August 1, 2016 Illinois Baptist

Illinois Baptist

Politics 2016

Faith-based Veeps

Presidential nominees choose running mates with more evangelical appeal

BY LISA SERGENT

Heading into the Republican and Democratic National Conventions, one unanswered question was how—and if—Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton would seek to galvanize the support of evangelical voters. Both candidates’ picks for vice president, made immediately before their parties’ conventions, could be seen as a way to reach out to Christian voters who have felt under-represented this campaign season.

Trump named Mike Pence, the governor of Indiana, as his running mate. Taking the stage in Cleveland, Pence declared, “I’m a Christian, a conservative, and a Republican, in that order.” He peppered his acceptance speech with phrases familiar to Christians: “I have faith that God can still heal our land” and “Pray daily for a wise and discerning heart.”

The governor, who grew up Catholic, gave his life to Jesus Christ as a college student in 1978, he told CBN News in 2010. He and his wife, Karen, attend College Park Church in Indianapolis, and Pence describes himself as an “evangelical Catholic.”

Pence came under fire last year when he signed the Indiana Religious Freedom Restoration Act into law. Critics claimed the bill discriminated against the LGBT community, while supporters claimed it

P.

Teens take on spiritual targets at Super Summer

P. 4 NEWS Major loss

Fire claims Taylorville church building

P. 5

PAT’S PLAYBOOK

Stick with a plan

Advice from Coach Pajak

P. 14

Breese, Illinois feels a fresh wind of the Spirit. Story and photos start on P. 7

Videos, prayer guide, and more at missionillinois.org

Levi and Leah Hart are overcoming obstacles to plant a new church in his hometown. Their story is one of four reports during the season of prayer for state missions.

CONVENTIONAL WISDOM

Snapshots from the world of Illinois Baptists

Two-thirds of U.S. adults approve of living together before marriage, including a surprising number of Christians. “When everyone in their circles and everyone on television is living together, young people will begin to see it as benign.”

– Roxanne Stone, Barna Group

A move-in culture

Is living together before marriage a good idea?

Percent who strongly or somewhat agree:

Shifting family values

Percent of parents who say they would want their child to cohabit before marriage:

the cooperative program

Giving by IBSA churches as of 07/22/16

$3,231,915

Budget Goal: $3,513,462

Received to date in 2015: $3,366,881

2016 Goal: $6.3 Million

The Illinois Baptist staff

Editor - Eric Reed

Graphic Designer - Kris Kell

Contributing Editor - Lisa Sergent

Editorial Contributors - Meredith Flynn Morgan Jackson

For questions about subscriptions, articles, or upcoming events, contact the Illinois Baptist at (217) 391-3119 or IllinoisBaptist@IBSA.org

The Illinois Baptist is seeking news from IBSA churches. E-mail us at IllinoisBaptist@IBSA.org to tell us about special events and new ministry staff.

POSTMASTER: The Illinois Baptist is owned and published every three weeks by the Illinois Baptist State Association, 3085 Stevenson Drive, Springfield, Illinois 62703-4440. Subscriptions are free to Illinois Baptists. Subscribe online at IBSA.org

NATE ADAMS

Long Walks and Deep Talks

One thing I love about summer is the opportunity for long walks. Beth and I have a three-mile circuit that takes us from our house down to a nearby lake and back. Usually we walk it after dinner, but before dark, with our blind dog Willy. Our nest of three sons is empty now, and so we have just this one furry kid to follow us around.

It’s not really the walk itself that I value, though. It’s what happens there. By the time we walk, Beth and I have usually taken dinnertime to catch up with one another on the day’s events, and what arrived in the mail, and what we each heard from friends or family that day.

The walk is for deeper talk. That’s when we tend to discuss longer term plans for the future, or longer view reflections on where we’ve been. We talk not just about our kids’ activities, but about their well-being and their life decisions. We talk not just about shortterm purchases, but about long-term investments. We talk not just about our church routines, but about our spiritual lives.

Sometimes our local son, Caleb, and his wife, Laura, walk with us. Those are rich times. Often Laura will walk alongside Beth and engage in one conversation, while Caleb and I will pair up a few steps behind them. Sometimes the two conversations will blend, and mix, and then separate again. We all like to hear as much as possible.

But these aren’t the 10- or 20-word texts we exchange with our kids during the day. These are often significant conversations about problems, and dreams, and life decisions, and dilemmas. Long walks encourage deeper talks.

And then there are the long walks I take by myself, to have deeper talks with God. Sometimes I make time for them during the regular routine of life. But often I need a vacation or a few days off or a different setting in order to pull away.

During the regular rhythms and busyness of life, my prayer times can grow so brief, so repetitive, so lightweight. Like the chitchat of a dinner conversation or the insufficiency of a text, I can settle for such trivial communication with God. But when I walk for a while with him it’s easier to remember that he really knows and loves me in my deepest, innermost parts, and that he longs to meet me there too, and not just in the shallows of a busy life.

Over a few recent days of long walks and deep talks this summer, I remembered again that it usually takes a while just to get past the perfunctory, obligatory prayers that I tend to settle for when time is short. I know there’s nothing wrong with those prayers, just like there’s nothing wrong with catching up over dinner on the day’s activities. It’s just that there are so many more significant things to talk about. But you only seem to get there when you take the time.

This past week I walked and talked to places of deep confession, and pleading, and worship, and peace. Once the lighter weight stuff was off my chest, there were several minutes and miles of silence as I looked for the right words to tell God things I then remembered that he knows already. Yet when those words came, they were cathartic and soothing to my soul.

Long walks can lead to deep talks, with our spouses, our kids, and yes, our God. May you find time for the long walks you need this summer.

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

It usually takes a while to get past perfunctory, obligatory prayers I tend to settle for when time is short.

from the front: veep candidates take the stage

Continued from page 1 protected the rights of religious believers to practice their faith. Corporations, major sporting events, and individuals threatened to boycott the state. A few days later, Pence signed an amendment to the bill which also protected sexual orientation and gender identity rights, causing some conservatives to question his commitment to religious freedom.

At the Republican National Convention, in what some saw as an appeal to evangelicals, Trump pledged he and Pence would do away with the Johnson Amendment, which became part of the U.S. tax code in 1954. ThenSenator Lyndon Johnson proposed the measure, which restricts tax-exempt religious organizations, including churches, from endorsing or opposing political candidates under penalty of losing their tax-exempt status.

