• Contact
  • Return to IBSA
  • Advertise Through Us
  • Subscribe
  • E-Reader

IBSA News

Illinois Baptist State Newspaper

  • Quick Links
    • E-Reader
    • Subscribe
    • Advertise
    • Resource
  • News
    • IBSA
    • SBC
    • Culture
    • Illinois Churches
  • Stories
    • Thriving
    • Church Planting
    • Mission
    • Next Step
  • In Focus
  • Columns
    • Nate Adams
    • Eric Reed
    • Meredith Flynn
    • Table Talk
    • Reporter’s Notebook
    • Encouraging Words

Illinois Churches

Cloth masks and ice cream: Alton church forges community connections

May 25, 2020 By Meredith Flynn

Alton | Volunteers at Calvary Baptist Church started making cloth masks after a church member requested some for her co-workers at a local hospital. After the first batch, other people started asking about them, said Dave Zimmerman, as demand rose and masks became hard to find. Part of Illinois’ reopening plan requires people to wear […]

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 […]

Illinois churches respond as more seek meals

May 5, 2020 By Meredith Flynn

With people unable to meet in large groups, the COVID-19 pandemic threatened to shut down a Harrisburg church’s weekly community meal. But faced with the question of whether to continue, organizers Joe and Stacey Thompson said the answer wasn’t if, but how. The Harrisburg couple has continued the ministry of First Baptist Church, adapting their […]

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 […]

Kids adopt grandparents during pandemic

April 14, 2020 By Meredith Flynn

Children in Nashville, Ill., are helping ease anxiety during the Coronavirus pandemic with a simple outreach organized by Lighthouse Community Church. Through a temporary adopt-a-grandparent initiative, kids are sending letters, cards, and handmade gifts to 63 seniors at two local nursing facilities. The COVID-19 pandemic has been especially hard on seniors, who are more likely […]

  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • …
  • 21
  • Next Page »

Featured Columns

After another leadership failure, forgive? Yes. Forget? Maybe later.

Eric Reed

My cousin Holly’s house burned down in July. The family and their dog were saved, but they lost everything. Literally everything, except her grandmother’s ancient roasting pan just big enough for a 12-pound turkey and a diamond ring. Everything else in their rural home was gone in under an hour. The irony was that my […]

Nate Adams

Positive purpose

Nate Adams

Without question, more of my time and passion is invested in encouraging churches to give to missions through the Cooperative Program than through any designated offering, including our own state missions offering. I believe that’s as it should be. Yet both the CP and designated offerings have vital, important purposes. My conviction is that the […]

What personal missions commitment looks like

Meredith Flynn

“Your partnership is needed now.” That sentence jumped out as I looked over this year’s Mission Illinois Offering materials. This time of year always reminds me of the things that unite Illinois Baptists: the shared prayer that more people will come to know Jesus; the shared burden for our communities in need of transformation; and […]

More Columns

Newsmakers Interview with Bart Barber, Part 3

Eric Reed

Southern Baptist Convention President Bart Barber is featured in the September issue of the Illinois Baptist. An hour-long interview focused on key issues including women in pastoral ministry and “friendly cooperation.” Editor Eric Reed asked Barber to look ahead to the 2024 SBC in Indianapolis. They discussed the role of social media in our Baptist […]

News

SBC EC votes at September 2023 meeting

Recap of this week’s SBC Exec Comm meeting

The Baptist Paper

While the anticipated next step regarding who will temporarily lead the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee in the interim period changed mid-way through the trustees’ meeting this week, trustee chair Philip Robertson plans to begin a new search right away. Recently retired Kentucky pastor Dan Summerlin provided this statement yesterday afternoon (Sept. 19) after alerting […]

Barber recalls ‘bold’ Southern Baptists, urges cooperation amid trials

Quick look at SBC Exec Comm agenda, Sept. 18-19

More News Stories

Mission

Metro East church plant hosts multiplication meeting

Metro East church plant hosts multiplication meeting

Ben Jones

Pastors and church leaders from around the Metro East area gathered in Collinsville May 17 for the second Multiply Illinois Hub. These quarterly regional events are designed to encourage and equip those interested in church multiplication. Heights Community Church, planted in 2016, hosted the gathering in their newly renovated home. With the St. Louis skyline […]

Sallateeska baptism demonstrates SBC connections

A first-time ministry to migrant workers is very fruitful

More Mission Stories

  • News
  • Mission
  • In Focus
  • Columns

Copyright © 2023 · Website by Megaphone Designs