Years ago while I was working in Christian publishing, I was also a Sunday school teacher, and a young deacon. I had also been a youth minister, and a worship leader. But I did not have Bible college or seminary education. So I was a little intimidated when I learned that the new couple in […]
Church Planting
Growing church breathes new life into historic building
Grace Fellowship is a new church with a lot of history. Their building was constructed in 1858 and launched as a Baptist church. Billy Graham even preached there in the 1950s. But to its current congregation, it’s brand new. At a building dedication in October, the Grace Fellowship congregation was bubbling with excitement. “God opened […]
Partnerships breathe new life into northern Illinois community
The year after Redemption City Church closed its doors, a new church is preparing to use its building as a hub for outreach and ministry in this community 60 miles northwest of Chicago. Gospel Grace, a church plant headed by Nate Praytor, has spent the summer meeting neighbors and gathering in two Bible study groups: […]
200 & Counting: Anniversary sparks Baptist focus on spiritual need in Illinois
Settlers arriving in the Illinois territory in the early 1800s didn’t know what to make of what they found. History tells us many of them moved north from areas that were heavily wooded. They trusted land that could support so many trees. The Illinois prairie offered no such reassurance. “The prairies posed a new set […]
Prayerwalking in Pingree Grove
“Pingree Grove,” Tim Bailey said, “is a small town in desperate need of a church.” Situated in the far western suburbs of Chicago, just west of Elgin, Pingree Grove was once a small farming community with less than 200 residents. Read…