The Democratic nominee for President, Hillary Clinton, also introduced her running mate prior to her party’s national convention. Virginia Senator Tim Kaine has attended St. Elizabeth Catholic Church in Richmond for nearly 30 years, and also has done mission work in Honduras. The former Virginia governor sings in the choir at his predominately African-American church.

Kaine has used biblical terminology to express his displeasure at the Senate’s recent failure to pass stricter gun laws. He told 60 Minutes, “The chamber was ringed with the family members from Sandy Hook, with Virginia Tech family members sitting with them and helping them. There’s a phrase in the letter to the Hebrews that talks about being surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses. We were surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses, but we couldn’t do the right thing.”

Kaine’s stance on abortion could be troubling to Christian voters. He told CNN in July that his view on abortion is traditionally Catholic, meaning pro-life, “but I am very strongly supportive that women should make these decisions and government shouldn’t intrude. I’m a strong supporter of Roe v. Wade and women being able to make these decisions. In government, we have enough things to worry about. We don’t need to make people’s reproductive decisions for them.”

Uneasy alliances

With just four months until the general election, a new Pew poll shows Trump has a commanding lead among white evangelicals, 78% of whom say they will vote for him, compared to 17% who support Clinton.

Black Protestant voters overwhelmingly say they support Clinton—89%, compared to 8% for Trump. Hispanic Catholics also support Clinton (77%) over Trump (16%).

Pew found voters in general are not pleased with their choices for president: 42% said it would be difficult to choose between the candidates because neither one would make a good president.

Voter motivation is also a key issue in the 2016 election, Pew found. Of the 78% of white evangelicals who support Trump, 45% said their decision was “mainly a vote against Clinton,” compared to 30% who said it was “mainly a vote for Trump.”

The survey comes after Trump’s meeting in June with nearly 1,000 evangelicals, including many Southern Baptists. At least eight Southern Baptists now serve on his evangelical advisory panel.

Ready for Rio

Rio de Janeiro | With the Olympic Games set to kick off Aug. 5, Southern Baptist volunteers will be in South America to share the gospel both with local residents and with the thousands of visitors from across the globe.

“There exists no greater opportunity to reach people from over 200 nations in 30 days than the Olympic Games,” said John Crocker, a missions pastor from Alabama who is leading a mission team to Rio. Crocker’s team will engage Rio residents with the gospel through evangelistic block parties and Olympic pin trading.

“There is an openness by people to talk with one another and to talk about spiritual things,” said Sid Hopkins (right), a retired director of missions from Georgia who ministers at the Games by distributing pins made especially for the Olympics that tell the story of Jesus.

“We have seen many people who come to the Olympic Games open to listen to the gospel because the atmosphere created is one of friendship on a global level. Ministry during the Olympics is simply electric.” Pre-event publicity for the Olympics has been largely negative, due to concerns over the Zika virus, Brazil’s economic struggles, the fitness of Rio’s water supply, the Russian doping scandal, and other issues. But Brazil’s hosting of the 2014 World Cup proved to be successful, and Olympic organizers are banking on a repeat of that success in Rio.

Journalist Tim Ellsworth, for mer editor of the Illinois Baptist, will cover the Games for Baptist Press, focusing largely on Christian athletes who are competing, including diver David Boudia (right). He won gold in the 10-meter platform competition in 2012 and is looking to add to his medal count in both that event and the men’s 10-meter synchro competition with his partner Steele Johnson. Both men gave strong testimonies of their faith in Christ following the Olympic trials this summer.

“This is not what my identity is going to be in the rest of my life,” Johnson said. “Yeah, I’m Steele Johnson the Olympian, but at the same time, I’m here to love and serve Christ. My identity is rooted in Christ and not in the flips we’re doing.”

The Illinois Baptist blog, iB2news.org, will have more stories from Rio during the Olympic Games.

– From Baptist Press

Mike Pence (R)

Tim Kaine (D)

Survey says:

Let’s talk religion

Nashville, Tenn. | Americans who don’t go to church are happy to talk about religion and often think about the meaning of life. However, they’re less likely to be interested in going to a worship service, according to a new survey by LifeWay Research.

“Unchurched Americans aren’t hostile to faith,” said Scott McConnell, executive director of LifeWay Research. “They just don’t think church is for them.”

For the survey, “unchurched” means those who have not attended a worship service in the last six months, outside of a holiday or special occasion like a wedding. Among their characteristics:

• 67% are white

• 53% are male

• 47% have a high school diploma or less

• 62% went to church regularly as a child

• 32% consider themselves nonreligious • One in five identifies as Protestant, one in four as Catholic

Few are turned off by conversations about faith, McConnell said. Nearly half of unchurched Americans (47%) say they discuss religion freely if the topic comes up. A third (31%) say they listen without responding, while 11% change the subject.

Only 35% say someone has ever explained the benefits of being a Christian to them.

Trickle-down discipleship

Super Summer teaches students to be leaders

BY MORGAN JACKSON

Greenville | Super Summer team leader Lyndsey Stumpf attended IBSA’s student discipleship week for the first time prior to her freshman year in high school. “And that was actually when I came to realize that the way I was living was not even like a Christian,” she recalled. “I had never been saved before.”

Stumpf, a member of First Baptist Church, Bethalto, accepted Christ that summer, and cited the intentional discipleship she received as one of the main reasons she still attends Super Summer today. Now a junior in college studying biblical counseling, Stumpf sees the need among middle school and high school girls to learn the spiritual disciplines and standards she was taught.

“They need to be discipled,” said Stumpf, who served as a team leader in the Yellow School (pictured below). Along with other adult leaders at Super Summer, Stumpf is dedicated to investing in the next generation.

This year, 136 students attended Super Summer 2016 at Greenville College. The week is for students in grades 6-12. It is mostly geared toward those who are already leaders in their youth group—with the intent of discipling them to go back to their church and make even more disciples.

“That’s what this camp is all about,” said Pastor Chip Faulkner from First Baptist, Bethalto, “maturing in Christ in such a way that passes it on.”

All week long, kids take classes with their individual school, determined by their age and designated by a color the students wear during recreation time. Andrew White, a recent high school graduate from First Baptist Church, Mascoutah, said, “We are in class or in worship most of the day when we’re not sleeping or eating.” He and fellow Gray School member Abby Olcott talked

about how intentional discipleship at Super Summer the last three years has had great impact on their development as leaders.

