How does an entirely new church come to life? It’s no small task. The material logistics, relational dynamics, and spiritual struggles for a church planter to overcome can be so great that it’s a wonder any new churches are ever planted.
Kevin Jones
“There’s a lot of risk in it,” Kevin Jones explains. “And to be honest, that’s one of the most beautiful things about church planting, is there’s a lot of risk and there’s guys laying their lives down on the line to share the gospel with a community that is underserved. That’s what gets me up on Mondays.”
As Director of Church Planting for IBSA, Jones is there to help church planters as they navigate the perilous journey of bringing a new church from Holy Spirit inspired dream to established congregation.
Each year, IBSA works with the North American Mission Board to start 10-20 new Illinois Baptist churches. Jones personally oversees 5-8 of those, while maintaining a supporting relationship with pastors of previous years’ plants.
For Aldo Galicia, who is working with Logos Church, a 2022 plant, to start a new church reaching Hispanics in the Decatur area, having personal support has made all the difference. “Kevin has definitely helped us with resources and has encouraged us to just stay the course. And honestly, we feel amazing. We feel loved, and we love that!”
The network support delivered through a personal relationship helps church planters know they are not alone. Don Hannel, a long-time pastor in Pleasant Hill who is now starting the only IBSA church in Brown county, can’t imagine how hard it would be without that personal support from the network.
“I don’t have a staff now, I don’t have a secretary, but I feel like I’ve still got those connections,” he said. “Being a pastor for 19 years, I already have a great relationship with the IBSA staff, so I know that there’s people there that can help in our times of need.”
Whether those times of need are about finding funding, a place to meet, or the emotional toll that planting can take, for Jones the bottom line is people.
“It can’t be about a job. It has to be about the people. Whenever you treat people like they’re a means to an end, then you’re not caring about them. You’re not caring about their hurts, their pains, even their insecurities. You have to be about them. You have to be their champion.”
And by being their champion in the day-to-day struggles, Jones gets to in the moments of celebrating the wins – the life change demonstrated through the salvations and baptisms of these new congregations.
“Whenever I get texts that say, you should have seen what we did this week… that’s what I’m here for. That’s what we’re about… reaching the community.”
The 2024 Mission Illinois Offering and Week of Prayer is September 8-15 and this year’s statewide offering goal is $350,000. Find out more at MissionIllinois.org.