April 6, 2015 Illinois Baptist

Professor walks Ferguson streets page 5

Is Sunday good for you? page 6

1,100 pint-size missionaries stage gospel blitz page 11

4 things we didn’t know about religious freedom page 13

ana Davis: esh ideas on st-timer follow-up page 15

News and updates

Throughout the week:

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www.IBSA.org

IBSA org/Communications

Jesus makes Christians right with God and with one another Why, then, is it so difficult to overcome our differences? Special report, pages 7-9

State Evangelism Conference

is needed for revival’

Decatur | “I wonder what it’s going to take to get people desperate for God,” lamented Alvin Reid, Professor of Evangelism at Southeastern Seminary in Wake Forest, N C “We take ourselves too seriously, but we don’t take the gospel seriously enough.”

If we want to see change in the world, we have to ask God to bring revival That was message of the IBSA State Evangelism Conference held at Tabernacle Baptist Church in Decatur

When revival does occur, it can be surprising, Reid shared “We may plan for it and pray for it, but it usually catches us by surprise ”

Georgia pastor Johnny Hunt cited desperation as a need in bringing revival: “We haven’t experienced revival because the church is not even close to desperate,” said Hunt, former Southern Baptist Convention President “Why should heaven scurry around to send revival when we don’t want it?”

Hunt called on pastors to preach the gospel and not moralism, saying, “I’ve never lived in a generation of preachers that, over the last 10 years, has done a better job of defining the gospel but is so slow to preach the gospel ”

Like Reid, Hunt stressed that revival comes from God. “You can’t revive yourself,” he said

To reach people, Hunt said Christians need to spend time with those who don’t know Christ as their savior “The longer you’re part of God’s family, the further removed you are from those Christ died for You have to ask yourself, ‘When am I going to carve out time to rub shoulders with those that don’t know the Lord?’”

Joel Southerland of the North American Mission board and Dennis Nunn, founder of Every Believer A Witness Ministries, were also presenters at the March 27-28 conference Look for complete coverage in the April 27 issue of the Illinois Baptist

Women’s meeting to make ‘priority’ of leadership

Springfield | Living a life with intention is the theme of this year ’s IBSA Women’s Resource Conference April 24-25 at Tabernacle Baptist Church in Decatur

The two-day Priority Conference is designed to equip leaders serving in the local church The conference will include worship and large group sessions led by nationally known speakers, 40 breakout offerings on a variety of topics, a luncheon for ministers’ wives, exhibit area with ministry resources, and a 5K walk/run

A screening of “War Room,” a new film from the creators of “Fireproof” and “Courageous,” will follow the Friday evening session

Priority begins Friday at 1 p m with a missions celebration featuring North American and International Mission Board missionaries and Tajuan McCarty, founder of The WellHouse ministry that seeks to rescue victims of human trafficking Clella Lee, a leadership consultant for National Woman’s Missionary Union (WMU), will also speak during the opening session

Lee directs WMU’s Christian Women’s Leadership Center, which

PLEADING – Former SBC President Johnny Hunt asks pastors to get “desperate” for revival while speaking at the IBSA State Evangelism Conference

BRIEFING the

Sandy rebuild effort still going

More than two years after Hurricane Sandy devastated parts of New York and New Jersey, volunteers working through Southern Baptist Disaster Relief are still rebuilding and repairing homes in the region Volunteers have given more than $5 2 million worth of work hours, rebuilt 159 homes, and helped more than 600 others with repairs

“If it wasn’t for the Baptists, I don’t know what I would do,” said homeowner Elena, whose basement was repaired after severe flood damage “It’s unbelievable what they are doing for this house ” Project information is available at www.namb.net.sandy.

New exodus begins from PCUSA

Brighton Presbyterian Church in Rochester, N Y , was the first church to leave the Presbyterian Church (USA) after a majority of the denomination’s districts voted to change its definition of marriage The amendment to the group’s constitution, which will become official this summer, alters the marriage definition from “a man and a woman” to “two people, traditionally a man and a woman ”

“Our reason for leaving is centered on the status of biblical interpretation within the PC(USA),” Brighton spokeswoman Kerry Luddy told The Christian Post.

“We believe that Scripture’s meaning and intent should not be altered to fit a current culture ”

Bibles por Cuba

More than 83,000 Bibles were shipped to Cuba last month through a partnership between Southern Baptist agencies, churches and individual donors The Eastern Cuba Baptist Convention, which will receive 32,000 Bibles, reported more than 29,000 professions of faith last year, said Kurt Urbanek, IMB strategy leader for Cuba

“The growth is so incredible, that’s why Bibles are so important ”

How Millennials see your church

While 30% of Millennials say going to church isn’t important at all, another 30% say it’s very important And 40% are in the middle The reasons vary, Barna Group reports, but 66% of Millennials say American churchgoers are judgmental, and 44% think church seems like an exclusive club

There is some better news: 65% say church is a place to find answers to live a meaningful life

Brackets busted

Americans bet more than $2 5 billion on March Madness basketball, reports the FBI But Christians would be wise not to throw any money in the pot, Southern Baptist ethicist Barrett Duke told Baptist Press Not only could the pools have legal implications, but there also is a spiritual cost, Duke said “1 Corinthians 10:13 reminds the Christian of his stewardship responsibility The Christian must use all the resources at his disposal in a manner that glorifies God This includes the little things as well ”

Faith is the fashion at retreat

Springfield | Ministers’ wives face unique challenges in our churches Congregations can have sky high expectations that only a super woman could meet Friendships can be hard to form and there isn’t always time to take a break from stress of family, work, and church

Illinois Baptist women are trying to remedy that Each spring a group of ministers’ wives hosts a two-day retreat for women like them

Carmen Halsey, IBSA Women’s Ministry and Missions director, welcomed the women. “We’re excited to see you here We have prayed for you We want to help you connect, we want to come alongside you and support you in your ministry ”

She later said, “There are at least 900 ministers’ wives’ out there that we are extending an invitation to connect with us too ”

Mark Emerson, IBSA Church Resources Team associate executive director also brought greetings to the women

“I understand some of the drama that you face,” he said “I’m also some of the cause of the drama you face ” The remarks from the former pastor of Living Faith Baptist Church were greeted with laughter

The theme for this year ’s retreat was “Dress for Success,” and was based on Isaiah 61:10a, “He has clothed me with gar-

ments of salvation ”

Retreat speaker Martha Bailey, an author and pastor ’s wife from Louisiana, shared, “Being a minister ’s wife is not one-size fits all [You] have to find your niche where you fit in ”

She paraphrased how God raised up the Prophet Isaiah to say to the captives, “It’s time to go home Everyone will real-

ize you are one God has blessed People will know that the spirit of the Lord is upon you ” (Isaiah 61:8-9)

Bailey urged the women to “recognize that God has clothed us in His salvation and His righteousness ”

She stressed, “Do people see God and His salvation and His righteousness when they see you? When you know the Lord it ought to ooze out of your pores ”

The Ministers’ Wives’ Retreat was held April 20-21 at the IBSA Building in Springfield

Women’s Resource Conference scheduled for April 24-25

Continued from page 1

engages women in discovering and implementing their leadership gifts in their churches and workplaces Women desiring to express those gifts are sometimes challenged by demands on their time, or by other factors, Lee said “I think women are hesitant sometimes; they don’t want to come across as too aggressive,” she said “And so I think sometimes they aren’t always as apt to take a hold of those leadership skills they have…they have a sense of call or a sense of need, and recognize some of those gifts, but sometimes they’re hesitant ”

Lee will speak about the Christian Women’s Leadership Center, and also will lead three breakout sessions during the conference on the dynamics of a ministry family, the private spiritual life of a leader, and creative approaches to missions in a church plant

Rachel Lovingood will continue the leadership theme in the Friday evening session The author, pastor ’s wife, and speaker at LifeWay events will delve

into how women can develop into the leaders God has created them to be She also will unpack specific topics in several breakout sessions

The Friday evening session also will feature author and missions advocate Kimberly Sowell, and worship led by Pastor Chad Ozee of Journey Church in Bourbonnais

Saturday begins early with a 5K fun run or walk, and concludes with an afternoon session featuring Lori McDaniel, an International Mission Board global mission catalyst and church planter ’s wife

from Arkansas Ministers’ wives also are invited to a luncheon with Kathy Litton, the North American Mission Board’s consultant for ministers’ wives ministry

Cost is $25 for attenders who are part of an IBSA church, and $30 for all others Conference information and registration is online now at www IBSA org/ womensmissions A block of rooms has been reserved at the Decatur Conference Center and Hotel (across the street from Tabernacle Baptist Church).

Contact the hotel at (217) 4228800

DRESS FOR SUCCESS – Keynote speaker Martha Bailey urged women at the IBSA Ministers’ Wives’ Retreat to make visible the presence of God in their lives

Lee

Lovingood Sowell McDaniel

Lisa Sergent

Who is a parent?

State Rep Kelly Burke (D-Evergreen Park) has introduced HB 1531, The “Parentage Act of 2015,” which would automatically give parentage to the non-birth mother in a same-sex marriage In other words, the second “mother” would no longer be required to adopt the child in order to have parental rights

According to the bill, HB 1531, “A woman is presumed to be the parent of a child if she and the natural mother of the child were in a state-recognized civil union or marriage at the time of the birth and the natural father of the child has not commenced an action to establish his parentage ”

The bill would change the law to no longer presume each child has a father, and a non-biologically related person would legally be presumed to be a parent The child would have no father listed on his or her birth certificate.