“It’s very high quality, what’s done [here],” said Olcott, a member of Woodland Baptist Church in Peoria. White chimed in that the high-caliber people and more intense teaching at this particular camp are the reasons he has returned multiple times.

A high percentage of Super Summer graduates come back during their college years to serve as team leaders—a testament to the camp’s strong discipleship focus. One of those leaders, Alex Hancock, said that in his school alone, three of the other team leaders attended Super Summer with him as students just the year before, “and there’s two or three more [in other schools] as well!”

Brooklyn Byars, a 16-year-old from First Baptist Church in McLeansboro and a Super Summer veteran, was one of the girls in Lyndsey Stumpf’s group this year. She said the training she’s received at Super Summer has inspired her to help other people. “I’ve [even] started a small group,” she said, something she never thought she could do before.

Asked about having Stumpf as one of her team leaders this year, Byars said, “It’s been great. I’ve had questions that I’ve come and asked her about, and she answered them. In small group, we’ve had good discussions.”

Chip Faulkner, who is Stumpf’s pastor in Bethalto, noted how much different generations can teach and learn from one another when they take the time to gather in biblical fellowship at events like Super Summer. “This is cooperation partnership at its best,” he said, “discipling generations that are making other disciples. That’s what it’s all about.”

Christians may be reluctant to talk about their faith out of fear of offending their friends, McConnell noted. But the survey found that fear is unfounded.

“Unchurched folks are not being overwhelmed by Christians talking about their faith,” McConnell said. “If faith is important to you, then your friends will be interested in hearing about it.”

Researchers also looked at the kinds of activities unchurched Americans might be interested in as well as methods for inviting them to church: 62% said they would attend a church meeting about neighborhood safety, while around half would take part in a community service event (51%), concert (45% ), sports or exercise program (46%), or neighborhood get-together (45%) at a church.

Fewer are interested in attending a worship service (35%), recovery group (25%) or seminar on a spiritual topic (24%) if invited.

When it comes to church invitations, a personal touch works better than a sales pitch. More than half (55%) of unchurched people say a personal invitation from a family member would be effective in getting them to visit a church. Other methods, such as a church member knocking on the door, a TV commercial, postcard, or Facebook ad, are less effective.

– From Baptist Press

CLASSMATES – Yellow School students pose for their class photo at IBSA’s Super Summer, where teens are divided into age-based, color-coded schools for specialized discipleship. The 2016 edition of Super Summer included 136 students and 56 adult leaders.

Lee honored in St. Louis

Search continues for new WMU head

St. Louis | Wanda Lee, who has served 16 years as executive director of Woman’s Missionary Union (WMU), was recognized during the Southern Baptist Convention in June for her long-standing commitment to missions.

Lee announced in January that she will retire from the Birmingham-based Southern Baptist auxiliary once her replacement is named. A search committee, including Illinois WMU President Jill McNicol, currently is reviewing resumes for the post.

“I know people are anxious to know,” McNicol told the Illinois Baptist, noting that the committee has prioritized confidentiality out of respect for the candidates. “I will say that each time the committee has met, progress has been made.”

In April, McNicol asked women gathered at IBSA’s Priority Conference to pray for the committee. The group has prayed and fasted as they’ve sought God’s will in the search process, she told the IB. They’ve also searched the Bible for examples of how leaders were found and how they expressed their leadership—both well and poorly.

“The weight of this responsibility has not been taken lightly,” McNicol said. “We understand that how we as an auxiliary operate affects the lostness of the postmodern world in which we now live. WMU has always been about missions and I don’t see that changing. I do believe some changes in the methods of delivery will be seen in the future.

“As a personal belief, I feel that the more this world moves away from God and his ways, the more important it is for Christ-followers to be salt and light in our communities, our jobs, and our families. The resources and opportunities that WMU offers are more relevant than ever.”

During the Southern Baptist Convention in St. Louis, Lee’s contribution to WMU was highlighted in a presentation by SBC Executive Committee President Frank Page, who

gave her a framed certificate of appreciation for her years of service to the organization. Prior to accepting the role of executive director, Lee was president of National WMU for four years.

“During Wanda’s tenure, over $3 billion has been given to missions while she was at the helm of WMU,” Page told messengers, with more than $2 billion raised for international missions and nearly $1 billion for North American missions through the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering and Annie Armstrong Easter Offering, respectively, in conjunction with the SBC’s two mission boards, state conventions, and local churches.

Those totals, the resolution of appreciation noted, constitute “more than one-half of the total amount raised through these two offerings since they began being reported in 1888 and 1907 respectively.”

The resolution also noted Lee has led WMU in organizing 80 short-term mission trips and expanding ministries such as Baptist Nursing Fellowship, WorldCrafts, Christian Women’s Job Corps, and Project Help.

Also in St. Louis, the WMU Annual Meeting included a reception to honor Lee. Among the gifts she received was a “retirement survival kit,” McNicol said, including instructions on how to set up a Facebook account so Lee can share her retirement adventures.

“We had a lot of laughs and ended her presentation with a keychain of the world,” McNicol added. “It was important for her to know she means the world to many, many people.”

– With reporting from Baptist Press

Violence intensifies

A Catholic priest was killed in northern France July 26 by attackers who stormed into his church while he was performing a Tuesday morning Mass. The men slit the throat of Father Jacques Hamel and took several people hostage inside the church. The attackers were later killed by police, and the Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the violence.

The French attack is one example of religionfueled tensions that also are heating up in countries like Turkey, where a failed coup in July could lead to more scrutiny for Christians. Following the military-led coup, President Tayyip Erdogan declared a state of emergency that will allow him to enact new laws without parliamentary approval, including possible action against Christians, who account for 0.2% of Turkey’s population.

“The government may very well see [Christians] as a threat due to their lack of adherence to Islam,” said Sandra Elliot, program coordinator for International Christian Concern.

Nigerians receive Bibles

A July distribution project by Voice of the Martyrs (VOM) brought Bibles to Chibok, the Nigerian town still reeling from the 2014 kidnapping of 276 girls from their school. Many of the girls taken by terror group Boko Haram are still missing, and VOM workers met with some of their parents while in town to distribute Bibles.

