Springfield | Several new staff members joined IBSA in October, including new additions to the Church Communication and Church Resources Teams, and a full-time staff team member dedicated to developing strong relationships between churches and IBSA.
John Carruthers began serving part-time in that role in June and became IBSA’s full-time church relationships manager Oct. 16. The new role resulted from IBSA Executive Director Nate Adams’ study of how other professional associations develop stronger engagement from their members.
Carruthers’s work, Adams said, “could range from helping us reclaim non-cooperating churches, to better utilizing our strongest, most engaged churches in multiplying our staff’s capacity and resources, to helping us know which churches would benefit most from a personal visit or call.”
Carruthers is an ordained Southern Baptist minister, and has served as a youth minister, worship pastor, church planter, and pastor in churches in Missouri, as well as a media and marketing manager. He and his wife, Alysia, met at Hannibal-LaGrange University and have four children. They will relocate to Springfield from O’Fallon, Mo.
Rich Cochran joined the staff Oct. 1 as director of leadership development on the Church Resources Team. “Rich is a leader developer with enthusiasm to help take leadership to the next level in Illinois,” said IBSA Associate Executive Director Mark Emerson.
Cochran, who will also oversee IBSA’s zone consultant strategy, previously served as minister of education and children at First Baptist Church, Maryville. He helped lead the church through the difficult period following the tragic death of Pastor Fred Winters in 2009.
Cochran and his wife, Angie, have three children.
Andrew Woodrow joined the Church Communication Team in October as a multimedia journalist. Woodrow, a recent graduate of Union University in Jackson, Tenn., grew up in Mozambique as the son of medical missionaries. He will write, report, and produce video content for use across all IBSA media platforms.
Also on the Church Communication Team, Meredith Flynn rejoined the IBSA staff as part-time managing editor of Illinois Baptist media. Flynn served five years in that capacity before the birth of the first of two girls, and for the ensuing two years has served as a contract editor and writer.
“We are blessed to have innovative and accomplished journalists joining our award-winning team,” said Communications Team Associate Executive Director Eric Reed. “We expect that expanding our capabilities in multimedia reporting and production will better serve the churches of IBSA, as together we advance the gospel.”