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Church Planting

MIO: Church starts five congregations

August 25, 2021 By Lisa Misner

One church plant birthed another, and another, and another—reaching multiple people groups. Your church can do it too, says Chris Kim.

Chris Kim’s church in Mt. Prospect has helped start five Asian congregations in Illinois. Kim has engaged in such prolific church planting by offering the same kind of mentoring he received. “We have to take care of our family first, right? That’s our mentality,” Kim said. “But he is doing the opposite.” “He,” in this […]

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

February 16, 2021 By Meredith Flynn

Grace Family Church celebrated its second anniversary in early 2021 with a worship service in the Art Deco theater they’ve called home for the last few months. But the young church has already been planted twice. At least, that’s how it feels to Pastor Jorge Rodriguez. Originally from Caracas, Venezuela, Rodriguez later lived in Chicago […]

New life on campus: Collegiate church celebrates first baptisms

September 9, 2020 By Meredith Flynn

Celebrating baptisms

On the shore of Lake Michigan on a Sunday in June, Jeff Bi compared his life to a car. When he was in the driver’s seat, said Bi, a student at the University of Chicago, the side mirrors were gone and the doors were off the hinges. But giving the wheel to Jesus, he said, […]

Church serves community hard-hit by Coronavirus

May 12, 2020 By Meredith Flynn

Chicago | “What can we do?” After Starting Point Community Church had to scrap more than one plan to help their community due to COVID-19 restrictions, Pastor Jonathan de la O said his congregation started back at square one with that simple question. The answer: Fill as many boxes as possible with purchased and donated […]

Planting in a pandemic: New churches adapt plans for a new normal

April 21, 2020 By Meredith Flynn

Gospel Grace Church has been renovating a building (pictured above) in Woodstock, Ill., since last year, preparing for their official launch this spring. A statewide stay-at-home order March 21 halted in-person gatherings for the new church, and most across Illinois, until further notice. “Everything’s on hold,” said Pastor Nate Praytor, “but we also realize this […]

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Featured Columns

Meredith Flynn

Breaking the fourth wall

Meredith Flynn

A recent study by Barna had good news and bad news for increasingly polarized Americans. More than 90% of U.S. adults say they welcome different ways of thinking about important topics. But 51% also say their ideas are usually better than other people’s ideas, up from 31% who said so in 2015. And 36% say […]

Nate Adams

Grateful words

Nate Adams

Recently Beth and I joined a group of Baptist pastors and leaders and their spouses for a tour of biblical sites in Greece. For a week we followed the footsteps of Paul from Philippi, through Thessaloniki and Berea, and on to the ancient world crossroads of Athens and Corinth. It would be difficult to briefly […]

The force is with us

Meredith Flynn

Our family’s recent Covid quarantine finally provided my husband an opportunity to introduce our daughters to Star Wars. Over several days, they dug into the space saga until we were all well-steeped in the story of good versus evil. A few days later, we were rushing around the house scrambling to leave for a much-needed […]

More Columns

What happens when church leaders encourage mentoring relationships with their team members

Ben Jones

If the church is going to have leaders tomorrow, it’s going to take a new wave of mentoring from existing leadership today. This reality drove organizers of the 2023 Illinois Leadership Summit (ILS) to ask those coming to the annual event, “Which younger leader will you bring with you?” The evidence that many pastors took […]

News

Miles Mullin

ERLC trustees elect Mullin as chief of staff

ERLC Staff

Veteran Southern Baptist academic Miles Mullin is the new chief of staff and vice president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission. The ERLC’s trustees elected Mullin unanimously upon the recommendation of Brent Leatherwood, the commission’s president, in a special called meeting Thursday (Jan. 26). Mullin became the first addition to the ERLC’s senior staff […]

Why gambling is getting riskier in Illinois

Security training offered March 11

More News Stories

Mission

Sallateeska baptism demonstrates SBC connections

Baptist Press

(Ed. Note—In our July issue, we reported that Illinois’s very own Sandy Wisdom-Martin told the story of her brother’s recent baptism during her WMU presentation at the Southern Baptist Convention meeting in Anaheim. We thought we you would appreciate this longer account that shows God’s fingerprints through multiple SBC connections. It’s too good to miss.) […]

A first-time ministry to migrant workers is very fruitful

FIRST-PERSON: A once-feared tribe now spreads the Gospel

More Mission Stories

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