Boko Haram is still active in the area, VOM reported, having burned a village less than five miles from Chibok the day before the Bibles were handed out. Nigeria is twelfth on the World Watch List, a list by Open Doors USA of the countries where Christians are most at risk for persecution.

Russia restricts speech

A set of new laws restricting missionary activity was approved in July by Russian President Vladimir Putin, banning the sharing of the gospel anywhere outside of recognized church buildings. The legislation, meant to tamp down Islamic extremism, also prevents Christians from sharing their faith online and in their homes. The laws also require citizens who engage in missionary activity to get a permit through a recognized religious organization. Individuals and organizations found guilty of violating the restrictions will face financial penalties.

– Baptist Press, Voice of the Martyrs, Christianity Today

Get breaking news in The Briefing online, posted every Tuesday at www.ib2news.org.

Voice of the Martyrs

THANKFUL – Frank S. Page, president and CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee, presents retiring Woman’s Missionary Union Executive Director Wanda Lee with a resolution of appreciation during the annual meeting of the SBC in St. Louis Tuesday, June 14.

Church ‘banding together’ after fire

Taylorville | An early morning fire caused extensive damage to the facilities of Taylorville Southern Baptist Church.

Firefighters were called to the church at 3:23 a.m. on Sunday, July 24. Several neighboring fire departments worked together to put out the fire, which took about an hour to get under control, the Springfield State Journal-Register reported. Taylorville’s Assistant Fire Chief Andy Goodall told Regional Radio News that investigators didn’t have a definite cause for the fire following their initial assessment, but were leaning toward electrical malfunction.

The church is currently without a pastor, but several members were on the scene, including church trustee Phyllis Wilson. “As we stayed and watched, I was just really grateful that God would not have anyone in there. Someone could have been hurt badly; the church could have been full,” Wilson told WAND-TV in Decatur.

The fire did extensive damage to the building, but Wilson said the members still have hope.

“It’s a big hit, but you know, we have a great church family and we’re all banding together and we’re going to do what we’ve got to do to make it work. The churches have all contacted us to see what kind of help we need, and they said they would be here for us through the whole thing. So I’m so grateful for our community. We’ll meet somewhere, oh absolutely, even if it’s in a home, we’re going to meet.”

David Howard, director of missions for Capital City Baptist Association, said the association would assist in mobilizing volunteers if there is clean-up or

repair work that can be done at Taylorville Southern.

The church, which was founded in 1957, has been meeting in that building since 1976.

“We’re all ministers of the gospel and of the Word and of Jesus Christ. So it is imperative, I think, that we acquire the tools and the knowledge for a lifetime of ministry ahead.”

ELIZABETH YAO-HWA SUNG ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF BIBLICAL AND SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY

TEDS faculty are gifted men and women who represent a wide spectrum of international backgrounds, church and ministry involvements, and evangelical theological positions, but they are united around the centrality of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, and the inerrancy and authority of Scripture. They minister as much through research and writing as through local church involvement, but their primary ministry is teaching and caring for our students.

MAJOR LOSS – Firefighters from six departments responded to a blaze that severely damaged the Taylorville Southern Baptist Church building early on a Sunday morning. Electrical malfunction may be at fault. Photos by David Howard

IN FOCUS

Raising the bar

A pastor with a past returns home to share the good news that changed his life. But, where will his new church meet?

BY ERIC REED

Breese | On Sunday morning, Leah Hart is on a brightly lit platform singing a current praise song in a strong voice, backed by guitar, keyboard, and drums. A crowd of about 60 people singing with her picks up on the lyrics which are new to many of them. Some are seated on high stools at pub tables, and no one seems to notice the neon beer signs on the walls or the giant horseshoe-shaped bar behind them.

“I can’t believe how well a bar is set up to be used as a church,” said Levi Hart, Leah’s husband. “It’s a sports bar/concert venue. You see the bar and all the liquor bottles and all that, then all over the place you see things saying ‘Ignite Church.’”

Levi is describing Big Stix, the establishment in his hometown where he and Leah are planting a church.

“And you see a bunch of people there for a completely different purpose than the night before, when it was packed full of people getting drunk.”

Levi nods and chuckles a little. He’s still amazed that it’s working, this new church plant that turns a bar into a sanctuary on Sunday morning. It’s working very well.

Since the Harts began holding services in March, more than 20 people have accepted Christ. The church has held two baptism services using a horse trough on the concrete floor in front of the stage.

Continued on page 8

PHOTO: WHERE WOULD JESUS GO?

Levi Hart takes the gospel to a sports bar in his hometown of Breese. The space becomes a worship center on Sunday morning.

The Harts’ story is one of four featured in the 2016 Mission Illinois Offering & Week of Prayer.

Mission Illinois Offering & Week of Prayer

The stories will convince you

Focus on state missions starts September 11

BY ERIC REED

Over the course of almost five years, I have traveled to the far corners of Illinois looking for stories. Mostly they’re stories to support the Mission Illinois Offering & Week of Prayer, stories of God’s people whose work is made possible by the missions commitment of Baptists in our state. My partner in this venture, videographer Paul Wynn, and I joke that we’ve spent the last five Mother’s Days together. His kids are grown now, so his wife doesn’t mind if he’s away from home on her holiday. Maybe having a quiet house is what makes it a holiday for her.

On those May weekends and many others, we have visited new churches and compassion ministries. We’ve been from Elgin to East St. Louis, Davis Junction to Iuka, Plainfield to Metropolis, and many points in between. We’ve talked with pastors and joyful believers they’ve led to Christ. We’ve followed teenagers who braved city streets, sharing the gospel with strangers for the first time. And we’ve heard story after story from IBSA missionaries whose life-changing work brings them—and sometimes all of us—to tears.

I suppose the numbers should be compelling enough: There are 13 million people in Illinois, and at least 8 million of them do not have a faith relationship with Jesus Christ. I lived in Chicagoland 15 years, and there the “numbers” are ever before you. So many people. So few believers. I learned what it means to be in the minority, because Christians are so far outnumbered.

The biblical command should be convicting: Jesus said, “Go.” Isn’t that enough?

But what is most convincing is the stories. The stories and the people who share them convince me afresh every year that our mission work in Illinois is vitally important, worth our personal service and our prayer and our giving and our going.

that the church baptized its first new believers in a horse trough.

Their story is featured in our collection for the 2016 Mission Illinois Offering & Week of Prayer

• Plus, there’s the story of a pastor’s wife we met in Casey soon after her international mission trip to aid oppressed women in South Asia.