Public funded abortions

In March, State Rep Sara Feigenholtz (D-Chicago) introduced HB 4013, “Public Funding of Abortion,” which would remove prohibitions on taxpayer-funded abortions in Illinois

Currently, state-funded Medicaid does not pay for abortions But until the late 1970s, taxpayers funded abortions for women on Public Aid According to the Illinois Family Institute, “In 1977 there were over 12,700 abortions paid for under Public Aid’s Medicaid program with taxpayer dollars ” Funding to cover the cost of abortions for state workers also has since ended

The new bill would once again require Illinois taxpayers to provide abortion coverage for Medicaid recipients and for state workers The bill has passed out of the Human Services Committee and is ready for a second reading on the House floor

–

Sources: Concerned Christian Ministries, Illinois Family Institute, Illinois Policy Institute

Southern Baptist tosses hat

Lynchburg, Va | A Southern Baptist is the first to declare his candidacy for U S President Texas Senator Ted Cruz, elected to office two years ago on a Tea Party wave, chose Liberty University, founded by the late Jerry Falwell, as the site for his announcement for the Republican nomination in 2016.

Cruz is a member of First Baptist Church of Houston “I’m Cuban, Irish and Italian, and yet somehow I ended

up Southern Baptist,” Cruz has joked His father, Rafael, a Cuban refugee, is a preacher and director of Purifying Fire International ministry

Cruz described his faith to CBN as “a personal relationship with Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior ”

“I think anyone in politics you’ve got a special obligation to avoid being a Pharisee [because] in politics, it’s too easy for that to become a crutch, for that to be politically useful ”

Cruz entered the race March 23 – with information from the Washington Post

Nate Adams

Before and after Easter

s Easter approaches each year, I frequently find myself returning to the music of “Jesus Christ Superstar ” Perhaps it’s because I was a teenager in the 1970’s, when Andrew Lloyd Webber ’s groundbreaking rock opera was immensely popular They say the music of our teen years can shape us for the rest of our lives, and certainly hearing these songs again brings back many memories and emotions

But really more than the music, it has been Tim Rice’s lyrics that have stuck with me To this day I can recite most of the words Rice penned over 40 years ago, including the powerful dialogue where Pilate angrily demands of Jesus, “Why do you not speak when I have your life in my hands? Why do you stay quiet? I don’t believe you understand!”

Jesus’ reply in the rock opera, though imaginary, is consistent with the Bible’s message “You have nothing in your hands,” Jesus meekly replies “Any power you have comes to you from far beyond Everything is fixed, and you can’t chan

Those simple words powerfully co confidence and courage of Jesus as h the cross for us, and also the providence ereignty of God in securing our salvat time I hear them, they make me want to for God and His great victory on our be half.

To their credit, Webber and Rice took moments like that from the passion week of Christ and, with

through

The ILLINOIS

BAPTIST Staff

POSTMASTER: The Illinois Baptist is owned and publ shed every three weeks by the

some admitted license and imagination, placed them in the contemporary music and language of their day The result was memorable, and therefore enduring

And yet, as critics and Christians alike noted even during the height of its popularity, Jesus Christ Superstar has one obvious and major shortcoming It concludes with the crucifixion

Apologists for the rock opera observed that the ending was deliberately left to the faith or skepticism of the observer Even Christians noted with appreciation that it at least served to place the name of Jesus on peoples’ lips, and the story of his life in their minds and hearts, in many cases for the first time

But there was no resurrection No Easter No delivering the good news that death was not the end for Jesus and that it need not be the end for those who believe in him

Yes, ultimately Jesus Christ Superstar sadly reminds us that it’s possible to stop the story soon It’s possible to focus so much on various overtures to Easter that we don’t y celebrate the finale happens all around us Immediately after

Valentine’s Day, the candy and toy aisles at every store in town switch their ruby red treats and treasures over to the pastel, Easter versions Clothing catalogs tell us that we need something new to wear. And florists and garden centers remind us that a properly decorated Easter requires lilies All these traditions paint the days before Easter with an elaborate pageantry Then the big day comes, and we are left to wonder whether all the preparation overshadowed Easter itself

We can even do it in our churches For weeks we can invest in preparing musicals, programs, decorations, and children’s activities designed to help us celebrate Easter All these things are good But they are not the finale They are not the really big part of the story that must be celebrated and that must be told

The title song from Jesus Christ Superstar is sung by, of all people, Judas, near the end of the rock opera In it he asks Jesus, “Who are you? What have you sacrificed?” In our churches and in our conversations with others, we need to make sure to get to the part of the story that answers those questions with truth and faith and confidence As important as what happened before Easter is, it’s what happens after Easter that makes all the difference

Nate Adams is executive director of the Illinois Baptist State Association Respond to his column at IllinoisBaptist@IBSA org

Where

One of the major stories out of last year ’s Leadership Summit hosted by the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission was the negative reaction on social media In fact, this very column space was devoted to “angry birds” who spoke out on Twitter about the speaker line-up, the subject matter, and the opinions expressed

It seemed like almost everything that was said (or tweeted or blogged) at last year ’s meeting made somebody mad

need for a solution

Divisions exist around racial identity, and in recent days, they have been especially ugly, violent, frightening and real

Leaders at the summit seemed to view racism as a common enemy And, for Christians, as sin There are some things you don’t do anymore once you have a relationship with Christ, said recent Southern Baptist Convention President Fred Luter “Don’t tell me you’re saved and still lying like a rug Don’t tell me u’re saved and still cussing like a lor Don’t tell me you’re saved and l mean as a pit bull Don’t tell me you’re saved and still don’t like someone because of the color of their skin ”

Iraqi Christians in exile

“They take everything from us, but they cannot take the God from our hearts, they cannot ”

This year, not so much Yes, there was some chatter, according to tweets after the event, about Baptists having an agenda for tackling this year ’s topic, racial reconciliation At least one poster noted the Southern Baptist Convention should be honest about its past in regards to slavery and racial division (One whole panel discussion and pieces of other messages were devoted to the topic )

But most of the Twitter feedback was positive Maybe it was because much of it came from inside the summit. Racial reconciliation may not have drawn the same large online audience as last year ’s topic: sexuality Or, there’s this possibility: At its core, the summit was a meeting about a problem that every Christian can identify with, and one for which even those outside the church see the

From the podium in Nashville, mmit speakers talked about racial division as a universal problem, and a universal responsibility Thabiti Anyabwile compared having skewed ideas about racial identity to walking into a cafeteria and seeing one table of diners that look like you, and one that doesn’t You immediately think the table that looks like you has something in common with you, and is therefore safe for you

“The mind is a relentless stereotyper,” Anyabwile said No matter who you are At the ERLC Summit, speakers and attenders were unified by that knowledge, and in the belief that the gospel is the only thing that has the power to reconcile people to God and to one another

And the angry birds, for the most part, stayed away

Those poignant words from Archbishop Nicodemus Sharaf resound in a CBS News report on Iraqi Christians, many who are living in exile since ISIS drove them from their homes The region of Iraq where Sharaf lived before he himself was exiled is called the Nineveh Plains; it has been home to Christians for almost 2,000 years More than 125,000 Christians have been forced out by the Islamic State terror group in the last 10 months Sharaf is archbishop of the Syriac Orthodox Church in Mosul, a city now reportedly devoid of Christians Sharaf lives in Erbil, the Kurdish capital city ISIS’ presence has been marked by unspeakable violence; perhaps the most wrenching example was the beheading of 21 Coptic Christians in Syria in February (“Postmodern Martyrs,” March 16 Illinois Baptist)

In Iraq, Sharaf described to reporter Lara Logan how he only had five minutes to get out when ISIS came to force him from Mosul He took five very old books, but had to leave many others behind “I think they burn all the books,” Sharaf told Logan “And we have books from the first century of the Christianity ” He called on Muslims in Iraq to speak out against the violence against Christians

“Speak up Of course, there is good people of the Islam people There is not all Muslim people they are bad I believe But there is the good people? Where is their voice? Nothing Few Few ”

Less gray, more plaid at the SBC 2015

In the past decade, the overall trend at the Southern Baptist Convention’s annual meeting has been a dwindling of messengers This isn’t surprising, considering the loosening of denominational loyalty and the variety of good conferences a pastor can attend

But this year ’s gathering in Columbus, Ohio, might buck the decline. Here are three reasons

I’m particularly excited about this year ’s annual meeting

1 The annual meeting is trending younger. In Baltimore last year, we saw a 10-year high of younger messengers at the SBC, and Baptist Press reported nearly a quarter of attendees were under 40

The recent years’ upswing in younger Southern Baptist engagement is especially surprising when considered alongside the millennial generation’s diminishing enthusiasm for institutions in general

This tells me the annual meeting is beginning to show signs of becoming a vibrant network, not just a report on denominational infrastructure

2 The schedule has been reworked in order to highlight the things we are most passionate about. Most messengers admit they come to network and see friends, not sit through every session of the SBC But this year will be different, thanks to a reworking of the schedule under the leadership of President Ronnie Floyd For example, the missions entities will present on Wednesday morning, and it won’t just be a time of reports, but also commissioning of missionaries

The large pre-registration for the Send North America conference later this summer (more than 7,000 people already) tells us Southern Baptists are

hungry for a meeting that casts vision and rallies us around a great cause They’re not necessarily there, first and foremost, to vote on resolutions

But resolutions matter And so does our business These meetings come and go, with their moments of boredom and hilarity, awkwardness and quiet power, and yet in these moments, courses are set that define our cooperative work the rest of the year It’s not glamorous, but the work of the Kingdom rarely is This year, however, features a streamlined schedule that emphasizes what we’re there for

3. We will pray for God to awaken His church to the opportunities before us The Tuesday evening meeting will be time of prayer and worship, a pleading with God to revive His people and empower our witness It is easy to bemoan the moral decay of our culture, the encroaching limits to religious liberties and the difficulty of evangelism in a relativistic society

But we shouldn’t miss the opportunity here By cherishing once-common things, such as marriage between a man and woman for life, and core Christian doctrines, such as the exclusivity of Christ for salvation, we have the opportunity for our ordinary obedience to shine even brighter in a pluralistic world The annual meeting gives us the opportunity to lay aside our differences, unite around our common confession, and lock arms for the cause of Christ and His Kingdom

Trevin Wax is managing editor of LifeWay’s The Gospel Project The full version of this column is at BPNews net, and first appeared on his blog hosted at thegospelcoalition org

Table Talk: Theology, ministry, and things that matter Ferguson and plumb lines

In late February, I was in St Louis for a meeting of the American Philosophical Association, a trip connected with my work as an apologetics prof at Southern Seminary I figured that since I was in the area, I would visit the suburb of Ferguson, recently aflame on international news.

