Think of it as a pep rally before the big game. Both the Cooperative Program and the Baptist Faith and Message will mark their 100th anniversaries in 2025. A grand celebration for these two pillars of Southern Baptist missiology and theology is planned for the SBC Annual Meeting in Dallas in June, but in Illinois, the party started early.
With a new streamlined format to encourage participation, the worship, business, and preaching sessions were combined, rather than staging the Pastors Conference separate from the IBSA Annual Meeting. Gathering at Ashburn Baptist Church in the Southwest Chicago suburb of Orland Park, 351 elected messengers and 76 guests prayed, praised, and handled the business of the state association.
And they heard from preachers.
“[The] spirit cooperation is under attack these days, both from external critics and internal detractors,” Jeff Iorg told messengers at the IBSA Annual Meeting November 13.
IBSA Executive Director Nate Adams introduced the 2025 focus on the centennial celebrations by telling the story of his grandmother, who contributed sacrificially to the $75 million campaign, a precursor to the Cooperative Program aimed at getting the denomination out of debt after World War 1.
“I’m trying to cheerlead again that what we believe about the Bible matters, and how we make disciples matter, and what missionaries we send to the field matters, and what pastors that we train our seminaries believe matters,” he said. “Likewise, “the Baptist Faith and Message has this wonderful place, and it deserves a rejuvenation of interest in our churches.”
Messengers were given copies of the booklet, which Adams pointed out was remarkably small, considering its importance.
Issues and actions
Messengers to the 2024 IBSA Annual Meeting at Ashburn Baptist Church in Orland Park.
Iorg’s cautions came on the same day IBSA messengers expressed support for the current denominational positions on women in ministry, in particular the male-only senior pastor interpretation of Scripture. They also called for churches and pastors to strengthen marriages with teaching and counseling.
Those actions were among six resolutions approved by messengers. (See the full list.)
Messengers approved revisions to the IBSA constitution to clarify the difference between IBSA the corporation—which is the umbrella organization that includes the Baptist Children’s Home and Family Services (BCHFS) and Baptist Foundation of Illinois (BFI)—and IBSA the association of churches engaged in Illinois mission work.
Executive director’s report
“IBSA wants to meet pastors [where they are] and to provide encouragement, fellowship, soul care to you and your family,” Nate Adams said.
Adams shared about the continued increase in church baptisms, encouraging pastors through the “For the Pastor” initiative, and helping churches to thrive. The emphasis was announced last year to help pastors with personal renewal and spiritual care. Adams led a prayer session for pastors along with IBSA management staff. “May they remember they are called,” Adams prayed. “May they remember they are not alone.”
In his report, Adams told messengers that 10 new churches have been planted in 2024, with the possibility of more by year’s end. He noted churches saw an increase of 30% in baptisms in 2023 following a 41% increase in 2022. “After a focused effort by IBSA’s evangelism director, Scott Harris, the number of IBSA churches baptizing zero or one last year was reduced from 629 to 427,” said Adams. “That represents a 32% decrease in the number of churches that didn’t see baptisms in their church last year.”
Messengers approved an IBSA budget for 2025 of $6 million, with the ratio remaining steady at 56.5% for Illinois missions and 43.5% forwarded to the national SBC for international and North American missions, theological education, and the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission’s work in the public square.
There are currently 210 countries in the world and “the population of our Illinois mission field is larger than 131 of those 210 countries,” said Adams. “We truly need each church to be missionary if we are to impact the lostness of our state and your community.” He told messengers the IBSA staff is ready to come alongside them and assist them in their efforts.
“We believe that each church can thrive when it’s healthy,” Adams said, when it grows its leaders, and when it turns inside out on mission into its lost community and world.”
New officers elected
Illinois Baptists talk while they wait in line to register for the IBSA Annual Meeting.
Messengers elected new IBSA officers to serve for a one-year term beginning at the conclusion of the IBSA Annual Meeting. Officers are allowed to serve two consecutive one-year terms.
Doug Munton was elected to serve as IBSA President. Munton is pastor of O’Fallon FBC. Carlton Binkley, who just accepted the pastorate at Dorrisville Baptist Church in Harrisburg, was the outgoing president. He replaced Michael Nave who resigned Oct. 24 to accept a new position.
Jeff Logsdon, pastor of Island City Baptist Church in Wilmington, was elected Vice President.
Matt Philbrick, the current IBSA Assistant Recording Secretary, was elected IBSA Recording Secretary. Philbrick is associate pastor with youth pastor responsibilities at First Baptist Church in Ramsey. Charlene Moe, a member of Chatham Baptist Church, was the outgoing Recording Secretary.
Nate Mason, lead pastor of First Baptist Church of Effingham, was elected assistant recording secretary.
More preaching
In addition to the keynote by Iorg and the annual sermon by Kirk, two guest preachers addressed the needs of pastors.
Brian Croft, executive director of Practical Shepherding and former pastor of Auburndale Baptist Church in Louisville, Ky., shared his experience about ministering in hard places. His ministry defines hard places in two categories—resource poverty and spiritual poverty. He described both as “unique in their own ways.”
Speaking from 1 Corinthians 16, Croft shared, “The key to thriving in a hard place, you stay, and you stand. You stay, and you stand. Isn’t that really what he’s [the Apostle Paul] saying at the very end of verse nine?” (“…Because a wide door for effective ministry has opened for me—yet many oppose me.”)
Mark Croston brought the crowd to its feet shouting “Stand up, stand up for Jesus, ye soldiers of the cross… ‘til every foe is vanquished, and Christ is Lord indeed!”
Mark Croston set the stage with a similar theme—thriving requires endurance and courage.
“God needs some people who are willing to give their amen! to the gospel of Jesus Christ, to the fact that God is working everything out for his own glory in this world,” he declared. Croston told the pastors they can thrive in God’s power, presence, and protection, drawing on the Thrive ’24.
“You will thrive if you stand in God’s protection,” Croston said. “A lot of us are scared—we’re cared of violence; we’re scared of the economy. But God is protecting you in the process,” he said, citing 1 Timothy 4. “If you are out there doing God’s work, God says, ‘I got your back!’
Croston, who serves as Lifeway’s National Director of Black Church Ministries, brought the crowd to its feet shouting “stand up, stand up for Jesus, ye soldiers of the cross… ‘til every foe is vanquished, and Christ is Lord indeed!
(He said it three times, to growing applause.)
“…and Christ is Lord indeed!”
The next IBSA Annual Meeting will be held November 4-5 at the Crowne Plaza in Springfield.