planned to give God one summer of her life, but he wanted the whole thing. Out of […]

News

Illinois State Capitol

New Illinois laws raise concerns for Baptists

Lisa Misner

Springfield | The spring session of the Illinois General Assembly passed multiple bills that conflict with the biblical values of Illinois Baptists. Some were signed into law by Gov. J.B. Pritzker in late June: – HB 4834, the Prescription Monitoring Program, removed testosterone, estrogen, mifepristone and misoprostol from the Illinois Prescription Monitoring Program. The law […]

World Cup visitors, America’s 250th celebration reminders of ‘how good we have it’

New team leaders

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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