I was surprised at a number of things: that the city had not been reduced to Beirut, but that the vast majority of buildings were unscathed, and business alive; that the Indians who ran the store Michael Brown robbed would speak freely of the incident; that a chain fence with hundreds of inscribed streamers spoke promise more than anger, e g , “The sky’s the limit ”

But my big Ferguson moment came at the downtown meeting, where the philosophers devoted a three-hour session to the riots After attending presentations of other papers, I was able to make the last hour of the panel discussion There I heard unrelenting disdain for the city and

police and an unbroken strain of lament for the victimhood of Brown And the moderator was fielding audience jeremiads without rebuttal

When one of the panelists asked what philosophers might bring to the table, I raised my hand to suggest that we could use more Socratic give-and-take instead of the “groupthink” I was hearing I also said that I could tell my grandson (who is white) in an affluent suburb of Nashville to expect very bad things to happen to him if he ever shoplifted, manhandled the clerk, or menaced a policeman who confronted him My comments were not well received

Look, anybody whose been the victim of a speed trap or addressed with gratuitous surliness by a cop has had at least a small taste of what blacks were protesting in Ferguson The Department of Justice report pictured a sorry system of fine-doubling and a virtual debtor ’s prison for some, policies that fell particularly hard upon poor blacks

“Is there a second to Ted’s motion to ignore Mike’s ideas?”

In a survey on self-identity, Barna asked Americans:

How much is your religious faith a part of your personal identity? 24%

Of course, there’s a school of thought that says I have no right to speak a word of judgment on Brown or the rioters since I’ve not suffered the indignities of systemic racism, etc But we face that sort of argument all the time in ethics. During the Vietnam War, they told us we had no right to judge Lt Calley for the My Lai massacre since we hadn’t shared the horrors of infantry combat in Quang Ngai Province

Similarly, we’re told we guys have no business telling a woman she has to carry a child to term since we never have to endure unwanted pregnancy On it goes, whether you’re trying to bring a biblical word to bear on divorce and remarriage, homosexuality, or tithing Of course, this makes ethics a joke, since feelings and testimonies of victimhood can trump standards at every turn

One side says you really can’t make the call until you’re in their shoes The other side says that “in their shoes” is often a bad place to make the call, since you may well be addled by the hurly burley of trials and emotions. This turns into a game of self-serving story telling, a war of anecdotes, when what we need is dis-

passionate moral clarity

It is far better to sort things out, Bible in hand in your armchair or prayer closet, before descending into the chaos

Reflecting on Ferguson, I’ve returned to Galatians 3:28: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus ” This is essentially a salvation passage, one that feminists have tried to press into service against male leadership in the church and home I hope I’m not joining the ranks of Scripture twisters in quoting it to stand up for universal standards of Christian morality, where all are subject to biblical guidelines, no matter how exalted or degraded their circumstances may be

In Amos 7, God hangs moral plumb line beside the culture, and I think that color-blind Galatians 3:28 does the same thing

Mark Coppenger is professor of apologetics at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary He was formerly president of Midwestern Seminary in Kansas City, and founding pastor of Evanston (IL) Baptist Church

Why pastors advocate CP

Ohio native Lenard Tavernelli didn’t know a thing about Southern Baptists Raised in a different denomination, his awareness of the SBC began to change on his first day of orientation as a student at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

Tavernelli and his incoming class received several hours of information about the Cooperative Program (CP), its history, purpose and effectiveness

“I started being a Southern Baptist that day,” Tavernelli said

Shortly thereafter, he found a Southern Baptist church home, and ever since he’s been an advocate of the way Southern Baptists cooperate together for the sake of the gospel Today he’s pastor of Fellowship Baptist Church in Kenosha, Wis , which gives 11% of undesignated offerings for missions and ministry through CP

“Jesus calls us in Matthew 28 to go into all the world and make disciples,”

Tavernelli said “We as the church can’t do that alone We can’t even disciple all of America, let alone the entire world We’re called to fulfill the Great Commission, in the spirit of the Great Commandment. The Cooperative Program helps us do that ”

Guiding them to fish

For several years prior to the arrival of Pastor Jimmy Brown, Pilot Oak Baptist Church in western Kentucky had reduced its Cooperative Program missions giving to $1,000 per year Brown, a former fishing guide, began reminding the church that the Cooperative Program is how Southern Baptist churches work together to fulfill the Great Commission through their state conventions, across North America and around the world

“The first meeting I had with the finance committee, I asked them if they thought people should tithe, and they all said yes,” Brown recounted “Then I asked them, ‘Do you not think your church should tithe?’”

As the church prepared its 2009 budget, Brown led them to dedicate 3% of their undesignated offerings through the Cooperative Program, 2% to their local Baptist association, and 5% for local benevolence “to minister to people in our community whether

they’re members or not,” Brown said The CP percentage has increased a bit each year Pilot Oak gave $1,000 in 2008 In 2013, it gave $13,744 through CP and $22,257 in total Great Commission Giving, according the church’s Annual Church Profile report.

Pilot Oak also was the SBC’s top per capita giving church for last year ’s Annie Armstrong Easter Offering for North American missions

“I told [the church], ‘You are to be commended, but don’t stop,’” the pastor said “They’re beginning to catch on about being Kingdom-focused ”

Pastor to pastor

Relationships with other pastors taught Paul Kim, pastor of Good Community Church in Torrance, Calif , about the Cooperative Program

Good Community Church, which began in 1991, focused most of its missions efforts on helping other Korean churches and missionaries, while giving a small amount to missions through the Cooperative Program

But as Kim’s relationships grew with other SBC pastors and leaders, he became aware that his church didn’t have a good accountability system for all its missions support

Kim came to realize the SBC provided the accountability, financial integrity, missions zeal and doctrinal purity the church wanted to be part of, and he directed the church to work primarily through CP and the SBC’s mission boards

Once Kim refocused the church on missions, both through the Cooperative Program and missions opportunities locally, statewide and globally, Good Community began to grow It doubled in size, from 500 to 1,000, in Sunday morning worship, and increased its CP support of missions from an annual $1,200 to $33,000

“As we learn more, we give more,” said David Yoon, the church’s English language pastor “As we do more, we give more The Cooperative Program is the way we all work together in obedience to Jesus’ last command, the Great Commission: ‘As you go, make disciples of all nations ’”

Excerpted from Karen Willoughby’s reports in SBC LIFE

Any Sunday

CP Sunday… can be

April 12 is CP Sunday on the SBC calendar, but you can have CP

Share these resources with your

Healing for fractured relations after Ferguson

By Meredith Flynn

Nashville, Tenn | Weeks of riots in Ferguson, Missouri, following the police shooting of a young black man, Michael Brown More protests in major cities after the death of another African American, Eric Garner, during an arrest And with the shooting death of 12-year-old Tamir Rice in Cleveland, the culmination of a summer of racial unrest in America And it was only the beginning

Chants of “Hands up, don’t shoot” in the streets gave way to “Black lives matter,” and in personal conversations, the question has become “Why now?” and “I thought we had made so much progress on race relations in the U S ”

A sad and challenging summer, followed by a new round of unrest in Ferguson after a condemning report from the U S Department of Justice, leaves many thinking, “Apparently not ”

And the church wonders, What can we do? And in some corners Christians have asked, What does the gospel require us to do?

“How do we as people formed by Christ start to have those conversations out in the world?” said Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission President Russell Moore at a March summit in Nashville “It starts if we’re in the same body, gathered around the same table, praying with one another, praying for another, serving one another, being led by one another, and then we will stand up for and speak up for one another ”

The state of race relations in America, from Ferguson to New York, and coast to coast, is demanding fresh thinking and producing new preaching on race in all kinds of churches including here in Illinois

More than 500 current and future church leaders gathered at LifeWay Christian Resources last month to address racial reconciliation and the

Quotes

gospel The second-annual Leadership Summit hosted by the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission brought together nearly 40 speakers who presented on a wide range of topics: multi-ethnic ministry, Islam, the SBC’s history on racial issues, pop culture, and more

In each message and panel, the summit’s key theme was clear: Racial reconciliation is a gospel issue The gospel reconciles people to God and to one another, but sin is still at work in the world, causing tension, division, strife and violence

The solution, leaders said at the summit, is for the church to preach and live out the gospel on matters of race To examine itself for any lingering race-related sin of pride, and to work together to fight the common enemy of racism

“We’ve got a long way to go,” Moore said in his opening address “Our sin keeps wanting us to divide up But to the faithful, Jesus promises, ‘You will be called overcomers ’ And we shall overcome ”

Learning how to see each other

“All creatures of our God and King; lift up your voice and with us sing ”

The first hymn led by band Norton Hall and worship leader Jimmy Mc-

Neal took on extra significance as the words reverberated around the auditorium All creatures, lifting up their voices, together African American, Anglo, Hispanic; male and female; young and old At the summit, mostly young

The picture painted in “All Creatures of Our God and King” isn’t possible when people are left to their own devices, summit speakers said The gospel is central to racial reconciliation In perhaps one of the few times the Good News has been compared to mayonnaise, Dallas pastor Tony Evans said it acts as an “emulsifier,” like the eggs that helps combine the ingredients in his favorite sandwich condiment

“Grabbing a black Christian and a white Christian, a red Christian and a yellow Christian, a Baptist and a Methodist, Pentecostal,” Evans preached as the crowd clapped and agreed with Amen’s “He’s able to pull them together when you understand that the gospel can change an environment, and can do anything.”

