February 27, 2017 Illinois Baptist

Illinois Baptist

This is Us

Nathan Carter’s test for church leaders

BY MEREDITH FLYNN

Springfield | Multiple pregnancy resource centers are suing Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner over a new law they say prohibits free speech and requires them to voice a message about abortion that is directly contrary to their mission. Pro-life advocates also are watching a pending bill that would expand abortion coverage for those on Medicaid and state workers’ health insurance plans.

On Feb. 9, 18 pregnancy resource centers filed for an injunction to avoid being forced to comply with an amendment to the Health Care Right of Conscience Act that was approved by the Illinois General Assembly last year and went into effect January 1. The amendment requires pregnancy centers and pro-life physicians to discuss abortion as a legal treatment option, to talk about its “benefits,” and, if asked, to refer clients to abortion providers, said Attorney Thomas Olp of the Thomas More Society, one of the legal organizations working with pregnancy care centers to fight enforcement of the new law.

For the centers, Olp said, “It’s an interfering by the government with their ability to communicate feely about an important moral issue.” The law also constitutes “viewpoint discrimination,” he added, in that it only regulates the speech of people with a particular viewpoint.

Even for Baptists, growing lostness demands fresh commitment to evangelism

NATE ADAMS

CONVENTIONAL WISDOM

Snapshots from the world of Illinois Baptists

“We live in a dangerous world and affirm the crucial role of government in protecting us from harm and in setting the terms on refugee admissions. However, compassion and security can coexist, as they have for decades.”

– More than 500 evangelical leaders, in a letter concerning President Donald Trump’s recent executive order on immigration

They’re coming to America

The U.S. admitted 85,000 refugees in the 2016 fiscal year, with nearly all of them coming from 10 nations:

Democratic Republic of Congo 19% Syria 15%

Burma 15%

Iraq 12%

Somalia 11%

Bhutan 7%

Iran 4%

Afghanistan 3% Ukraine 3%

Eritrea 2%

Of the refugees admitted to the U.S. last year, 63% were religious majorities in their home countries, while the remaining entered the U.S. as religious minorities. The largest share of those religious minorities—61%—are Christians.

– Pew Research, Feb. 2017

the cooperative program

Giving by IBSA churches as of 2/17/17

$681,897

Budget Goal: $848,077

Received to date in 2016: $702,344

2017 Goal: $6.3 Million

The Illinois Baptist staff

Editor - Eric Reed

Graphic Designer - Kris Kell

Contributing Editor - Lisa Sergent

Editorial Contributor - Meredith Flynn

The general telephone number for IBSA is (217) 786-2600. 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

Protect your church

Each year, we Baptist state executive directors gather with leaders from the national Southern Baptist Convention. We discuss issues of common concern, and exchange both updates and ideas for future ministry and cooperation.

During our time together this year, a couple of the retiring executive directors were asked to speak briefly on “things I wish I had known before I started in this role.” Of course, some of the observations were humorous. But one serious observation resonated deeply with me, and with others.

This western state leader, a returning international missionary, said, “One thing that surprised me was how much time I needed to invest, and how important it is, to help existing churches navigate pastoral leadership changes.”

He then referred to churches that had been “lost” to the Southern Baptist family, or that had closed entirely, when they had not done a careful or wise job selecting their next pastor. In some cases the property had been lost; in others the church had abandoned its Baptist convictions; and in still others churches had deteriorated quickly from a couple of hundred of members to just a handful.

I wish I could say these things don’t happen in Illinois—and they don’t happen frequently—but this fellow executive director’s comments brought to my mind even current examples of churches that are in peril here in Illinois. Most I would have never imagined to be vulnerable to losing their Baptist witness, or the church property for which previous generations have sacrificed. But all it takes is one unhealthy or wrongly motivated leader, invited in by one careless or compromising search and selection process.

What can churches do to protect themselves and their legacy? Two primary things come to mind.

First, whenever your church faces a pastoral leadership transition, invite experienced help from your local or state association. There are proven processes that can be employed, and predictable pitfalls that can be avoided, and you have access to experienced leaders who have been through multiple searches, with multiple churches. Of course, your autonomous church can choose which resources to use, and customize any process to your unique situation. But please take advantage of these free resources that are available to help you make a wise and Spirit-led selection.

Second, there are steps your church can take now, even if you are not facing a pastoral transition, to protect both the assets and the Baptist witness of your church. Your church governance documents, and especially the deed to your property itself, can help ensure that your church sustains its Baptist witness, even if it somehow becomes susceptible to an unhealthy leadership situation.

Once my fellow executive director shared his observation about the vulnerability of churches during leadership transitions, I was surprised how many examples started flowing between the rest of us. One executive director said that his state convention had lost 12 churches during the past year. Another told of messy lawsuits entangling a couple of churches in his state, because an unscrupulous leader was seeking to profit personally from the sale of a church property.

So while this isn’t a particularly uplifting topic to write about, I came back from these conversations committed to doing so. Please make sure your church protects both its Baptist doctrinal commitment and its property and assets from the sometimes unpredictable times and people who would take them in another direction. And please call on us at IBSA to help. As my friend reminded us, protecting the doctrinal integrity and lasting witness of our churches is one of the most important things we do.

