Springfield | “I believe a new season of cooperation and Great Commission fruit is about to be driven by our Lord. We can’t do it by ourselves… It must be a ministry of the Holy Spirit through Illinois Baptists.”
In his first address to the full IBSA Board as incoming Executive Director on March 24, Scott Foshie honored his predecessor, described a mission field and mission force worthy of sacrifice, and spoke of encouraging happenings across the state, along with some “alarm clocks” that cannot be ignored.
Foshie takes the lead
Nate Adams holds up the “Cooperative Program Forever” T-shirt given to him by Chicago pastor and board member, Eric Brown.
It was the final handoff between Foshie and IBSA’s retiring Executive Director, Nate Adams. After a dinner in his honor the previous evening, Adams briefly thanked the Board for 20 years of support and expressed his confidence in Foshie following three months of passing the baton.
Adams also expressed thanks for a few additional gifts given by Board members, including a “Cooperative Program Forever” t-shirt given by Chicago pastor and board member, Eric Brown.
Foshie took the handoff with a running start. “My odometer has already moved over 7,000 miles in three months listening to Illinois Baptists,” he said, referring to his breakneck pace visiting churches and holding listening sessions coordinated with local associations.
“It’s fun and wonderful to hear the history, to hear the stories… and also to continue championing Illinois Baptists,” he said.
Reflecting his focus on the churches, Foshie quickly moved to give the Board an update on the state of the churches. Summarizing 2025 Annual Church Profile (ACP) data, he pointed to causes for optimism but also some “alarm clocks.”
The IBSA Board of Directors hears a report from incoming Executive Director Scott Foshie.
Baptisms are 9% above 2019 and worship attendance is 2.5% higher than the previous year. Foshie shared anecdotes of God at work in churches, most notably news of Diamond Springs Baptist Church in Clinton County, which baptized seven people in January, after 13 years with no baptisms.
But 370 churches baptized zero in 2025. Foshie challenged, “So let’s pray for these baptism droughts to end. And we’re going to be doing some strategic ministry to help these churches bear gospel fruit again in the future.”
More alarming, Foshie said, is that Sunday school and small groups ministry attendance is still 10% below 2019. While overall giving to churches is climbing, church giving to missions through the Cooperative Program in 2025 was 16% below the 2019 total of $6.2 million.
“We need to call churches to get the vision anew and afresh for Great Commission ministry through the Cooperative Program,” he said, affirming that supporting over 3,600 international missionaries, over 3,000 church planters, and “six of the 10 largest evangelical Bible-based seminaries in America” is a compelling vision worth Illinois Baptists’ support.
From the committees
The Strategic Planning, Resource Development, and Administrative Committees brought reports and recommendations from their late February meetings.
Mike Young, Strategic Planning Committee chair, presented revised 2026 Goals and Celebration Metrics 2026 for IBSA staff, as well as a draft of 2027 Goals and Metrics for the Board’s approval. Young reported there was a need to update 2026 goals to reflect IBSA staff’s ability to accomplish the mission during this season of staff transitions.
Curt Lipe, Resource Development Committee chair, presents a report.
Curt Lipe, Resource Development Committee chair, brought a motion to the Board that the Executive Director prepare a 2027 budget and salary structure based on:
- a Cooperative Program goal of $5,500,000, adjusted down from $6,000,000 due to lower CP giving.
- utilization of up to $500,000 in IBSA’s financial reserves.
- a Cooperative Program ratio of 56.5% IBSA /43.5% SBC, excluding shared expenses not to exceed 10% of the Cooperative Program goal.
Lipe also brought a motion to approve $10,095 in the Board and Conventions department of the 2025 budget, noting “the overspend was more than offset by additional exhibit hall income” from sponsors who purchased exhibit hall space at the 2025 Annual Meeting.
All committee motions were approved.
Board members also heard an update on the status of the Baptist Foundation of Illinois’ audit process from Lipe. “At the September meeting, BFI board leadership and staff communicated hopefulness to have BFI’s 2023 audit completed by the end of 2025 and its 2024 audit completed in early 2026,” he said. “(That) timeline has been delayed to estimate completion of both 2023 and 2024 audits by the second quarter of 2026… This would indicate that the 2025 IBSA audit will once again have a qualified opinion, as we did for the 2024 audit.”
During miscellaneous business, the Board moved to refer to the Constitution Committee a motion about resolutions from the 2025 IBSA Annual Meeting. The motion, made by a messenger on the floor, asked that all resolutions be presented for consideration, including those proposed from messengers at the meeting, be published and distributed prior to a vote by the messengers. Since the motion addressed internal operations of Board and/or Committees of the Association, the moderator of the Annual Meeting referred the matter to the Board on the recommendation of the parliamentarian. Now it goes to the Constitution Committee.
Other updates and notes
In other news from the meeting, Jeff Deasy, Administrative Director of Operations, was recognized in advance of his upcoming retirement at the end of April. Deasy and his wife Kathy came to IBSA after serving with the International Mission Board in Africa and South America, and have been in Illinois for more than 10 years.
Several staff new to IBSA since the September Board meeting were recognized, including Jessica Cray (Bookkeeper-Operations Team) and Kayla Houchin (Administrative Assistant–Communications Team) who were present.
Kevin Carrothers, Executive Director of Baptist Children’s Home and Family Services, reported on BCHFS ministries. In 2025, BCHFS served about 335 individuals at one of their five ministries, which include residential care for children and teens, professional counseling, a maternity home, a pregnancy resource clinic, and adoption services. Faith Adoption, which has provided services in Mt. Vernon for more than two decades, recently established a relationship with a pregnancy clinic in Rockford. They are now seeking volunteers to help them serve expecting mothers in northern Illinois.
The Board welcomed five new members: Greg Braswell, FBC Waterloo; Tom Clore, Eldorado FBC; Nate Martin, Waldo Missionary, Metropolis; Mike Miller, Northcrest Calvary, Moline; and Jason Stuckey, Immanuel Chicago.
The Board also approved nominations for two vacant board positions. Mark Davis (Woodland, Peoria) will fill a Region 2, Class B term, expiring in 2027. Rhonda Johnson (Destiny, Rock Island), will fill a Region 2, Class A term, expiring in late 2026.
The next IBSA Board meeting is scheduled in September.