The mission of reconciliation can be seen in the Bible from the very beginning, said Washington, D C , pastor Thabiti Anyabwile Preaching from the book of Genesis, he urged his listeners to consider how they look at people different from themselves, in light of the fact that everyone is made in the image of God

“Every person we have ever looked at, smiled at, greeted, encouraged, insulted, slandered, touched, is a person bearing the marks of divine likeness, the ‘imago dei ’ So, racial reconciliation must begin with our learning the habit of seeing each other as together made in the image of God, and therefore possessing inestimable, unfathomable dignity and worth and preciousness ”

But seeing other people is such a commonplace occurrence, Anyabwile continued, and then there’s the problem of sin That’s why true reconciliation requires a constant renewing of the mind How a Christian treats

Continued on page 8

“We need to know that the gospel isn’t a white gospel, right? It’s a gospel for all of us, so we go and we make disciples and we love people, by sharing the best news, the only news, that will reconcile us It’s the only news that will change our identity from ‘this and that’ to ‘one in him ’”

– Trillia Newbell, consultant for women’s initiatives, Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission

“The principles are really simple, this is not rocket science: God is gathering a multi-ethnic people, and we’re all to function as one….The reality is that it is really, really hard to do And so you have to go into it understanding we’re going to be bumping into a lot of furniture ”

– Juan Sanchez, preaching pastor, High Pointe Baptist Church, Austin, Texas, on multi-cultural ministry

“God, if you’ll let me out of this jail alive, I want to preach a gospel that is stronger than my black interests I want to preach a gospel that is stronger than my economic interests I want to preach a gospel that can burn through these racial barriers, and bring blacks and whites into the kingdom ”

“ ”

– John M. Perkins, leader in the Civil Rights movement, on what he prayed from a Mississippi jail in 1970

WE BOW OUR HEARTS – Summit attenders gathered in the aisles and at the altar to pray together at the start of a March meeting on racial reconciliation and the gospel

MADE IN GOD’S IMAGE – Thabiti Anyabwile closed the conference with a message on the theology of reconciliation, beginning in Genesis 1

Moore

Summit brings race discussion to local church setting

Continued from page 7

people of different ethnicities is such a key part of living out one’s faith that it ought to be a category of discipleship, the pastor said

“That [racism has] moved so rapidly to be a despised thing is wonderful,” he said “But along the way, I think many Christians have been so afraid of the label, so afraid of the discussion, and so afraid of the implications, that they don’t even want to have the conversation ”

Working out the reconciliation that Christ has achieved for us is one of the most underdeveloped areas in Christian discipleship in the U S , he said A believer can live his whole life without someone sitting down with them to explore their identity in Christ.

And so, Anyabwile said, “We’re weak when the Fergusons erupt around us, we’re weak when we watch Eric Garner choke to death on a city sidewalk We feel incompetent when we see a Tamir Rice shot in Cleveland

“We don’t know quite what to say or what to do, when the (Department of Justice) reports come out, whether it’s telling us that ‘hands up don’t shoot’ isn’t true, or whether it’s telling us that, man, this police department is shot through with racist practice It

immobilizes us, because we’re not discipled, because we don’t have this as a category in what it means to mature as a Christian, as a follower of Christ ” Facing the past

If Southern Baptists are to be serious about Jesus’ Great Commission to make disciples of all peoples, said historian Matt Hall, they need to honestly think through where they’ve come from Hall, Southern Seminary’s vice president for academic services, spoke in a video message about the SBC’s history with slavery, racism, and segregation (The Convention was formed over a divide between Baptists in the North and those in the South who wanted to continue owning slaves )

Hall also led one of the summit’s panel discussions, joined onstage by Moore, Philadelphia pastor K. Marshall Williams, SBC Executive Committee President Frank Page, and past SBC President Fred Luter Understanding the SBC’s past ought to inform how we address racial issues now, Moore said. The divide over slavery “really was a justification for evil and for wickedness,” he said

“Which, to me, ought to cause us not so much to look back and say, ‘Weren’t they evil and weren’t they wrong?’ as much as it ought to cause us to look back and to say, ‘Look at these people who knew their Bibles, and who were preaching their Bibles, and who were trying to gather up money for world missions, and yet were not able to see this glaring and wicked sin and unrighteousness and injustice that they were part of ’

“That ought to not give us a sense of our superiority to them; it ought to give us a sense of humility to say, ‘If these people who knew their Bibles like this, could get this that wrong on an issue that is so basic to what Scripture is teaching, then we need the mercy and the power of God.’”

IBSA African American Church Planting Strategist Ed Jones has faced the obstacle of the SBC’s history, he said Some African Americans have told him, “I don’t necessarily want to be part of the Southern Baptist Convention because of its past,” he told the IB during the summit. The Nashville meeting was an opportunity to tackle those issues head-on and bring things into the open

Luter said the Convention’s history resulted in one question asked by every person who interviewed him in the months before his election: Why would a black man want to be president of the SBC? Frankly, he didn’t know much about the Convention’s history when he went from street preacher to pastoring New Orleans’ Franklin Avenue Baptist Church almost 30 years ago A couple of years into his pastorate, several of his older church members suggested Franklin Avenue leave the SBC

“ There’s nothing we can do about our past,” was Luter ’s response “But there’s a whole lot we can do about our future ”

Diversity of Opinions

81% Breakdown of those who strongly agree:

57% - African American

39% - White 42% - Hispanic

74%

of Americans agree, “We have come so far on racial relations.”

Luter was on the SBC Resolutions Committee that in 1995 proposed a resolution adopted by Convention messengers apologizing “to all African-Americans for condoning and/or perpetuating individual and systemic racism in our lifetime,” and repenting “of racism of which we have been guilty, whether consciously or unconsciously ”

The applause and tears that accompanied his election as SBC president made June 19, 2012, “one of the greatest hours in the life of the Southern Baptist Convention,” Luter said as people in the Nashville auditorium clapped too “My only concern is that hopefully it’s not the last time ”

“That’s where the real test is,” said Moore “We’ve got the pictures of the presidents of the Southern Baptist Convention over there Let’s come back in 20 years and if Fred Luter is an island in a sea of middle-aged white guys, that’s means that we have not been where we need to be ”

Can we keep the ‘beast feast’?

H B Charles was in the middle of a potential church merger when he was asked that question about a long-held tradition Charles’ largely AfricanAmerican church, Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist in Jacksonville, Fla , was considering combining with largely Anglo church across town One member of that congregation was most concerned with whether Charles as pastor would let them keep their annual wild game dinner and evangelistic outreach, known as the “beast feast ”

“He looked at me and said, ‘Pastor, I know you’ll agree with me, that if one redneck comes to Jesus, it’s worth it all ’ And in that moment,” Charles said, “I just had a feeling everything was going to be all right ”

The summit’s lightest and most practical moments came when practitioners like Charles explained what racial reconciliation looks like in a

Breakdown of those who strongly disagree:

17% - African American

11% - White

5% - Hispanic

82%

of Americans agree, “Racial diversity is good for America.”

Source: Pew Research, LifeWay Research (last item) Facts & Trends - March/April

of Americans agree, “We have a long way to go on racial relations.”

PANEL OF EXPERTS – ERLC Executive Vice President Phillip Bethancourt (left) moderated a discussion on recent racial tensions in America with ERLC President Russell Moore, Princeton University professor Robert George, Pastor Thabiti Anyabwile, and D A Horton, urban student missions coordinator for the North American Mission Board Summit photos by Meredith Flynn

Hall Smith Charles Evans Jones

church setting Josh Smith, pastor of MacArthur Boulevard Baptist Church in Irving, Tex , experienced a similar would-be culture clash when a woman at his increasingly diverse church brought a tambourine to play during worship, and during his sermon

Smith and his team decided the next day they would allow the tambourine playing during the worship, but not during the message He explained their thoughts to the woman, who’s still at the church six years later “It was a lot of those hard conversations,” Smith said of the church’s transition to be more diverse, “and I just felt like it was not as much from the pulpit as interpersonal conversations ”

Sometimes, unity is a matter to preach about, as Adron Robinson found when he became pastor of Hillcrest Baptist Church in Country Club Hills Robinson, who attended the ERLC summit, said his first sermon series was on forgiveness, because the church had recently experienced a difficult time in its history when he arrived almost six years ago

Hillcrest’s community is largely African American, Robinson said, and his church currently reflects their neighborhood But during the summit, he said he was wrestling with one of the conversations happening onstage: Is it

best for churches to reflect their communities, even if those communities are predominantly one ethnicity?

