Springfield | Illinois Baptists were busy in 2024 engaging in missions, ministry, and the culture. Whether they were the newsmakers or lending a helping hand when news broke, they were found sharing the gospel and living out their faith wherever they went.
This gave the Illinois Baptist newspaper the opportunity to cover a wide range of stories witnessing history and bringing eyewitness accounts to its valued and much appreciated readers.
Here are the top ten most read online stories from IllinoisBaptist.org in 2024:
1. Fire guts Streator church pantry and fellowship hall
A building that doubles as food pantry and fellowship hall for New Beginnings Baptist Church in Streator suffered major damage from a fire in the early morning hours of Oct. 11.
2. IBDR volunteers in Ga. with more on the way, how you can pray
Illinois Baptist Disaster Relief (IBDR) volunteers were on the ground in Augusta, Ga. where Hurricane Helene barreled through as a tropical storm Sept. 27. A feeding team arrived Sept. 29 serving with Missouri Baptist Disaster Relief (MBDR). Since their arrival Saturday evening through noon Wednesday, Sept. 26, the teams prepared and served 33,925 meals for hurricane survivors. Additional feeding team volunteers left Oct. 3 along with a shower/laundry team. Chainsaw and flood recovery teams, plus chaplains and assessors would leave within a few days.
3. Messengers approve six resolutions, including one on the office of pastor
Messengers took up the role of pastors and stronger marriages in a presentation from the Resolutions and Christian Life Committee Wednesday afternoon at the IBSA Annual Meeting. Recent discussions on the office of pastor and the role of women in the church have caused much controversy and vitriol extending even to the floor of the June 2024 Southern Baptist Convention. However, Illinois Baptists passed the Resolution on the Office of Pastor/Elder/Overseer with only a brief discussion taking place regarding the office of deacon.
4. First Person: Doctrinal fidelity without methodological conformity
Mark Twain is often credited with saying “a lie can travel around the world while the truth is still putting on its pants.” That’s apropos for how several prominent national media outlets are interpreting the events of this week’s Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting. You may have even seen headlines that read that the SBC voted this week to affirm female pastors. That is simply not true.
5. Welcome home: These Illinois families see foster care as a ministry
“If one family in every four churches would foster, then there would be no more kids in foster care in Illinois.”
That’s the quote Corey Johnston, lead pastor at Heights Community Church in Collinsville, and his wife, Andrea, heard five years ago that inspired them to become foster parents.
6. New state law could force churches, pregnancy centers to hire abortion advocates
Governor J.B. Pritzker signed House Bill 4867 (HB 4867), which amended the Illinois Human Rights Act to “prohibit discrimination based on reproductive health decisions,” according to a media release from his office. Editor’s note: The law was later blocked in federal court.
7. 6 candidates vie for SBC President
The field had more pastors from churches that would be closer to the average size in the SBC, rather than megachurch pastors. Three lead churches with more than 1,000 average attendance for Sunday morning worship services. Two of the candidates had run for the presidency previously.
8. Iorg nomination is a game-changer
The surprise announcement of Jeff Iorg’s nomination came March 1, a week after the EC Search Committee promised yet another candidate and asked EC Trustees to set March 21 as the date for a special-called meeting in the Dallas metroplex. And it came one month after another candidate, later revealed as Georgia Baptist Convention Executive Director Thomas Hammond, withdrew his name from consideration near the end of the process. At that point, it appeared head of SBC operations, with its financial woes, dismissal debates, and remaining abuse-related difficulties, was a job nobody wanted—or would risk taking.
9. IBSA Board hears words of encouragement and reports, votes on property sale
Board members were gathered at the IBSA Building on September 10 to hear and vote on committee reports, elect new officers, and for a report from IBSA Executive Director Nate Adams. They also voted on a proposal to put a former collegiate ministry building near the University of Illinois in Urbana up for sale, and approved the proposed 2025 IBSA budget for recommendation to messengers at the IBSA Annual Meeting in Orland Park November 12-13
1o. IBSA Board approves condensed Annual Meeting
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.