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Corona Virus

IDPH seeks churches as vaccination sites

May 10, 2021 By Illinois Baptist Staff

Illinois Baptist

The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) has asked churches in the state to serve as locations for distributing COVID-19 vaccinations. That includes IBSA churches, according to IBSA missions director Brad Lovin. “For churches that choose serve as vaccine sites, this is an opportunity for community outreach that may open doors for missions later on,” […]

Vaccines, religious liberty wins mark end of pandemic year

December 21, 2020 By Illinois Baptist Staff

Survey results released in late 2020 were a bright spot for churchgoers in an otherwise dim year. Gallup found frequent church attenders were the only group who reported gains in mental health during the year, even as most churches shut down temporarily to help stop the spread of COVID-19. Gallup’s annual health survey found 34% […]

Virtual worship returns amid surge in COVID cases

November 23, 2020 By Meredith Flynn

Springfield | Just head of the holidays, churches are again weighing whether to stay open for in-person services as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect communities across Illinois. Gov. J.B. Pritzker renewed some statewide restrictions after confirmed and probable cases of the virus surged across the state. Increases in testing positivity rates and hospitalizations triggered Tier […]

Survey: Most churches meeting, but few back to pre-COVID attendance

October 21, 2020 By Aaron Earls

Survey: Most churches meeting, few back to pre-COVID attendance

Nashville, Tenn. | The majority of U.S. churches say they are holding in-person services, but churchgoers have yet to attend in the numbers they did before the coronavirus pandemic struck. According to the latest survey from LifeWay Research, 87% of Protestant pastors in the U.S. say their church met in person in September, while 13% […]

Some Illinois zones face new COVID limits

October 21, 2020 By Illinois Baptist Staff

Restore Illinois Map

Springfield | As Gov. J.B. Pritzker tightened COVID-related restrictions in suburban Chicago and the southeastern corner of the state, pastors debated their meeting plans and two churches continued their fight to stop the limitations. Pritzker’s announcement Oct. 20 affects Zone 5, which includes Mt. Vernon, Marion, and the surrounding area. He also renewed limits on […]

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Featured Columns

Melody Westbrook

Is being a pastor’s wife a blessing or a curse?

Melody Westbrook

Hi! I’m Melody Westbrook and I am a recovering Pastor’s Wife. My husband and I recently resigned after 35 years of pastoring two churches. We moved from Oklahoma to Illinois in 1991 to plant a church in Edwardsville. As we departed, my identity as pastor’s wife quickly faded. I was warned about the loss of […]

Meredith Flynn

The whole story

Meredith Flynn

“So, Samson died too?” The question hung in the air as we read a chapter in our new Bible storybook. “Well, yes,” I said, glad for the author’s intro that explained even heroes aren’t perfect. Flawed, foolish Samson died alongside his enemies. Earlier in the collection of stories told by Kevin DeYoung, the children of […]

Why we’re here

Nate Adams

A consultant assisting IBSA with strategic planning recently challenged us with this question: “Why does Illinois need a Southern Baptist brand of disciple?” He wasn’t downplaying the Great Commission nor disparaging Southern Baptists. He was making the point that there are many other Christian groups in Illinois, in fact many other evangelical groups. Especially in […]

More Columns

Mixed expectations in federal probe of SBC

Illinois Baptist Staff

Some Illinois Baptist leaders expressed surprise but are hoping for a godly outcome in a federal investigation of the Southern Baptist Convention’s handling of sexual abuse claims. “It caught me by surprise,” said Adron Robinson, an Illinois representative on the SBC Executive Committee (EC), while also urging prayer for justice. IBSA Executive Director Nate Adams […]

News

VBS 2023

2023 VBS theme revealed

Illinois Baptist Staff

The VBS for next year is based on a fictional game, “Twists and Turns.” The theme was announced just ahead of the SBC meeting in Anaheim. “Spin the spinner, beat the clock, skip ahead, level up, and play to win!” Lifeway advertised in the big reveal.  The game theme is used to teach five key […]

Lifeway targets frontier states

Former editor dies at 61

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Mission

Annie Armstrong

How SBC missions have been influenced by Annie Armstrong

Sandy Wisdom-Martin

A few years ago, I read the SBC president at the time was considering different gavels for presiding at the SBC Annual Meeting. One of the options under consideration was the Armstrong gavel. I sent him an email with this message: This weekend I did a bit of reading on Annie Armstrong and was inspired […]

On mission again

New partnership targets biblical literacy

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