“I’m good with the fact that our church reflects our community, but I’m also wondering, Is that enough? Does a church need to look more like heaven?

“There’s some ease some accomplishment in the fact that we look like our community, but I also think that there’s more for us to do, that the church needs to be more multi-cultural, more multi-ethnic,” Robinson said He also sees a need for more unity between churches

and white

family’s home, and his parents’ tires were slashed Ziafat and his brother were threatened at school

“We’re cordial and we speak, but there’s not really true fellowship,” Robinson said of some African-American and Anglo Southern Baptist congregations “So, that’s been an issue, and I think it’s an issue on both sides [I don’t think] that I’ve done everything that I can do to encourage that either

“This conference has helped me see the need for communication, for us to sit down, share a meal, and actually build a better relationship, so that we can be the family that God has called us to be ”

Ferguson’s healing— block by block

Changing the streets of unrest in Ferguson, Mo , to streets of love and ministry is the aim of an “Adopt a Block” initiative now underway amid the city’s racial tensions

Adopt a Block is “a good, simple plan,” said Stoney Shaw, pastor of First Baptist Church, one of the participating local congregations

“We want to join with other churches and minister. Walking the streets and praying is a simple yet powerful plan,” Shaw told The Pathway, newsjournal of the Missouri Baptist Convention

The Adopt a Block initiative is being organized as racial tumult continues in the city of 21,000 just northwest of St Louis, first triggered last August when a Ferguson police officer shot and killed an unarmed black 18-year-old in a heated confrontation In mid-March, two police officers were wounded in gunfire; the accused shooter ’s attorney has claimed his client was beaten by police officers and coerced into confessing

Jose Aguayo, a chaplain with the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association’s Rapid Response Team and pastor of Dorea Ministries in Ferguson, is leading the Adopt a Block strategy

It was an English tutor who first showed the gospel to Afshin Ziafat

As a first grader, Ziafat, who now pastors Providence Church in Frisco, Texas, moved to the United States with his family from Iran It was 1979, a bad year to be Iranian in America, Ziafat told his listeners at the ERLC Leadership Summit on racial reconciliation and the gospel Ziafat’s family left Iran during the Islamic Revolution “We had no idea what kind of unrest we were about to walk into,” he said

The ongoing hostage crisis involving American victims meant the Ziafats’ home Houston, Texas was a hostile place Radio stations played a new version of the Beach Boys’ song about Barbara Ann: “Bomb, bomb, bomb bomb, bomb Iran ”

Rocks were thrown at his

And when he was in second grade, his tutor who had taught him English by reading him books gave him a small New Testament

“You’re not going to understand this today, Afshin, but promise me you’ll hold on to it and read it when you’re older,” she told him

Ten years later, Ziafat accepted Christ

“Had any other American given me that New Testament, I would have thrown it away,” Ziafat told summit attenders in Nashville “Because I didn’t trust them

“You want to win a Muslim for Christ, I believe you have to earn the right to be heard And she did it by the way she was loving me ”

“There are many more Afshin Ziafat’s today than there were back then, in your neighborhoods,” he said, “and God is calling us to step out Listen to me folks especially at a time when it is expected for us to distrust and maybe even hate Muslims ”

Ziafat ended his testimony with the story of the prophet Jonah, who knew that God was calling him to go preach to Assyrians who were not only his enemies, but also would conquer his people. Jonah’s book ends with a question from God about the people the prophet was called to go to, Ziafat noted:

“Should I not pity them?”

“You never get the answer from Jonah,” Ziafat said “You know why?

Because I think that question goes out for us today And I’m telling you, friends, we answer that question with the way we live our lives

“The gospel calls me to step out of my comfort zone and go out to people who don’t look like me, who don’t dress like me, who are not of my skin color, but on top of that, especially those who are my enemies Who I am expected to hate? When I show them love, the gospel is revealed ”

Teams of several church members will adopt a block in Ferguson for ongoing outreach In the beginning, Aguayo said, the visitation will involve an introduction “a hello with prayer ” As relationships develop, he noted that “discipleship will follow Eventually sports teams, community outings and study assistance for children and adults will take place ”

Adopt a Block is a ministry model begun about 20 years ago at the Dream Center in Los Angeles, part of a network of ministries nationally, Aguayo said

First Baptist hosted one of the initial training sessions, providing training and resources developed by the Billy Graham ministry “Prayerwalking and talking with people is so important,” Pastor Shaw said “They need to see our faces in the community ”

The Adopt a Block plan will entail a central location for monitoring the progress of the churches, setting a place for weekly reports, follow-ups, networking and resourcing

Shaw said churches of every size can embark on this type of ministry “But it must be regular Count the cost before you start,” he noted in written comments to Baptist Press “If it isn’t sustained, it will be just like the other things we have done and then dropped Just think, what if every church would adopt such a ministry Ultimately many will come into the Kingdom and our churches will become a place that the world will say, ‘Those folks really do care ’”

Excerpted from Baptist Press report by Vicki Stamps and Art Toalston

It’s not just black

– Ask the Spirit to help us pray for and practice biblical racial reconciliation, and to reveal to each of us our personal blindspots and unintended prejudices

– Pray God will place within our congregations his heart to authentically love and share the Good News with every tongue and tribe and nation

Pray through the news

TESTIMONY – Pastor Afshin Ziafat’s family moved to their home country of Iran from Houston when he was two; then, they went back to Texas in 1979 as Iran faced its violent Islamic Revolution

Teacher ’s actions help former Muslim reconcile with the gospel

Robinson

HANDS UP – In the shadow of the Gateway Arch in St Louis, protestors rally after the death of Michael Brown last year From ABC News video

New kids camp format coming

Springfield | IBSA will offer more camp opportunities for kids this summer than ever before Four weeks of missions-focused, co-ed children’s camps are scheduled at IBSA’s two camp facilities in June and July

The theme, “Treasure Island: Discovering Truth and Our Mission to the World,” is designed to help kids in grades 3-6 learn how to be missionaries by sharing the gospel every day

The children’s camps will have many of them same elements as IBSA’s former missions camps for kids, including a missions-focused guest speaker, said Pastor Scott Slone of FBC Elkville He works with IBSA’s Church Resources Team to plan events at Lake Sallateeska

“If they like the missions camp, they’ll love the children’s camps,” Slone said

The 2015 children’s camps are facilitated in partnership with local associations and churches For example,

Nine Mile Baptist Association has been doing an associational children’s camp for several years, but this year, they’re working in partnership with IBSA and Metro East Association to open up registration to all churches They will facilitate week two of camp at Lake Sallateeska, while the other camps will be organized and directed by fellow associations or local churches

“The goal is to make it possible for all IBSA churches to participate in children’s camp by giving them a variety of schedules to choose from,” Slone said

Camp will be held these weeks:

June 15-19

Lake Sallateeska Baptist Camp, near Pinckneyville

June 21-25

Lake Sallateeska

July 6-10

Lake Sallateeska

July 20-24

Streator Baptist Camp, Streator

Through May 4, registration is $125 per person After May 4, the cost is $135 For more information, contact Cathy Waters at (217) 391-3124 or CathyWaters@IBSA org To register, go to www IBSA org/kids and click on your preferred camp week

e a s u r e I s l a n d

Kids in grades 3-6

Lake Sallateeska and Streator Baptist Camps

Choose from four weeks in June and July

Cost is $125 per person ($135 after May 4) egister at www.IBSA.org/kids

For students in junior high thr

ChicaGO W

July 25-31

Judson University

Serve with church planters working in the city and suburbs

Cost is $150 per pers

Register at www IBSA org/Church Planting

AIM HIGH – Campers at Lake Sallateeska practice their archery skills at a 2014 IBSA camp for kids

CHILDREN’S MINISTRY DAY

The BIG Picture 1,100 kids say ‘thank you’ in one-day mission blitz

Across Illinois | The fellowship hall is buzzing at FBC Mt Zion One group of kids decorates shirt boxes with magic markers, while others create cards with encouraging messages

“Thank you for taking care of us,” is one suggestion for these gifts that will go to workers at two local hospitals

The main event happens around tables in the center of the room, where kids drop neat rounds of dough onto large cookie sheets (One young volunteer asks politely, “Then, can we lick our hands?” after the chocolate crinkle cookies are ready for the oven )

Mt Zion/Decatur was one of 13 locations where Children’s Ministry Day volunteers served on March 14 Around 1,100 kids, leaders and volunteers from 75 churches participated in the annual celebration of hands-on missions

At Shiloh Baptist Church in Bridgeport, volunteers gathered to pray before heading out to projects such as serving lunch at a local nursing home (left) Elsewhere, they cleaned fire trucks, baked brownies, raked leaves, sorted baby clothes, and mucked out stables They met senior citizens, local ministry experts, emergency room nurses, fire fighters, police officers, and horses

“Seeing all the kids come together was amazing,” said Jennifer Gazza, a leader from Grace Fellowship Church in Amboy who volunteered at the Dixon site For the kids, getting to meet other participants around their same ages was great, she added

“We are looking forward to next year ”

TABLE SERVICE – Kids did hands-on service projects in 13 locations across the state on Children’s Ministry Day, an Illinois expression of a national initiative created by Woman’s Missionary Union (WMU)

SPECIAL DELIVERY – In Chicago, volunteers met at Resurrection House Baptist Church to make cards and treats for local law enforcement, including the Riverdale Police Department

NOW WE’RE ROLLING – Chandler Shugart and Caleb Blair from FBC Argenta made cookies for Decatur Memorial Hospital

BIT BY BIT – At the Pegasus Barn in Oregon, Ill , volunteers cleaned stables and equipment used by the therapy horses housed there

CARE PACKAGES – Kids serving in Quincy made stuffed bears for patients at a local hospital

PEOPLE & CHURCHES

New Faces

Andrea Hammond joined IBSA’s Church Communications Team in March as a part-time ministry assistant to aid the team’s work on the Illinois Baptist, Resource magazine, and additional publications and projects

Andrea is married to Jimmy, pastor of Grace Southern Baptist Church in Virden, and they have four children

Ministry Positions

Williamson County Baptist Association, headquartered in Marion, is seeking a part-time or bivocational director of missions

Please send resumes to Bob Dickerson, 401 W Union St , Marion, IL 62959, or pastor@fbmarion org

Island City Baptist Church in Wilmington seeks a full-time pastor Candidate must be an ordained Southern Baptist minister who supports the Cooperative Program, seminary-educated, in agreement with The Baptist Faith and Message (2000), with 7-15 years experience Send resumes to islandcitybaptist@gmail.com.

