• Contact
  • Return to IBSA
  • Advertise Through Us
  • Subscribe
  • E-Reader

IBSA News

Illinois Baptist State Newspaper

  • Quick Links
    • E-Reader
    • Subscribe
    • Advertise
    • Resource
  • News
    • IBSA
    • SBC
    • Culture
    • Illinois Churches
  • Stories
    • Thriving
    • Church Planting
    • Mission
    • Next Step
  • In Focus
  • Columns
    • Nate Adams
    • Eric Reed
    • Meredith Flynn
    • Table Talk
    • Reporter’s Notebook
    • Encouraging Words
Encouraging Words

Testing the foundation

May 11, 2020 By Carmen Halsey

“Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith.” (Galatians 6:10 NLT)

My church’s mission team has been meeting weekly via Zoom since the shelter-at-home order began. We’ve been looking for opportunities to serve others, but this is a particularly hard time to serve the outside world. Don’t get me wrong, there is a time for that, and we should strive to find those opportunities. But our team decided to turn our focus inside the church for the time being.

We decided to think about our church members’ spiritual needs. Let’s look at the sheep. Let’s teach people how to pray. How to study the bible. How to dig deeper and allow God to speak through His word. Let’s reach out to our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. Let’s ask questions that take the conversation farther than “How are you?” and “Fine.” We decided to ask God to give us these opportunities.

Then Galatians 6:10 showed up in my personal devotion time. It was like God was shining a light on our choice, and giving me such confirmation that we are pursuing the right thing. Coronavirus has put us in a unique position to look at our lives and our relationship with God in such a way that pushes us to evaluate our foundations: prayer, Bible reading, and discipleship. Especially in the family of faith, we sometimes overlook discipleship.

It can be so easy to get caught up in the next ministry, event, or service that we miss the chance to deepen our relationship with Christ. Let us use this gift of time to seek him out. Ask God to reveal himself to you while you wait, then allow his word to speak to you. I bet he will if you do.

Carmen Halsey is an IBSA director of leadership development.

Share This Story

  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Featured Columns

After another leadership failure, forgive? Yes. Forget? Maybe later.

Eric Reed

My cousin Holly’s house burned down in July. The family and their dog were saved, but they lost everything. Literally everything, except her grandmother’s ancient roasting pan just big enough for a 12-pound turkey and a diamond ring. Everything else in their rural home was gone in under an hour. The irony was that my […]

Nate Adams

Positive purpose

Nate Adams

Without question, more of my time and passion is invested in encouraging churches to give to missions through the Cooperative Program than through any designated offering, including our own state missions offering. I believe that’s as it should be. Yet both the CP and designated offerings have vital, important purposes. My conviction is that the […]

What personal missions commitment looks like

Meredith Flynn

“Your partnership is needed now.” That sentence jumped out as I looked over this year’s Mission Illinois Offering materials. This time of year always reminds me of the things that unite Illinois Baptists: the shared prayer that more people will come to know Jesus; the shared burden for our communities in need of transformation; and […]

More Columns

Newsmakers Interview with Bart Barber, Part 3

Eric Reed

Southern Baptist Convention President Bart Barber is featured in the September issue of the Illinois Baptist. An hour-long interview focused on key issues including women in pastoral ministry and “friendly cooperation.” Editor Eric Reed asked Barber to look ahead to the 2024 SBC in Indianapolis. They discussed the role of social media in our Baptist […]

News

SBC EC votes at September 2023 meeting

Recap of this week’s SBC Exec Comm meeting

The Baptist Paper

While the anticipated next step regarding who will temporarily lead the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee in the interim period changed mid-way through the trustees’ meeting this week, trustee chair Philip Robertson plans to begin a new search right away. Recently retired Kentucky pastor Dan Summerlin provided this statement yesterday afternoon (Sept. 19) after alerting […]

Barber recalls ‘bold’ Southern Baptists, urges cooperation amid trials

Quick look at SBC Exec Comm agenda, Sept. 18-19

More News Stories

Mission

Metro East church plant hosts multiplication meeting

Metro East church plant hosts multiplication meeting

Ben Jones

Pastors and church leaders from around the Metro East area gathered in Collinsville May 17 for the second Multiply Illinois Hub. These quarterly regional events are designed to encourage and equip those interested in church multiplication. Heights Community Church, planted in 2016, hosted the gathering in their newly renovated home. With the St. Louis skyline […]

Sallateeska baptism demonstrates SBC connections

A first-time ministry to migrant workers is very fruitful

More Mission Stories

  • News
  • Mission
  • In Focus
  • Columns

Copyright © 2023 · Website by Megaphone Designs