• And the student group making its second trip from Sherman to the big city streets during ChicaGO Week.

• And the pastor planting another church nearby his downtrodden neighborhood, hoping to reach unreached people with another chance at hope in Christ.

These stories will all be featured in the Illinois Baptist. And they are included in the Mission Illinois Offering prayer guide for September 11-18, which will be distributed in participating churches. A week of devotions also is included in the special supplement that wrapped this edition of the newspaper. And all the materials are on our new website: missionillinois.

org

Calling all churches

I admit I felt out of place at a bar in Breese, Illinois, but it was Sunday morning and technically the bar wasn’t open. They were having church, and I knew the songs. I’m still smiling about how the young church planter and his wife started a church—in a bar—in his hometown—which, as most hometowns do, knew too much about him. I celebrated when he sent word a couple of weeks later

Our statewide goal this year is $475,000. The offering supports IBSA’s missions work, including the areas we’re highlighting this year: church planting in rural Illinois, students reaching Chicago, mobilizing Illinois volunteers for missions worldwide, and sharing Christ with unreached people. Yes, there are people in Illinois who have never heard.

Please encourage your church to participate in the Mission Illinois Offering & Week of Prayer. And please pray about your own gift for state missions. If you’re like me, the stories will convince you.

See all videos and mission study materials at missionillinois.org. Contact MIO@ IBSA.org if we can help your church observe the Week of Prayer for state missions.

Continued from page 7

Ignite Church is one of 17 new churches started in Illinois so far this year. IBSA helped plant 23 new churches in 2015, and at any given time, there are as many as 80 church planters in the process of starting new congregations in the state. Their work is supported in part by giving through the Mission Illinois Offering.

While national partners target the cities in particular, IBSA also is planting outside the large metro areas.

“We are finding that many of the smaller and more rural communities in Illinois have less gospel presence now than they did 20 or 30 years ago,” said Van Kicklighter, head of church planting for IBSA. “In many places, the mainline churches that once served these communities are closing their doors, leaving a real void and opportunity for gospel-preaching churches to be planted.”

At issue is having planters and funds to support them, Kicklighter said. “We have far more opportunities for planting churches in the smaller communities of Illinois than we have leaders and churches willing to go there and plant their lives.”

And that makes Levi Hart’s story even more special.

What about Breese?

Levi wasn’t sure his idea would work—and for good reason. “I asked my wife, ‘Leah, do you think we should plant a church?’” Levi was serving as a youth minister in a nearby town at the time and feeling a call to something more.

“She said, ‘Yeah, yeah, absolutely. What about Breese?’”

“I said, ‘Ah, that’s not gonna work. My house got raided in Breese.’ I thought there’s no way, you know.” No way, because it was in Breese that Levi fell into alcohol and drug abuse as a teenager. It was in Breese that Levi was arrested for selling drugs. And it was in Breese that Levi earned a reputation.

But jailed and facing up to five years in prison, Levi entered rehab and started attending a Bible study. There he heard the gospel. The Bible study leader confronted him.

“I hit my knees and asked for forgiveness for everything for the first time in my life,” Levi said. “I woke up the next day a new creation!”

Now 26, the young man grins and nods as he says the words. Levi is still amazed that God would call him back here to be a pastor and plant a church.

Hometown heroics

Breese is a small town of about 4,500 about 30 miles east of St. Louis. In the surrounding area, there are almost 20,000 residents, but only a handful of churches. Breese has two Protestant churches. For

CAKE! – Baptisms are cause for celebration for these young people who attend the new congregation, Ignite Church in Breese.

HART TO HEART – This young couple is investing their lives in a new church plant, advancing the gospel in their small Illinois town.

such a small place, it’s a party town, according to Levi. For the young people, there’s not much else to do.

“What’s missing in Breese is the gospel,” he said. That’s why he’s burdened for the people who live there. “It’s basically an unreached people group. There’s like 98% of the people here who don’t know Jesus.”

So a church that meets in a bar shouldn’t be a surprise.

“He’s going where the people are, going to his context,” said Eddie Pullen, IBSA’s church planting strategist in the Metro East region. “He’s reaching people who have no exposure at all to the gospel.”

As an IBSA specialist in church planting, Pullen helps new pastors navigate the challenges of starting a church. Pullen draws from his own experience.

He planted Mosaic Church in nearby Highland and serves as its teaching pastor. Mosaic is the sponsoring congregation for the Harts’ ministry.

“We’re grateful to be a part of it,” Pullen said, getting misty-eyed. “He causes a thirst for people who may not know they’re thirsty.”

Or, amid the bottles and signs, what they’re really thirsting for.

Living water and holy fire

The bar is closed on Mondays. That’s when Levi leads a Bible study.

After a family-style dinner, the children go next door to an area the bar’s owner has allowed them to renovate for nursery, classroom, and office space. Leah and several of

her family members teach the children’s Bible study in rooms painted with animals parading into Noah’s Ark, while Levi opens the Scriptures for their parents.

On this night, one man asks a couple of questions revealing this material is new to him. Levi lays aside his teaching plan and for nearly an hour shares a clear presentation of the gospel, focusing on sin, the cross, and salvation in Jesus Christ. He shares some of his own story along the way. The man listens attentively.

Levi expected to reach people his own age, but “what happened is we have a large group of 35- to 55-year-olds. A lot of people that age around here are hungry for something more.”

Today in Breese, Levi and Leah are fanning the flames of the gospel through their ministry at Ignite Church. “You know,” he said, “that’s what I want our church to do…ignite a fire…and see lives changed.”

Watch Levi Hart’s story at missionillinois.org

Reaching influencers

THE cooperative program • 2nd quarter report jan. 1 - June 30

This report includes contributions received by the Illinois Baptist State Association through the second quarter of 2016. For questions about this report, contact the IBSA Church Cooperation Team at (217) 391-3106, e-mail ChelseaClark@IBSA.org, or write to P.O. Box 19247, Springfield, IL 62794-9247.

Jeff and Barbara Singerman work in West Africa, where they are seeking to share the gospel with musicians and other cultural leaders.

“Several times we’ve met with Babel (a musician) and his wife, Murielle. Recently, sitting on their veranda in the mid-afternoon heat, we challenged them through stories from the Word to consider, seriously, their relationships to Christ.”