Taylorville Southern Baptist Church seeks a bivocational or part-time pastor Send resumes or questions to Denny Hudson at denvic27@consolidated net

First Baptist Church, Le Roy, seeks a bivocational pastor who supports the Cooperative Program and embraces The Baptist Faith & Message Send resumes to: Pastor Search Committee, First Baptist Church, P O Box 21, Le Roy, IL 61752

First Baptist Church, Bethalto, seeks a full-time associate pastor with an emphasis on worship Qualifications include music education, media/technical knowledge, pastoral calling, disciplined spiritual life, and willingness to be flexible in the duties required for this position FBC Bethalto is committed to making disciples through relationships with a strong desire to serve our community Find the full job description at www fbcbethalto org; send resumes to office@fbcbethalto org

Harrison Baptist Church, Murphysboro, seeks a pianist for Sunday morning worship services

Contact the church at (618) 6872953 or harrisonbaptist@ yahoo com

Send news for People & Churches to MeredithFlynn@IBSA org

Baptism report sharpens focus on evangelism

Springfield | IBSA churches baptized 4,505 people in 2014, according to data from the Annual Church Profiles congregations submitted last fall

The lists on this page celebrate the top 50 churches in two categories: total baptisms, and baptisms per resident member

The 2014 total represents an 11% decrease from the number reported the previous year When you factor out a few churches that reported baptisms in 2013, but did not file an Annual Church Profile in 2014 because they were removed from affiliation with IBSA, disbanded, or left the Southern Baptist Convention, the decline is 3 4% in a more “apples-to-apples” comparison, IBSA Executive Director Nate Adams reported to the Board of Directors last month

“The soil is harder, but churches are doing good work,” Evangelism Director Tim Sadler said “Numbers like this should cause us to want to put more focus on evangelism in our churches, at the church level and at the personal level ”

To help churches focus on evangelism, Sadler and the Church Resources Team are planning three Evangelistic Leaders Workshops The oneday training sessions, to be held this month in O’Fallon, Chicago, and Effingham, will help pastors explore eight characteristics of intentionally evangelistic churches

“The 5,000 baptisms mark has been our standard,” Sadler said, “but whether we’re up 2% or down 2 or 3%, the longing of our heart should be, we want 10,000 baptisms or 25,000 baptisms.

“The pervasiveness of lostness in Illinois demands that we do more, pray more, share the gospel more ”

For more on the workshops, contact Sadler at (217) 391-3131 or TimSadler@IBSA org, or go to www IBSA org/evangelism

Zone News

Metro East Baptist Association celebrated the 10th anniversary of Carole Russell, executive assistant, at their February board meeting “And there was cake!” reported zone consultant Larry Rhodes

Beaucoup Baptist Church in Pinckneyville will celebrate its 100th anniversary April 10-12, with a Friday concert featuring Sons of the Father and Perry Case Worship Band, and a special service at 10:30 Sunday, followed by a potluck meal and balloon release Beaucoup is led by Pastor Mark Lee Contact the church at (618) 357-2452 for details

Top IBSA churches in total baptisms

Church Baptisms

Bettendorf Mission, Bettendorf, IA ............4......2 00

Lighthouse of Truth Itasca 35 1 75

The Resurrection, Granite City 15 1 07

First Baptist Church, Paxton 40 1 00

Champaign Campus Church 25 1 00

Emmanuel Baptist Church, Sterling 12 1 00

Jackson Township, Effingham 18 0 90

Grace Fellowship, Amboy 21 0 75

Vietnamese Baptist of Chicago 59 0 69

Bement Baptist Church 19 0 61

New Hope Baptist, Rock Falls ...................7......0 58

Iglesia Bautista Erie, Chicago ...................1......0 50

New Salem Missionary, Creal Springs 12 0 48

Iglesia Piedra Angular, Aurora ..................6......0 46

Living Stones, Belvidere ............................3......0 38

Revive Community, Mount Morris .............5......0 36

First Baptist Church, Fieldon 35 0 35

Another Chance Church, Chicago 20 0 34

Harmony Community, Chicago 62 0 34

Resurrection Baptist Church, Benton 33 0 33

Meadowdale FBC, Carpentersville 11 0 31

Strasburg Baptist Church ..........................6......0 30

Iglesia Bautista Agape, Collinsville ............2......0 29

First Congregational, Kewanee .................7......0 28

Clifton Baptist Church ...............................4......0 27

Iglesia Bautista Emanuel, Aurora 76 0 25

Sendero de Vida, Shorewood ...................5......0 25

Ransom City, Evanston .............................4......0 24

RAISED UP - Robb Rockwell, associate pastor of Lincoln Avenue Baptist Church in Jacksonville, baptizes Aiden Swift while his sister, Ariana, waits for her turn The church baptized 10 people in January

C l ip an d

A s e r i e s f r o m t h e I l l i n o i s B a p t i s t • V o l 1 9

S I G H T

T h e w e e k e n d e d w i t h a t h a n ky o u c e l e b r a t i o n w h e r e t h e c h i l d r e n s a n g s o n g s a n d p r e s e n t e d t h e v o l u n t e e r s w i t h g i f t s s u r f b o a r ds h a p e d p e n h o l d e r s f o r t h e m e n a n d p u r s e s f o r t h e w o m e n o n t h e t e a m . T h e b e a u t y o f t h e i s l a n d a n d t h e g r a c i o u s n e s s o f t h e p e o p l e a r e t w o t h i n g s H a m m o n d r e m e m b e r s w e l l , a n d a l s o t h e g r e a t s p i r i t u a l n e e d o n C e b u “ T h e y a r e i n n e e d o f t h e L o r d , a n d I t h i n k t h a t t h e y a r e r e a d y t o h e a r t h e W o r d , b u t , y o u k n o w, t h e r e a r e n o t e n o u g h w o r k e r s . “ W e n e e d m o r e w o r k e r s i n t h e f i e l d ” I l l i n o i s c h u r c h b u i l d s f r i e n d s h i p s i n t h e P h i l i p p i n e s

W e s e r v e i n … t h e P a c i f i c R i m C h i l d r e n a t T o O n g E e m e n t a r y S c h o o l i n t h e P h i i p p n e s t h a n k v o u n t e e r s f r o m G r a c e S o u t h e r n B a p t i s t C h u r c h f o r h e l p n g r e b u l d t h e i r s c h o o l a f t e r a d e v a s t a t i n g t y p h o o n

I t t o o k t h e k i d s o n C e b u I s l a n d s e v e r a l d a y s t o w a r m u p t o t h e A m e r i c a n v o l u n t e e r s w h o c a m e t o t h e i r s c h o o l . T h e t e a m o f w o r k e r s f r o m G r a c e S o u t h e r n B a p t i s t C h u r c h i n V i r d e n w e r e t h e r e t o m a k e r e p a i r s t o a w a l l a n d s o m e c e i l i n g s d a m a g e d i n a 2 0 1 3 t yp h o o n , b u t t h e y a l s o w a n t e d t o g e t t o k n o w t h e c h i ld r e n a n d t h e i r t e a c h e r s . “ T h e i r b i g t h i n g w a s v o l l e y b a l l ; t h e y l o v e v o l l e yb a l l , ” v o l u n t e e r A n d r e a H a m m o n d s a i d o f t h e k i d s o n t h i s i s l a n d i n t h e P h i l i p p i n e s “ A n d s o w e w o u l d t a k e a l i t t l e b r e a k f r o m o u r h e a v y d u t y w o r k a n d g o p l a y v o l l e y b a l l ” T h e s h y n e s s a b a t e d t h r o u g h o u t t h e w e e k , “ a n d t h e n w e a l l c r i e d t h e l a s t d a y , ” s a i d H a m m o n d , w h o s e h u sb a n d , J i m m y , p a s t o r s t h e V i r d e n c h u r c h . H e r t e a m i s o n e o f f o u r m i s s i o n g r o u p s f r o m I l l i n o i s w h o h a v e g o n e t o t h e P h i l i p p i n e s t o h e l p r e b u i l d a f t e r Ty p h o o n H a i y a n B a p t i s t G l o b a l R e s p o n s e , a m i n i s t r y p a r t n e r o f t h e I n t e r n a t i o n a l M i s s i o n B o a r d , h a s f a c i l it a t e d t h e t e a m s f r o m I l l i n o i s a n d m a n y o t h e r s t a t e s t o b u i l d h o u s e s f r o m t h e g r o u n d u p a n d a l s o r e s t o r e h o p e i n p l a c e s l i k e T o O n g E l e m e n t a r y S c h o o l . E v e r y m o r n i n g w h e n t h e v o l u n t e e r s a r r i v e d , t h e k i d s w o u l d g r e e t t h e m b y t a k i n g t h e i r h a n d s a n d b r i n g i n g t h e m u p t o t h e i r o w n f o r e h e a d s T h i s g e s t u r e o f r e s p e c t s e t t h e t o n e f o r t h e w e e k , a s H a m m o n d a n d h e r t e a mm a t e s g o t t o k n o w t h e k i d s a n d t h e i r p r i n c i p a l , w h o s e l a s t n a m e , f i t t i n g l y , i s “ P a s t o r. ” “ S h e i s a C h r i s t i a n w o m a n , ” H a m m o n d s a i d , “ a n d s o s h e a l l o w e d u s t o c o m e i n a n d s h a r e t h e g o s p e l , a n d a n y t h i n g w e w a n t e d t o s h a r e a b o u t J e s u s W e h a d a n o p p o r t u n i t y t o s h a r e i t w i t h t h e s t u d e n t s , a s w e l l a s t h e t e a c h e r s ”

