Springfield, IL | Dr. Scott Foshie will be presented to the Illinois Baptist State Association (IBSA) Board of Directors as the nominee for the position of Executive Director. A special Board meeting has been called for Tuesday, December 9, at 10:00 a.m. in the IBSA Building’s Auditorium. Foshie was selected by a search committee of eleven members of the IBSA Board of Directors after an eight-month search and screening process.
“Scott has a keen awareness of both the passion IBSA churches have to reach our state for Christ and the challenges they face in doing so,” said committee chair Rev. Jeff Logsdon, pastor of Island City Baptist Church. “Scott’s strong relational skills will help him to effectively lead Illinois Baptists. He is the right man to lead Illinois Baptists to face a changing future by bearing witness to an unchanging Savior.”
About the Candidate
Dr. Scott Foshie
Foshie has served as IBSA Church Health Team Leader since 2019, specializing in church revitalization. In his role he has guided dozens of churches, and 23 of IBSA’s 33 local associations, through revitalization processes and developed a team of 50 coaches and pathfinders to work with local pastors in strengthening their ministries. Foshie served as Nine Mile Baptist Association Mission Strategist, while also serving as pastor of Steeleville Baptist Church. He led the church through a period of rapid growth that resulted in a significant building project. Foshie’s service to the Steeleville congregation (2015-2019) was his first ministry in Illinois and his first lead pastorate. The Tennessee native served three churches in his home state as associate pastor in worship and education.
Foshie holds four degrees: Bachelor of Music Education from East Tennessee State University; Master of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry from Southern Baptist School for Biblical Studies in Jacksonville, Florida; and most recently Master of Theological Studies in Leadership from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.
Foshie’s involvement in Southern Baptist life has included active participation in the local associations of every church he has served. And since 2018, he has served as a trustee for the SBC’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC). He currently chairs the ERLC Board of Trustees.
Foshie has been instrumental in navigating the ERLC’s ongoing recovery after the departure of former presidents Russell Moore and Brent Leatherwood. He led a bylaw reform work group to improve transparency and board communication with the president. And as chair, he helped preserve the entity during a movement to abolish it. He most recently led the ERLC Board to call an interim president with the purpose of rebuilding trust relationships with pastors and churches that felt distanced from the ERLC’s recent direction.
Foshie is married to Audra, his wife of 24 years. They have three teenage children and are active members of Chatham Baptist Church.
Search Process and Transition Timeline
Search Committee Chair Jeff Logsdon (right) honors Nate and Beth Adams at the November 2025 IBSA Annual Meeting at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Springfield, IL.
The search committee conducted a number of listening sessions with IBSA pastors, church leaders, and state staff, examination of multiple resumes, extensive background checks, and interviews with the leading candidates and their wives.
A simple majority vote of the currently 36 members of the IBSA Board will be required to confirm Foshie as the successor to Nate Adams, who will retire April 1, 2026, after 20 years in the role. The search committee’s proposal is for the incoming Executive Director Elect to begin service January 1, 2026, allowing for three months of onboarding and overlap for leadership of the network of about 900 Baptist churches. He would then fully assume the Executive Director role April 1 when Adams retires.
Adams welcomed the recommendation by the search committee. “I’m very pleased that the candidate to whom the committee has felt led is a man who has already invested years of ministry as a beloved IBSA pastor and countless miles of service as an effective network leader. Scott is a gifted leader and friend, and I’m confident he will serve Illinois Baptists well and continue to inspire strong, missional cooperation among our churches.”
The Illinois Baptist State Association is a network of Southern Baptist churches cooperating together to advance the gospel in Illinois. IBSA was founded in 1907. It is one of 41 autonomous Baptist state conventions that cooperate with the national Southern Baptist Convention. IBSA’s Springfield staff is engaged in church planting and revitalization, leadership development, training for evangelism, and mobilization for missions including disaster relief and other compassion ministries in Illinois.
For more information, contact:
Ben Jones, Communications Team Leader
BenJones@IBSA.org
Illinois Baptist State Association
3085 Stevenson Drive
Springfield, IL 62703