The 2024 SBC Annual Meeting promises several attempts at clarification of the denomination’s defining beliefs on ‘cooperation’ and the role of pastor. Messengers may also hear an honest assessment of a 2012 reorganization plan more recently called into question by leaders including Chuck Kelley, retired president of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. The SBC’s Cooperation […]
Storms prompt IBDR response at home & in Texas
Springfield | Strong spring storms with damaging winds and heavy rains have swept across the Midwest and South over the last few weeks. Illinois Baptist Disaster Relief (IBDR) teams have been on standby status multiple times but haven’t been moved to callout status until now. IBDR is currently serving in Southern Illinois and will soon […]
Southern Baptist baptisms and attendance grow, membership decline slows
Brentwood, Tenn. | Baptisms, worship service attendance and small group participation all grew in 2023 among congregations affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention, while the recent decline in total membership among congregations slowed. The Annual Church Profile (ACP) compiled by Lifeway Christian Resources in cooperation with Baptist state conventions details the annual numerical changes for the […]
SBC President speaks on 3 controversies
Springfield | The highlight of the event may have been having a photo made with the outgoing President of the Southern Baptist Convention, dressed in his Texas flag shirt and cowboy hat, standing next to a cardboard cutout of a cow like those he raises back home in Farmersville. More likely it was the opportunity […]
Priority offers hope and spiritual refreshment
Springfield | “I appreciate what God does each year that he brings us here,” said Vivian Johnson. “Here” is the annual Priority Conference, a women’s leadership event. “Our women’s department has grown quite a bit because of their experience,” she continued. “One thing that I have a concern about is somebody saying they’re giving their […]
VBS opens doors for discipleship
Most people who walk into Freedom Church in Neosho, Missouri, start with a worship service. It’s an on-ramp to the church’s discipleship pathway, a natural starting point on the journey from being a first-time visitor to a growing, serving follower of Christ. For kids and families, said Pastor Jack Lucas, that first worship service is often […]
Illinois missionary joins God in pursuit of neglected peoples in Uganda
Sonya Herron stood beneath a small tent among a group of lepers, and others from the village, and shared the gospel with boldness. She called people to walk in the light as Jesus is the Light and challenged them to be fully committed to Christ. Afterward, an older man, missing one leg, came forward on […]
Illinois DR vet expands reach
As Disaster Relief teams from Ohio and Indiana state conventions assessed storm damage that left three dead in mid-March, one of the leaders on the ground was familiar to Illinois Baptists—former state Disaster Relief director Butch Porter. At least three were reported dead in Ohio in a wave of storms that also left dozens injured […]
Abuse in the SBC
With SATF recommendations approved, the hard part begins
“The recommendations before you are not from Guidepost, they are from the task force,” Bruce Frank, chairman of the Sexual Abuse Task Force told messengers as they prepared to vote on a set of history-making recommendations at the SBC Annual Meeting June 14-15 in Anaheim, Calif. The task force was assigned and authorized by action […]
IBSA President on abuse response: From difficulties to determination
A 288-page report on any subject is daunting, but as a Southern Baptist, pastor, and president of IBSA, I felt a responsibility to keep the report open all last week and slowly read through it. I made notes and wrote down personal thoughts, and as I reviewed them afterwards, I was surprised to discover a […]
Former Illinois pastor accused; two relationships occurred in youth ministry in 2002
Former Illinois pastor Wes Feltner is accused by two women of abusive relationships, one of them sexual, when he was their youth minister in Indiana 17 years ago. The charges came to light as Feltner is lead candidate for the pastorate of First Baptist Church of Clarksville, Tennessee. The story was reported by the Clarksville […]
Longtime Chicago pastor resigns; sexual abuse prior to ministry among reasons
Charles Lyons resigned as pastor of Armitage Baptist Church in Chicago following what church leaders called a “corrective leave of absence” that began in October 2018. Read…
Resources
- Protect your children, protect your church https://www.ibsa.org/3327-2/
- Caring Well https://caringwell.com/
News Stories
GCR Evaluation Task Force releases report, recommendations to come
Nashville | Did the Great Commission Resurgence accomplish its goal of reversing the decline of baptisms in the Southern Baptist Convention? According to the final report from a task force commissioned to answer that question, “the answer is a clear and decisive, No.” Where the blame lies is complicated, but there is plenty to go around, the […]
Warm welcome for Texan
Springfield | SBC President Bart Barber and his assessment of current issues in the denomination were both well received during the Texas pastor’s visit to Illinois. Coming to the Midwest one more time before the 2024 SBC Annual Meeting convenes in Indianapolis in June, Barber spent about four hours on April 16 meeting pastors and […]
Illinois Baptist honored by peers
Richmond | The Illinois Baptist team was cited for excellence in journalism and design at the 2024 Baptist Communicators Association awards held in Richmond, Virginia April 23-25. The annual gathering of journalists and media specialists from SBC entities recognizes achievements for a wide range of publications and multimedia. The IBSA team received first place nods […]
1,000+ march on Illinois Capitol
Springfield | More than 1,000 people attended the Illinois Right to Life March in Springfield April 17. Among them was a former gubernatorial candidate who called recently passed House Bill 4867 a “death bill.” Jesse Sullivan, who ran in the Republican primary for governor in 2022, criticized House Bill 4867, which amends the Illinois Human […]