F R E E D O M

A t t h e s t a r t o f h i s e a r t h l y m i n i s t r y , J e s u s w e n t t o t h e s y n a g o g u e i n N a z a r e t h w h e r e h e g r e w u p a n d r e a d f r o m t h e s c r o l . H e d e c l a r e d t h a t h e w a s f u f i l l n g I s a i a h s p r o p h e c y o f a S p i r tl e d m i n i s t r y d e c a r i n g f r e e d o m f o r c a p t i v e s a n d l b e r t y f o r t h e o p p r e s s e d ( L u k e 4 : 1 61 8 ) H i s a n n o u n c e m e n t w a s m m e d i a t e l y r e j e c t e d b y h i s l f el o n g n e g h b o r s a n d t h e y d r o v e “ J o s e p h s s o n ” o u t o f t o w n D o i n g t h e w o r k o f J e s u s i s d a n g e r o u s e v e n t o d a y , p r o c l a i m i n g t h a t p r i s o n e r s a r e f r e e d a n d t h o s e b o u n d b y s n a r e u n s h a c k l e d B u t t h a t ’ s w h a t w e ’ r e c a l e d t o d o . A n d e v e r y t i m e s o m e o n e h e a r s t h e g o s p e l a n d b e l i e v e s , i t h a p p e n s a g a i n . A s i n n e r s s e t f r e e . A n g e s c e l e b r a t e . C a n a n y e v e n t m o r e j o y f u ?

T h i s i s a 2 0p a r t s t u d y o n t h e b a s i c b e l e f s a n d m i s s i o n s o f o u r d e n o m in a t i o n I t i s d e s i g n e d f o r n e w b e i e ve r s , n e w B a p t s t s , a n d t h o s e w h o w a n t a r e f r e s h e r C i p i t o u t o f t h e n e w s p a p e r, f o d i n t o a f o u rp a g e e a f e t , a n d s h a r e w i t h t h e p e o p l e w h o w o u d b e n e f i t f r o m t h e n f o r m at o n Y o u m i g h t e v e n l e a d a s t u d y

B1 0 1 c a n b e u s e d f o r : • N e w m e m b e r s c l a s s e s • S t u d y o n m i s s i o n s i n I l l i n o i s a n d a r o u n d t h e w o r l d • E x p l o r a t i o n o f d o c t r i n e s i n T h e B a p t i s t F a i t h & M e s s a g e M a k e a s m a n y p h o t o c o p i e s a s y o u n e e d f o r s t u d y g r o u p s , c h u r c h m e m b e r s , a n d w o r s h i p a t t e n d e r s O r d o w n o a d t h e P D F s a t w w w . I B S A . o r g / B 1 0 1 . P r o d u c e d b y h e e d t o r s o f t h e l i n o s B a p t s t : E r c R e e d , M e r e d t h F l y n n L i s a S e r g e n t D e s i g n e d b y K r s K e l

Sha re B10 1 w i t h Pasto r s Chu r c h s ta f f Discip les hip leade r s Miss ions leade r s New me m be r s L o o k f o r B1 0 1 i n e v e r y i s s u e !

W h a t a r e y o u d o i n g o n W e d n e s d a y n i g h t s ?

T h s i s t h e 1 9 t h i n o u r 2 0p a r t s e r e s . T h a t m e a n s a l m o s t a l t h e e s s a y s o n T h e B a p t i s t F a i t h & M e s s a g e a r e r e a d y f o r u s e i n a n e w m e m b e r s c a s s , s m a l g r o u p , o r d o ct r i n e s t u d y L o o k o n l n e a n d d o w nl o a d t h e s e t W e ’ v e b u n d l e d t h e m f o r e a s y p r n t i n g a n d d s t r i b u t i o n B y t h e w a y : I f y o u n e e d c o p i e s o f T h e B F & M ( 2 0 0 0 ) , t h e y c a n b e d o w n l o a d e d t o o , o r I B S A w l l p r o v i d e t h e m f o r y o u r n e w s t u d y g r o u p . L i s a S e r g e n t @ I B S A o r g

C h u r c h b e h i n d b a r s

m i n i s t r y h a s b e e n m o r e a b o u t e n c o u r a g i n g b e l i e v e r s i n s i d e t h p r i s o n . “ A l o t o f t h e m h a v e a m a z i n g t e s t i m o n i e s o f h o w G o d b r o u g h t t h e m t o t h e p r i s o n a n d r e a l l y s h o w e d t h e m a b i g g e r s i d e o f w h o H e i s , P a r k s s a i d i n t h e m i n i s t r y ’s e a r l y d a y s . I n G r e e n v i l l e , S c h e m e r h o r n w a a l r e a d y a l e a d e r i n h e r c h u r c h ’ p r i s o n m i n i s t r y w h e n a n e w n e e d a r o s e : A w o m a n i n t h e G r e e n v i l l e B i b l e s t u d y a d m i t t e d t h a t s h e ’ d h a d a n a b o r t i o n a n d n e v e r t o l d a n y o n e S h e w a s g o i n g t o b e r e l e a s e d s o o n , a n d n e e d e d c a r e , c o u n s e l i n g , a n d s o m e o n e t o l i s t e n . S c h e m e r h o r n w a s j u s t t h e r i g h t p e r s o n . A g r a d u a t e o f B e t h e l ’s “ S u r r e n d e r i n g t h e S e c r e t ” p r og r a m , s h e u n d e r s t o o d w e l l t h e w o m a n ’s p a i n , a n d h a s s i n c e t a u g h t s e v e r a l c l a s s e s o n a b o r t i o n r e c o ve r y i n s i d e t h e p r i s o n T h e c u r r i c u l u m s h e u s e s i s f u l l o f S c r i p t u r e a b o u t G o d ’s m e r c y a n d h i s d e s i r e f o r y o u r f r e e d o m .

“ G o i n g t o G r e e n v i l l e i s l i k e s i tt i n g i n y o u r c h u r c h w i t h a g r o u p o f l a d i e s f o r B i b l e s t u d y , o r i n y o u r h o m e , ” s a y s K a r e n S c h e m e r h o r n S h e ’s n o t t a l k i n g a b o u t t h e q u a i n t I l l i n o i s t o w n “ G r e e n v i l l e ” i s

“ A s y o u ’ r e f r e e i n g y o u r s e l f a n d ‘ s u r r e n d e r i n g t h e s e c r e t , ’ ” S c h e m e r h o r n s a i d , “ y o u ’ r e f i l l i n g y o u r s e l f u p w i t h G o d . A n d y o u ’ r e a l l o w i n g h i m t o f i l l y o u , i n s t e a d o f g u i l t a n d s h a m e . “ Y o u ’ r e a b l e t o l o o k a t h i m n o w, w h e n y o u c o u l d n ’ t l o o k a t h i s f a c e b e f o r e ” F o r m o r e i n f o r m a t i o n o n p r i s o n m i n i s t r y o p p o r t u n i t i e s o r r es o u r c e s , c o n t a c t I B S A ’s C h u r c h R e s o u r c e s T e a m a t ( 2 1 7 ) 3 9 13 1 3 8

G r e e n v i l l e F e d e r a l P r i s o n , w h e r e S c h e m e r h o r n a n d o t h e r s f r o m h e r c h u r c h m i n i s t e r t o w o m e n w h o a r e i n c a r c e r a t e d B e t h e l B a p t i s t C h u r c h i n T r o y , w h e r e S c h e m e r h o r n i s a m e m b e r, i s o n e I l l i n o i s B a p t i s t c h u r c h t h a t h a s d i s c o v e r e d t h e g r e a t n e e d i n p r i s o n s T h e r e a r e o t h e r s , a l l a c r o s s t h e s t a t e . I n C h i c a g o l a n d , B r o a d v i e w M i ss i o n a r y B a p t i s t C h u r c h d o e s m o n t h l y m i n i s t r y a t a s t a t e p r i s o n a n d a t C o o k C o u n t y J a i l . A n d i n s o u t h e r n I l l i n o i s , P a s t o r B r y c e

P a r k s a n d L i v i n g S t o n e C o m m u n i t y

C h u r c h s t a r t e d a n o u t r e a c h a f e w y e a r s a g o a t a f e d e r a l p e n i t e n t i a r y i n M a r i o n , l e a d i n g a B i b l e s t u d y i n t h e p r i s o n ’s b o o t c a m pl i k e a n n e x .