– Barbara Singerman

50.41% of gifts given through the national Cooperative Program go to the International Mission Board to support global ministries to people who don’t know Christ.

Contending for faith

Rusty and Jennifer Ford serve through the International Mission Board in Spain, where less than are evangelical Christians.

The Fords host Bible discussion groups in their home and have organized a Gospel concert at a local theater. They also started a boxing ministry to reach teens and young men.

When your church gives through the Cooperative Program, that money supports Christian workers like the Fords, providing supplies like boxing gloves and punching bags.

“From Spain, we want to say to all of our churches: Thank you so much for all that you give and your sacrifices.”

– Rusty Ford

Spaniards.

The Fords

Multicultural mindset

When your church forwards a percentage of offerings to IBSA, remains in Illinois to support evangelism, church planting, and other ministries in the state.

56.75% 43.25%

goes to the national SBC to be used for ministry and missions in North America and around the world.

Top 100 Illinois churches in Cooperative Program support through the second quarter of 2016

Greg Alexander formerly served in Illinois as director of Baptist Collegiate Ministries, and now he and his wife, Ros, live in Toronto, where 52% of people are first-generation immigrants.

Top 100 Illinois churches in per capita CP support through the second quarter of 2016

Cutler First, Cutler 66.18 Doxa, Woodstock 65.97 Golf Road, Des Plaines 64.72 Columbia First, Columbia 64.09 Western Oaks, Springfield 62.47

Bethel, Bourbonnais 62.19

Vera, Ramsey 61.99

Ditney Ridge, Norris City 61.74

Cottonwood Family, Glen Carbon 60.64

“We are a nation that is becoming multicultural, and we’ve got to learn how to penetrate lostness.”

– Greg Alexander

The Lord’s Church, Naperville 60.00

Wilmington, Patterson 59.84

Casey First, Casey 59.23

Clarksville, Marshall 59.16

Steeleville, Steeleville 58.94

Calvary, Alton 58.03

Calvary, Edwardsville 57.89

Blooming Grove, Mc Leansboro 57.27

New Hope, Litchfield 57.24

Lincoln Avenue, Jacksonville 56.22

Calvary, Monticello 54.86

Effingham First, Effingham 54.81

Mt Olive, Dongola 54.47

Mt Zion, Piasa 54.39

Delafield, Mc Leansboro 54.37

Eastview, Belleville 54.07 Paxton First, Paxton 54.05

It’s time to speak up

The week of July 4, 2016, was a very dark week in America. It began with my wife and me celebrating Independence Day with our family and watching the local fireworks display. But there would be a different type of fireworks in the days to come.

On July 5, a Baton Rouge police officer pinned down Alton Sterling and shot him several times while he was on the ground, killing him in front of witnesses.

The very next day in Minnesota, Philando Castile was pulled over in a routine traffic stop and shot multiple times by a police officer. Castile’s girlfriend videotaped the aftermath of the shooting and broadcast it live on Facebook for the world to see.

If those incidents weren’t enough, on July 7, at the end of a peaceful protest of these killings, an armed gunman ambushed Dallas police officers, killing five and wounding seven others.

It truly was a dark week in America. As I sat at my desk praying about how to process these events and address these issues with my congregation, God led me to Matthew 5:13-16.

We live in a dark and decaying world, and the darker the world gets, the more it needs the church to be salt and light. Light shines brightest in darkness, and God has providentially placed the local church in the community to shine the light of the gospel to a world that desperately needs that light.

The killings of African Americans at the hands of police officers, and the denial of justice to the families of those slain, reveal the high level of personal and institutional racism in America.

The truth of the matter is that an encounter with the police is a life or death matter for many people of color in America. We pull over praying. Praying that the officer who stops us will uphold the law and not manipulate it to cover up his own racial prejudice. Praying that we will be treated the same way every other citizen of this country is treated. But most of

all, we are praying that we are not killed by the very people our taxes pay to serve and protect us.

This is not the experience of my non-minority brothers and sisters. And it should not be the experience of anyone created in the image of God.

My question is, how can the church remain silent, when the sin of racism is screaming so loudly? How can we stand by as injustice continues against those we say are our brothers and sisters in Christ? We cannot remain silent. In order for there to be change in our culture, the church must stop being silent and step up and be the church. In Matthew 5:13-16, Jesus calls us to be counter-cultural Christians. This means the church is called to influence our culture

with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Christians and only Christians are the salt of the earth. Christians and only Christians are the light of the world. Christians and Christians alone are responsible for stopping corruption and slowing down the decay of this world.

Notice Jesus did not say “you and the government,” “you and the police department,” or “you and the Supreme Court.” There is only one hope for this world, and that hope is in people of God preventing decay and penetrating darkness.

We need to stop making excuses, stop being divided, stop being deceived by the darkness of this culture, and begin shining the light of righteousness and loving our neighbor as ourselves. We will never overcome a hateful world unless we learn to love one another.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., said, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” If we love our neighbor as ourselves, we cannot remain silent as our neighbors are being slain in the streets. And we must address the racism in our world, even if it is in our own hearts.

In Acts 10:34, Peter says, “Truly I understand that God shows no partiality.”

I pray that soon and very soon, the church would do the same.

Adron Robinson is senior pastor of Hillcrest Baptist Church in Country Club Hills and vice president of IBSA.

voices

If I were your enemy

Iam part of a very lively, very opinionated Sunday school class. Most of us are in our 50s and 60s, which, of course, means there is also great wisdom in our class (or so we’d like to think!). There are many times when our class discussions veer off into politics, pop culture or current events. This almost always results in handwringing, head-shaking, and longing for “the good old days.”

A couple of weeks ago, one of my classmates, a father of two, told us how sad and fearful he had felt that weekend when he was watching his kids play, thinking, “What if this time, right now, is the best time of their lives?

What if it’s downhill from here?”

What a sad thought!

It reminded me of something I had read in “Fervent,” Priscilla Shirer’s book on prayer:

“If I were your enemy, I’d magnify your fears, making them appear insurmountable, intimidating you with enough worries until avoiding them becomes your driving motivation.”

Shirer says fear is one of Satan’s primary schemes for crippling God’s people. I’m not talking about legitimate concern or warnings of godly wisdom; I’m talking about incessant worry, up-all-night anxiety, and worst-case scenarios that become the only probabilities you can imagine.

