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 partnership, I know that God is setting the stage for years of missional investment and harvest as we sow the gospel throughout our Illinois mission field.
It is healthy to prayerfully pause, listen, and look around us for signs of God’s blessing and momentum. We must ensure we are truly abiding to be able to look around us with God’s perspective. This requires time in God’s Word and an obedient, listening posture before him.
As I pause to look around Illinois with you, I see several encouraging signs: churches expressing a sincere desire to pray, refocus, and share Jesus with dependance on him abound. In addition, we are bombarded with stories of gospel conversations, salvations, and baptisms happening in every part of our state this year.
Our giving through the Cooperative Program is growing, and closer partnerships are developing with entities including our local associations, your International Mission Board, North American Mission Board, and fellow state conventions. These are all reasons to celebrate God’s favor and to recommit to John 15:5 discipleship and Acts 1:8 mission together. I’m committed to leading your IBSA team to remain devoted to increasing pastoral posture, relational depth, and diligent missional leadership in the days to come.
Now is also a good time for us to pause, pray, look, and listen for signs of Spirit-led momentum in each of our churches. Do people look forward to coming to worship? Is there a sense of expectation as Sunday school classes, small groups, and ministry efforts are about to begin? If our churches were gone next week, would our communities miss us? These are all good questions to ask as we assess our willingness to join God in the work he’s doing through us.
We must remember that true spiritual momentum and fruit are produced by God alone. It is tempting to grab on to the latest fad or to take something that worked for another church and “plug and play” it without seeking God deeply about his plans for us. Sadly, this unspiritual approach is a recipe for frustration and wandering.
God’s plan to bring spiritual momentum in our lives requires us to be in tune with him through a close personal relationship rooted in his Word and prayer. As we can hear his voice, we begin to see how he is already working around us. We grow encouraged and hopeful as we see that he has placed us amid souls that are hungry for meaning and are ripe for hearing the gospel. Then, as God invites us to join him in his work, we are blessed to answer His invitation. Living these timeless, biblical Experiencing God principles bring hope to hopeless Christians and life to lifeless churches every time.
If you’re seeking to listen to God about how he’s working in your church and how he might be inviting you to a new season of Great Commission fruit, your Illinois Baptist team is ready to walk the journey with you. Reach out to us and we will be privileged to listen to God and even run the wonderful, shared journey of ministry he has for us to run together.
Contact Scott Foshie at IllinoisBaptist@IBSA.org.