Board Chair Bruce Kirk leads his first IBSA Board of Directors meeting. Kirk is also pastor of Alpha Missionary Baptist Church in Bolingbrook.
Springfield | The IBSA Board of Directors approved a plan to condense the state association’s Pastors Conference and Annual Meeting from three days to two days starting in November 2024, making it easier for messengers to attend.
The action was one of several approved in the March 19 board meeting. Others included funding four strategic initiatives by drawing on reserve funds, and hearing a report from Executive Director Nate Adams on improving baptisms among IBSA churches.
Annual meeting streamlined
Each year immediately following the IBSA Annual Meeting, the Order of Business Committee evaluates the gathering. Noting that many messengers have difficulty attending all three days of the meeting, the Committee decided to investigate ways to condense the Pastors Conference and Annual Meeting in 2024, both scheduled to be held at Ashburn Baptist Church in Orland Park, a Southwest suburb of Chicago.
After discussion with IBSA staff, Pastors Conference leadership, and Chicagoland Association leaders directly involved, the Committee voted unanimously to bring its plan to the Board.
The Board approved moving the meeting dates from Wednesday-Thursday, November 13-14, to Tuesday-Wednesday, November 12-13. The change will also make Thursday, November 14 available for mission projects and/or vision tour opportunities. The Pastors Conference has historically started its meeting on Tuesday, making the combined event three days long.
The Order of Business Committee will now work with IBSA staff and Pastors Conference leadership to condense the celebration, inspiration, and business elements of the yearly gathering into a new schedule. The unified 2024 event will continue to include evening preaching sessions, as well as ministry-oriented breakouts for both pastors and church leaders.
Board funds new strategic initiatives
In other action, the board approved spending from reserve funds up to $250,000 this year in support of four strategic initiatives proposed by the Resource Development Committee:
(1) Continue funding a contracted consultant with IBSA’s Health Team, enabling the IBSA to maintain serving more than 100 churches and 20 local associations in revitalization ministries.
(2) Provide for a specialized consultant to pilot a project engaging churches in strategies to reach younger generations.
(3) Increase previously reduced staff travel budgets back to 2023 levels in order to prioritize face-to-face engagement between IBSA staff and local churches.
(4) Fund up to two full-time Zone Consultant contracts as pilots in regions of the state with higher concentrations of churches. IBSA Zone Consultants presently serve as part-time employees in 10 regions of Illinois. Three of the southernmost zones are currently without a consultant.
Metrics continue to improve
Adams presented a report to the Board that included a recap of 2023 and early indicators for 2024 which both show churches’ continued rebounding from Covid-impacted years. He noted that in 2022, 629 churches baptized no one or just one person. By 2023, that number dropped to 471, with 25% of those churches experiencing movement from being “stuck.” Overall, baptisms grew to 3,361 in 2023, up 29.6% from 2022.
“We can rejoice in the rebounding that we see in IBSA churches overall, even though we realize that many are still in recovery,” said Adams.
In other reports, 83 churches have already participated in Multiply Illinois Regional Hubs, which provide leadership development, networking, resources, and partnership. And the year’s first Ignite Conference, a regional evangelism training event, was held March 17-18 in Fairview Heights.
Adams stated that more than 100 churches and 21 associations are now engaged with IBSA in a revitalization process and 187 churches are in a next step consulting relationship. “We believe that churches are the best hope of delivering the gospel to lost people in Illinois,” he said. “To continue to invest in churches is still worthy of our best efforts.”
In other business
- The 2025 Cooperative Program (CP) goal and ratio of 56.5%/43.5% (unchanged from 2023) was approved.
- The CP budget goal of $6 million, with a utilization of up to $500,000 of reserves was approved.
- The Board approved the clean, unqualified audit report from Batts, Morrison, Wales and Lee (BMWL).
- Board Chairman Bruce Kirk introduced four new board members: Jennifer Damotte from FBC Morton, Scott Douglas from FBC Fairview Heights, Chris Marsh from Ditney Ridge in Norris City, and Mike Young from New Beginnings in Streator.