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IBSA

SBC: Illinoisans join Crossover outreach

June 8, 2026 By Kayla Houchin

Uptown Crossover

Orlando | More than 50 churches from across the country joined forces in and around Orlando, Fla. for the annual Crossover event June 1-6. Crossover takes place the week before the Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting. It focuses on an evangelistic effort in the city and surrounding area where the meeting is taking place and […]

New regional consultant named

June 2, 2026 By Illinois Baptist Staff

Kevin Alvarez

Springfield | Kevin Alvarez joins the IBSA staff as Central Region Consultant as of June 15. As a regional consultant, Alvarez will travel within his designated region to encourage local churches, provide resources, training, and support, and help churches discover and accomplish their next steps in sharing the Gospel. The Central Region includes Bay Creek, Central, […]

Two promoted in IBSA leadership

June 1, 2026 By Illinois Baptist Staff

Ashley Parsons and Drew Heironimus

Springfield | In anticipation of the retirement of Jeff Deasy as head of operations, two IBSA team members were promoted January 1. Ashley Parsons was named Administrative Director of Operations. She has served IBSA as accountant since 2017. Parsons holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Old Dominion University, and a Master of […]

Cloyd finishes as Wabash AMS

May 19, 2026 By Illinois Baptist Staff

Brent Cloyd

Brent Cloyd retired March 31 as Associational Mission Strategist for Greater Wabash Baptist Association. He served the local network of 22 churches since 2015. “When people have asked me… I have always bragged that we are the best association in Illinois,” Cloyd wrote in his final newsletter. “Our churches differ from one another in many […]

Priority Now podcast offers advice on comparisons

May 19, 2026 By Kayla Houchin

Priority Podcast

Do you ever look in the mirror and think ‘I’m not good enough?’ If so, you’re certainly not alone. “I know women that, say that they’re too much, I always mess things up, God must be disappointed in me,” explained Amy Donathan during the podcast Priority Now. “We take the lies that we have, that […]

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Featured Columns

Scott Foshie

An honest word about our CP giving

Scott Foshie

The first six months of serving you have been filled with encouragement and hope. God is bringing a new season of harvest across our state, with rising attendance, baptisms, and outreach opportunities. We are answering his invitation to join him in his work as we say “yes” to opportunities to show up in the lives […]

Carmen Halsey-Menghini

What if leadership isn’t the main issue?

Carmen Halsey-Menghini

Recently, I’ve been reflecting on something Henry Blackaby said: “The church doesn’t have a leadership problem; it has a discipleship problem.” I’ve found myself thinking about that, especially when talking with pastors of smaller churches who are discouraged because they don’t see enough people stepping into leadership roles. What if the question isn’t “Why aren’t […]

5 things bivocational pastors wish you knew

Will Dole

If you had told me 15 years ago that I would be a bivocational pastor today, it’s doubtful I would’ve believed you. At the time, I was working—bivocationally—with a small parachurch ministry and desperately hoping to be fully funded so I could focus on ministry. It was around that point that a friend asked me: […]

More Columns

An honest word about our CP giving

Scott Foshie

The first six months of serving you have been filled with encouragement and hope. God is bringing a new season of harvest across our state, with rising attendance, baptisms, and outreach opportunities. We are answering his invitation to join him in his work as we say “yes” to opportunities to show up in the lives […]

News

U.S. Capitol

GuideStone, ERLC applaud Senate’s passage of Clergy Act

Roy Hayhurst

Dallas | The U.S. Senate passed the Clergy Act Wednesday (Sept. 30), which sends the legislation to President Donald Trump for consideration. The U.S. House of Representatives passed the act in April. GuideStone Financial Resources applauded passage of the bipartisan bill that would provide eligible ministers who previously opted out of Social Security with a […]

Moms reconnect at Super Summer—because their kids are attending

Prayer tours the Mother Road

More News Stories

Mission

World Cup scores for digital witness

Illinois Baptist Staff

As the 2026 FIFA World Cup roared to a close and Spain left holding the trophy, Southern Baptist churches and missionaries around the world prayed for impact that outlasts the hardware. Southern Baptists mission boards joined churches and associations in digital and in-person outreach, as North America hosted the World Cup for the first time […]

IMB trustees appoint new missionaries, elect first woman chair

Metro East church plant hosts multiplication meeting

More Mission Stories

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