These were the kinds of fears my friend in class was talking about. And it made me mad! But not at him. I was mad at the enemy for messing with him, for messing with me, for messing with all of us! In class that day, I felt compelled to tell him, “Don’t give Satan that power over you!”

Satan is NOT God, and he’s not God’s counterpart or peer. They’re not even on the same playing field! Stop allowing his “spirit of fear” to invade our lives. We need to pray fervently and strategically against the enemy, as Shirer writes in “Fervent.” You and I, coming to the Father through the mighty name of Jesus, can pray like the victorious saints of God we’ve been empowered to be!

With all that’s going on in the world, I totally understand where my friend is coming from. But I don’t want him to live with a spirit of fear. I will continue to remind myself and those I love to pray fervently.

He is my God, and I trust him. More than ever before!

Carole Doom is IBSA’s information specialist and a member of Living Faith Baptist Church in Sherman.

CAROLE DOOM

“For the safe return of Miss Gritcher, the Sunday School class is demanding juice boxes, donuts, and a curriculum written after 1963.”

How can the church remain silent when the sin of racism is screaming so loudly

Pat’s Playbook

Stick with it

QOur children’s workers want to change the literature again. I say our current literature is plenty good enough, and besides, a Sunday school lesson is what you make out of it. We don’t need video games. But when I say that out loud, the younger workers just roll their eyes. Tell me honestly, Pat, am I out of touch?

Building a new Lighthouse

BFI bond program helps Nashville church people

Milestones

devo

AI’m with you. Changing the materials every time someone sees a new book or hears about a new idea usually gets old in a few months, and then there will be those insisting that it’s time to change again. Sometimes children’s workers just need to get a fresh look at what others are doing and how they are using the literature that is available. It sounds to me like it’s time for either a road trip or a Saturday teaching clinic to spark a fresh interest for your preschool, children’s, and student teachers.

When you get back home, look for a time when you can teach the teachers about how to make their lessons fun, interesting, and kidfriendly. Encourage them to use projects, move to different locations, and try VBS-style decorations to help the children be actively involved in the lesson, and not just sitting and listening.

Cutting the red tape

QOur church has a lot of government workers. It feels to me that any new church initiative gets bogged down in red tape. How do we get “bureaucracy” out of the ministry?

AIt might be time for the entire church to take a Spiritual Gifts Inventory and discover exactly how they are gifted and in what areas. Many times, good ideas are dragged out or lost in the bureaucracy of meetings and discussions because those involved are not gifted in the area where they are serving. When one has a passion, desire, and giftedness in a particular area of ministry, they rarely experience burnout, allow projects to drag out, or see that ministry area die out!

Pat Pajak leads IBSA’s Church Consulting Team. He has led churches of all sizes across Illinois. Send your questions for Pat to Illinois Baptist@IBSA.org.

Nashville, Ill. | After years of meeting in temporary spaces, Pastor Danny Donato and his church celebrated the launch of their new campus June 5 with a community cookout, open house and baptism service.

Lighthouse Community Church’s new building is an expansion of the former Nashville Moose Lodge, which the church purchased in 2011. Through the Baptist Foundation of Illinois’ bond program, Lighthouse received a low-cost loan, while the interest flows back to Baptist investors.

NeTworkiNg

Logan Street Baptist Church, Mt. Vernon, is seeking a fulltime senior pastor. Please submit resumés to lsbcsearch@ gmail.com, or Logan Street Baptist Church, Attn: Pastor Search Committee, 601 S. 21st St., Mt. Vernon, IL 62864.

Calvary Baptist Church, Streator, is seeking a bivocational pastor who is Southern Baptist and agrees with The Baptist Faith and Message (2000). Please send resumés to P.O. Box 324, Streator, IL 61364 or e-mail calvarybaptiststreator@gmail. com.

First Baptist Church, Columbia, is seeking an associate pastor of worship and discipleship. Some experience and education preferred. Please send resumés to kmercer@fbccolumbia.com or First Baptist Church, Attn: Karen Mercer, 1200 Valmeyer Rd., Columbia, IL 62236.

“This program is really designed for Kingdom-minded churches and individuals to ‘cycle’ God’s money through to support church growth,” Donato said. “It’s my hope that as our church grows, we’ll be able to invest in other churches through this program.”

BFI bonds are sold in $1,000 increments. The Foundation anticipates two or three more church construction loans this fall, and will announce bond issues when the information is available. For more information, go to baptistfoundationil.org.

June Harrison was honored

June 26 by her church, Community Southern Baptist in Clay City, for 80 years of perfect Sunday school attendance. Pastor Dave Starr and the church celebrated Harrison with a reception and gifts, including a copy of “My First Sunday School Book,” published exactly 80 years ago. Upon celebrating her 75th year of perfect attendance, Harrison (pictured above with her slew of perfect attendance pins) told the Illinois Baptist she and her husband, Russell, who passed away in 2001, attended Sunday school even when they were away on vacation.

“I don’t want any glory for myself,” Harrison told the IB in 2011. “It’s God’s blessing to me.”

PAT PAJAK

LAUNCH – Pastor Danny Donato baptizes Reighn Stofferahn at a service celebrating Lighthouse Community Church’s new building.

August 5-6

Coaching Clinic

What: For leaders who want to increase productivity and learn coaching skills

Where: IBSA Building, Springfield Cost: $25, includes Saturday lunch Register: IBSA.org/women

August 16

iConnect: The IBSA/ Pastors Meet-Up

What: Introduction to IBSA staff, ministries, training and opportunities, for pastors and church staff members

Where: IBSA Building, Springfield Info: AlexisDumire@IBSA.org

August 20

IBSA Softball Tournament

Where: Rotary Park, Decatur Info: AlexisDumire@IBSA.org

August 27

Sunday School Resource Conference

What: Grow your church through small groups. See ad, bottom right.

September 10

Church Library Conference

Where: FBC Pinckneyville

Info: DebbieMuller@IBSA.org

September 11-18

Mission Illinois Offering

Web: missionillinois.org

September 17

Living Proof Simulcast

What: Teaching by Bible study leader Beth Moore simulcast from Chicago

Where: IBSA Building, Springfield

Cost: $10 if affiliated with an IBSA church, $15 all others Register: IBSA.org/women

September 23-24

Illinois Changers

What: Hands-on mission projects for students

Where: Lake Sallateeska and Streator Baptist Camps Cost: $25 per person; optional camp lodging is $10 Register: IBSA.org/students

dave says

Big family dynamics

QMy husband and I have seven kids. What parts of your program work best for large families?