T h r e e m o n t h s a f t e r i t s t a r t e d ,

P a r k s s a i d , t h e m i n i s t r y a l r e a d y h a d b e e n a t r e m e n d o u s b l e s s i n g t o t h e i r c h u r c h I n i t i a l l y , t h e y t h o u g h t i t w o u l d b e a n e v a n g e l i s t i c o u tr e a c h , b u t t h e m o n t h l y B i b l e s t u d y

P r a y f o r a n e w c h u r c h

L o c a t i o n : S t C h a r l e s , K a n e a n d D u P a g e C o u n t i e s

F o c u s : F a m i l i e s i n t h s C h c a g o s u b u r b a n c o m m u n i t y

C h a r a c t e r i s t i c s : T h i s a r e a s h o m e t o a f a m l yo r i e n t e d c u l t u r e w i t h m o r e t h a n 1 0 , 0 0 0 h o u s e h o l d s ,

–F r o m h e I B S A C h u r c h P a n t n g T e a m

P r a y e r n e e d s : T h a t G o d w o u d r a i s e u p p e o p l e t o r e a c h o u t t o t h i c o m m u n t y , t o l e a d t h e m t o C h r i s t a n d H i s s a v i n g g r a c e m i s s i o n i l l i n o i s

3 6 % o f w h i c h h a v e c h i d r e n u n d e r t h e a g e o f

1 8

When a first-time guest completes a guest registration card at your church, what happens next? The most common answer to that question: absolutely nothing No, it’s not an intentional oversight, but without an ongoing, immediate follow-up plan, your church may miss the opportunity to reach guests for Christ and include them in your church family.

Need fresh ideas? Tweak some of these to fit your unique church:

First-time guest online survey

People love to give an opinion! Create a brief survey on your church’s website (See a sample survey at diana davis org) Carefully study survey responses

Same-day contact A specially trained volunteer makes a brief phone call to each guest on Sunday afternoon after they visit your church

E-mail and/or snail mail Assign volunteers to send a swift, personal email or card to each first-time guest

Small group personal invitation

Provide contact info to an appropriate small group or Sunday School class for each family member A member of that small group may offer to meet the guest at a specific door to escort them to class the next time they visit

A personal touch. Examples: An Indiana church delivers three coupons

April 10: Singing Churchmen

Workshop for pastors, worship leaders, and other men who love to sing

Where: IBSA Building, Springfield

When: 9 a m to 5 p m workshop, 7-9:30 p m concert

Contact: SteveHamrick@IBSA org

April 10-11: Worship Resource Conference; see ad on page 6

Where: IBSA Building, Springfield

When: Friday 7 p m , Saturday 8:30 a m ; cost is $10

Web: www IBSA org/worship

April 16, 23, 30: Evangelistic Leaders

Workshops for pastors on 8 components of evangelistic churches

Where: April 16 FBC O’Fallon; April 23 Nookie’s Restaurant, Chicago (W Bryn Mawr location); April 30 FBC Effingham; 10 a m

Register: IBSA org/evangelism

April 17-18: Disaster Relief Training

What: Classes in chainsaw, food prep, mudout, and more; cost is $30 for new trainees, $10 for renewals

Where: Streator Baptist Camp

Web: www IBSA org/dr

LEADERS AND LIFE

for a free drink in their coffee area, encouraging the guest to return for three consecutive Sundays In a different church, volunteers deliver a church coffee mug to the guest’s door before they get home from church

Pastor’s letter. Many pastors prepare a warm letter or e-mail to welcome first-time guests; some even jot a handwritten note. Pastor Ted Traylor at Olive Baptist, Pensacola, often texts or phones first-time guests on Saturdays, inviting them to come back on Sunday

Notice that church members not just ministry staff accomplish the majority of follow-up Newcomers want to hear what you love about your church They desire relationships, and relationships provide evangelistic opportunities

When God brings a first-time guest to your church this Sunday and they complete a guest registration card, what will happen next?

“The harvest is abundant pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest” (Luke 10:2)

© Diana Davis is an author, columnist and minister ’ s wife Visit her website, www dianadavis org

Doing without

Q: In your mind, what’s the biggest thing a family can live without when it comes to getting control of your money and living on a budget?

A: On a regular, day-to-day basis, I think maybe the biggest and best thing you can eliminate is eating out. There are always the shiny things people can do without Sometimes people sell a fancy car or boat, and get rid of a $600-a-month payment right off the bat But it’s really not a good idea to be eating out when you’re broke It really adds up I love a good restaurant, and I’ve got nothing against the industry The problem, though, is that lots of people are struggling to pay their bills or set aside something for retirement because they’re eating out all the time Most folks simply don’t realize how much money they throw away by heading to the drive-through for lunch or going out to dinner “once in a while ”

I want people to enjoy life, and a great part of that can be going out and having a meal with your family and friends But if you’re experiencing financial issues, the only time you

should see the inside of a restaurant is if you’re working there!

The impulsive problem

Q: I have a problem with impulse spending I switched to a debit card, but I still buy things I know I shouldn’t Should I stop using the card?

A: Debit cards are great You can’t spend money you don’t have with them like you can with a credit card, but you’ve still got to budget carefully and give a name to every single penny of your income Otherwise, you can still overspend.

When I made the decision to get intentional with my money, I just used cash It’s a tough thing, I know, but you have to make a conscious decision to start living differently You have to get mad at the things that steal your money a dollar or two at a time I decided I wanted the greater, longterm good, so I gave up on the shortterm stuff Trust me, the greater good is worth the sacrifice But until you make that decision for yourself, you won’t do it

Dave Ramsey is a prolific author and radio host

April 24-25: Priority Women’s Resource Conference; see ad, page 6 Where: Tabernacle, Decatur Web: IBSA org/womensmissions

May 11-12: IBSA Ministers’ Golf Outing at Oak Terrace, Pana

Contact: All participants must register directly with Oak Terrace Contact Matt Briggs at 1-800-577-7598 or mbriggs@oakterraceresort com

May 14-16: Expository Preaching

Retreat at Lake Sallateeska

When: Check-in begins 4 p m Thurs ; checkout is 11:30 a m Sat ; cost is $55

Register: IBSA org/evangelism

May 16: Medical Missions training for health personnel and church leaders

Where: IBSA Building, Springfield

When: 9 a m to 4 p m ; cost is $10

Contact: BarbTroeger@IBSA org

May 29-30: Collegiate Ministry Resource Conference for college ministry leaders and their key students

Where: IBSA Building, Springfield

Contact: DebbieMuller@IBSA org

1-1/2 c flour

1/2 c sugar

1-1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1 egg, beaten

3/4 c milk

ts

1/3 c butter or margarine, softened

For topping:

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 c sugar

1/3 c butter or margarine, melted

Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life The one who believes in Me will live, even though they die ”

Cemetery conversations are filled with questions and often punctuated with tears When we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, our life is shaken Mary and Martha had that experience when their brother, Lazarus, died (John 11) They each spoke with Jesus when he arrived and expressed confidence that he could have kept Lazarus from dying

Author Chuck Swindoll, in his diagnosis of the conversations, declares that each of them had a different need Martha needed to know that Jesus was in control and Mary needed to know that Jesus cared

Trending

These religious states?

41%

The average percentage of people in each state who consider religion an important part of their lives

To prepare: Preheat oven to 350° and prepare a 12-cup muffin pan Combine flour, 1/2 c sugar, baking powder, salt and nutmeg in a medium bowl and set aside In a separate, smaller bowl, combine milk and egg Put softened butter or margarine into a large bowl and beat until fluffy Alternate adding flour and egg mixture to large bowl, stirring gently Fill muffin cups 2/3 full with batter and bake about 15 minutes

To top the muffins, mix cinnamon and sugar in a small bowl Dip muffin tops in melted butter, then in cinnamon sugar mixture

–Recipe from Easy Everyday Cooking subm tted by IBSA s Sandy Barnard

Clip

We have just celebrated Easter The tomb of Jesus is empty The glory of God was demonstrated by His power over death and the grave Through our faith in Christ, everyday is a resurrection day When death casts its shadow upon us, we can walk through that valley because we know that our God is in control and, indeed, he cares!

PRAYER PROMPT: Help me, O Sovereign God, to know that even when I don’t understand your will, I can always trust your heart

Odis Weaver is pastor of Friendship Baptist Church in Plainfield and is currently serving as president of IBSA Pastors are invited to join the online “IBSA Pastors’ Prayer Room” by e-mailing oweaver7307@gmail com

POSTCARDS FROM THE EDGE

Missionaries: Jorge & Ana Melendez

Serving in: Chicagoland, where Jorge is an IBSA church planting strategist for Fox Valley and Lake County Associations, and Ana leads women through Illinois’ Hispanic WMU (Woman’s Missionary Union)

Pray: For the development of local leaders, and for Hispanic churches working to start new Hispanic congregations Pray also for the effort to plant English-speaking churches to reach out to second-generation Latinos

Illinois fell just below the national average, with

The most religious states: Utah, home of the Church of Jesus Christ and Latter-Day Saints, and Mississippi, where of the population belongs to a Southern Baptist church

Chart Toppers

22%

New books for kids & teens

Bunny’s First Spring

By Sally Lloyd-Jones

All the Places to Go…How Will You Know? By John Ortberg

Words to Dream On: Bedtime Bible Stories and Prayer

By Diane Stortz

You Have a Brain: A Teen’s Guide to Think Big

By Ben Carson, with Gregg Lewis and Deborah Shaw Lewis

Your Beautiful Heart: 31 Reflections on Love, Faith, Friendship, and Becoming a Girl Who Shines

By Lauren Scruggs, with Lisa Velthouse

s for fresh starts been ng and ated it as weren’t fically, but ote

“Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me ”

51:10 KJV