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SBC

Federal investigation underway into protest at Minnesota church

January 20, 2026 By Brandon Porter, Baptist Press

YouTube screen capture via Baptist Press

St. Paul, Minn. (BP) | U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi says she has spoken to a Minnesota pastor following a disruption by protestors during Cities Church’s morning worship service Jan. 18. “Attacks against law enforcement and the intimidation of Christians are being met with the full force of federal law,” Bondi wrote on X late Sunday night. […]

ICE protestors disrupt Minnesota worship service

January 18, 2026 By Brandon Porter, Baptist Press

YouTube screen capture via BP

Editor’s note: This story has been updated. St. Paul, Minn. (BP) | An anti-ICE protest disrupted the morning worship service at Cities Church Sunday morning (Jan. 18). Former CNN anchor Don Lemon livestreamed a portion of the event from inside the church building on YouTube. Protestors could be heard chanting, “Hands up, don’t shoot” and “ICE out” […]

Lottie Moon walks and talks in AI video available for download

December 23, 2025 By Scott Barkley

Lottie Moon

Columbia, S.C. | Alex Lyons was touring the International Mission Board’s training center in late April, lagging behind the group, when he spied the life-sized, black-and-white Lottie Moon cutout familiar to many churches. And as Lyons is prone to do, he had an idea and acted on it. Lyons took a picture of Moon and […]

Wisdom-Martin plans retirement for 2027

December 11, 2025 By Illinois Baptist Staff

Sandy Wisdom-Martin

Birmingham | Illinois’ very own Sandy Wisdom-Martin will step down as head of the Woman’s Missionary Union (WMU) in January 2027. She gave the National WMU Board a year’s notice to conduct a search for her successor as executive director-treasurer and plan the transition for the post she has held since 2016. “Faithfulness in this […]

Morris H. Chapman, former EC president, dies

October 20, 2025 By Erin Roach

Morris H. Chapman

Nashville | Morris H. Chapman, former pastor, former Southern Baptist Convention president, former SBC Executive Committee president, and champion of the Cooperative Program, died Monday, Oct. 20, at age 84. The last SBC Conservative Resurgence president to be opposed by a moderate candidate, Chapman led the Convention to remain focused on the Great Commission as […]

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Featured Columns

Scott Foshie and Heartland interns

Foshie: Seeking Spirit-led momentum

Scott Foshie

As a young man starting out in ministry, I was reminded by mentors many times that “serving the Lord is a marathon, not a sprint.” This admonition continues to ring true as we launch into this new season of Illinois Baptist life. While we celebrate many signs of growing Spirit-led momentum in our Great Commission […]

Mark Emerson

Worth every effort

Mark Emerson

When the news came, I was tired—Day 4 of VBS tired. Tired had been the theme of every drive home with my wife that week. Somewhere along the way I had finally asked the question only the overly weary ask: “How long are we going to keep this up?” Months of planning had become weeks […]

Messengers close loophole

Eric Reed

It seemed like no big deal at the time. Messengers quickly voted for a change to the Baptist Faith and Message in 2023, there was no great debate. The motion came up and it kind of slid through—and that’s the problem. In 2026 they voted to prevent that from ever happening again. At the 2026 […]

More Columns

Final claim dismissed in Johnny Hunt lawsuit

Scott Barkley

Nashville | A U.S. district court has once again sided with the Southern Baptist Convention and other defendants in a suit brought by former SBC President Johnny Hunt. Chief District Judge William L. Campbell Jr., of the Middle District of Tennessee issued today (August 12) a final summary judgment on the only remaining claim in the […]

News

Scott Foshie and Hispanic pastors in Chicagoland

Good signs (so far)

Illinois Baptist Staff

Springfield | In church life, some summers are marked by a slump—in giving, attendance or attitude. But not this year, and especially not for IBSA. With the new administration now entering its second quarter, there are notable signs of positive attitudes in the network of churches. Some observations are anecdotal, with stories coming from the […]

IMB missionary dies while serving in the Philippines

Young returns to IBSA team

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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