AMy entire plan works for a large family. Larger families just have more expenses. What does change—and you already knew this—is that it can be a larger financial burden. This isn’t criticism; it’s just a mathematical fact.

When you kick things into overdrive like you folks have done, two things have happened. One, you’ve extended the time that you’re going to be supporting the kids financially. Two, you’ve got a lot of baby birds to feed and clothe. Unless you have an astronomical income, it slows down the process of hitting financial goals like getting out of debt, because you’ve got a drain on the math side of things. It’s a wonderful drain; it’s a glorious drain; but mathematically speaking where the money is concerned, it’s still a drain.

You really don’t have any choice but to do a budget. Having seven kids doesn’t give you an excuse to live out of control or mean that living out of control without a plan is the definition of success. You’ve got to set more emergency categories aside in your budget. You’ve got to budget heavier for food, medical, transportation and things like that, because you’ve got more things pulling at you— and your money!

Financial advisor Dave Ramsey is a prolific author and radio host.

DAVE RAMSEY

Planning for retirement

QI make $80,000 a year, and I was wondering if there’s an easy way to determine how much money a person would need to live comfortably after retirement.

AA commonsense rule of thumb, if you’ve got your money invested in good growth stock mutual funds, is to pull from those funds at a rate that is lower than which they are growing. Otherwise, you’ll destroy them, right?

I tell folks if they want to pull off 6-8%—I’m comfortable doing 8%—then you’ve got to decide exactly how much you want to live on and what that means for your nest egg. If you want to live on $80,000 a year, it means you have to have a $1 million nest egg. If you want to live on $40,000 a year, then you need a half-million dollar nest egg for what we’re talking about here. To get into that a little bit further, I would advise going to Chris Hogan’s website. He’s got a tool on there that takes just a few minutes, and it will give you exact numbers on what you need to do. It’s ChrisHogan360. com, and the tool is called the R:IQ—your Retire Inspired Quotient.

You can walk through it, and in just a few minutes you’ll know exactly what’s going on and what needs to happen!

TEACHER. SHEPHERD. LEADER.

Sunday School Resource Conference

IBSA Building, Springfield

Saturday, August 27

Time: 8 a.m. Registration

Event: 8:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.

Cost: $10 (lunch & materials)

For more information, call (217) 391-3124; CathyWaters@IBSA.org

Bible study leaders serve more than one role. Here’s fresh insight on teaching and growing your small groups.

“Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God.”

PETER 2:16—

FAITH, FAMILY & FREEDOM FALL BANQUET

Former Presidential Candidate, Retired Congresswoman, Mother of five, & Foster Mom to 23 Children

Church needed here...

Location: Freeport (Stephenson County)

Reaching: African American residents

Characteristics: The community is predominantly Anglo, but approximately 15% of the community is African American. There is only one church in this town.

Prayer needs: Pray that God will call a church planter to reach out to this group with the gospel, and that those reached for Christ will start a new church.

illinois religious landscape

Attendance, belief declining

of adults in Illinois say they believe in God “absolutely” or “fairly” certainly, down from 89%

say they pray at least daily, down from 55%

say they attend church at least weekly, down from 39%

In these dark times

Then Jesus spoke to them again: “I am the light of the world. Anyone who follows Me will never walk in the darkness but will have the light of life.”

(John 8:12)

In the last few months, we’ve seen headline after headline about terror attacks around the globe. And in recent weeks, the violence is in our own nation. My son Ian is at the age where he listens to the news reports that we are watching. Inevitably, the question of why do people do so such terrible things arises. There in the midst of something so horrific is the opportunity to share the gospel truth.

As I seek to answer that question for him, I turn to Jesus’ declaration that he is the light of the world. Jesus makes it clear that those who follow him walk in his glorious light, but for those not following Jesus, they are walking in darkness. This darkness is manifested in the headlines of death and violence. Sin leads to death. Evil is real.

I tell my son the good news that there is hope. Jesus says that we need to follow him. We do that by trusting to him to forgive us of our sins and leading us out of darkness into his marvelous light. Jesus gives life where there is death and light where there is darkness.

PRAYER PROMPT: Lord, in the presence of darkness may we proclaim the good news of the Light of Life through ministry in deeds and words.

Kevin Carrothers serves as pastor of Rochester FBC and President of IBSA.

Pastors, join the IBSA Pastors’ Prayer Room on Facebook. E-mail oweaver7307@ gmail.com.

i lead

Choices for the spiritual leader

Recently I challenged my congregation to give God time equal to the time they spend watching television. According to Nielsen ratings, that is over three hours a day if you are age 2-11, and it increases as you grow older to twice that if you are over 65. After the sermon, one Cardinals fan who happens to be very faithful in Bible study asked, “What about those long innings? Do they count?” Without really thinking, I replied, “You’re going to have to pray that they lose sooner!”

Sorry about that.

As spiritual leaders, it is a nobrainer that we need disciplined guidance from Jesus through prayer and Bible study. If this is going to happen, a spiritual leader must be intentional about four life choices.

1. Time. We have to take something out of our schedule in order to give time to receiving God’s guidance. We must learn to use discretion when prioritizing what is important. Something has to go!

2. Interests. I find that I do not have time for all the things I am interested in doing. I have a woodworking shop I use too little. I continue to buy books when I can’t possibly read what I’ve already purchased. I want to watch all the games, spend all my time with the grandchildren, travel, do multiple mission trips, and still sit on my deck chair enjoying the view. To succeed in giving God time in the Bible and prayer, I must prioritize my interests and put aside or never start some of them. This is the most difficult of the choices that challenge me.

3. Place. Ultimately, I must create a place I can retreat to without regard to outside circumstances, but to get there I must retreat from my circumstances to be with God. A place set aside for personal worship where distractions are limited will save me time and help me get focused more rapidly.

4. Energy. I must give God the time of day that I am the most alert. This varies from person to person and as we age.

Leaders, choose wisely in these areas. Your ability to lead with God’s wisdom and guidance depends on how you prioritize time spent in prayer and reading his Word.

W. Stephen Williams is pastor of Simpson Missionary Baptist Church and an IBSA zone consultant.

KEVIN CARROTHERS

IBSA Softball Tournament