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

Congregations are especially vulnerable during leadership change.

From the front: pending house bill also opposed

Continued from page 1

Olp said the government has to have a compelling interest in order to enforce such a law, and the view of the Thomas More Society is that it doesn’t, because information about abortion is readily available. Therefore, the government doesn’t have to compel people to talk about it.

Pregnancy resource centers have already felt the effects of the measure, Olp said. “Some of them have decided not to do sonograms because that’s a medical procedure that clearly is covered by the new law.” Hope Life Center in Sterling, one of the centers represented by the Thomas More Society in a separate lawsuit filed Feb. 2, suspended its medical services at the beginning of the year. Debbie Case, the center’s executive director, posted on its website about the change in operations.

isn’t resolved in their favor, Olp said. Which is exactly what proponents of the bill want, he added.

“It’s a pro-abortion law that wants to stymie and eliminate pregnancy resources centers’ message to women who are considering abortion.”

There are more than 90 pregnancy resource centers across Illinois.

Action urged on HB 40 Lawmakers could vote any time on Illinois House Bill 40, which would allow taxpayer dollars to be used to pay for abortions. If approved, the legislation, sponsored by Rep. Sara Feigenholtz (D-Chicago), would provide abortions for women covered by Medicaid for any reason at any point in their pregnancy. The bill also would allow abortions to be covered under state workers’ health insurance plans.

Current state law only allows Medicaid coverage for “medically necessary” abortions or those in the case of rape, incest, or to protect the life of the mother.

Emily Troscinski, executive director of Illinois Right to Life, estimates that if HB 40 is approved, it could increase the number of abortions in Illinois by 12,000 a year.

The bill also makes wider, more sweeping provisions about abortion:

• Allows abortion to remain legal in Illinois should the U.S. Supreme Court overturn Roe vs. Wade, and

landmark decisions

‘Roe’ repented

Katy, Texas | Norma McCorvey, better known to the world as “Jane Roe,” died Feb. 19 at age 69. McCorvey was 22 years old when she became the center of the U.S. abortion debate, and the decision by the Supreme Court to legalize it nationwide.

McCorvey later became a Christian and spent the rest of her life fighting to get Roe v. Wade overturned. In 1995, a prolife group moved in next door to the abortion center where she was working. The group’s founder, a Free Methodist pastor, built a relationship with McCorvey and eventually baptized her.

When McCorvey was 55, she filed an affidavit to reopen the case. “It is my participation in this case that began the tragedy,” she wrote in the affidavit, “and it is with great hope that I now seek to end the tragedy I began.”

– Info from World magazine

Mo. governor to fight abortion ‘sanctuary’

“We see any compliance with this law as morally abhorrent and have determined to obey God rather than man,” Case said. “The law is unclear on what the penalties are for non-compliance (and even what constitutes compliance), but it’s reasonable to expect that if a complaint is filed against our organization we will be fined $10,000 per violation and (even more troubling) our medical personnel will be subject to the scrutiny of the state licensing board and may even lose their licenses.”

Last December, several pro-life health care providers won an injunction against enforcement of the law. Olp said they hope for a hearing and decision on the current case within a month; an injunction would stay the law until resolution of the lawsuit, which could take another year or so, he said.

Because the pregnancy centers are not willing to comply with the law, they won’t be able to continue to operate if the lawsuit

• Removes language from Illinois law that states “the unborn child is a human being from the time of conception…and is entitled to the right to life from conception.”

“We have to ask ourselves what kind of cultural narrative this is creating in Illinois,” Troscinski said. An unborn child is considered a person in homicide laws, she explained, but now some are pushing to take that provision out when it refers to abortion.

Rep. Sheri Jesiel (R-Winthrop Harbor) told the State Journal-Register she takes “great exception to the section that removes the personhood of a baby.” Jesiel is a member of the Human Services Committee, which approved HB 40 by a 7-5 vote on Feb. 8.

The bill currently is awaiting a full vote by the Illinois House of Representatives. Illinois Right to Life is encouraging people to contact their state representatives and urge them to vote “no” on the bill.

Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens has pledged to lead a fight to repeal a bill passed by the St. Louis Board of Aldermen essentially making St. Louis a “sanctuary city” for abortion, with critics contending it threatens the religious freedom of citizens and institutions opposing it. Known as Board Bill 203, it places pregnancy and reproductive health—including the decision to abort a child— alongside already protected classes such as race, gender, religion and disability in St. Louis’ anti-discrimination ordinance.

According to LifeNews.com, Missouri Right to Life has warned the bill could force landlords to rent property to abortion providers or abortion advocacy groups and to punish employers, including religious organizations, who refuse to hire someone who publicly supports abortion. “We must protect people of faith and we must protect the unborn,” Greitens told the Missouri Baptist newspaper, The Pathway “We must win this and I am proud to lead the fight on this issue.”

– Info from Baptist Press

WINDY CITY RALLY – Chicago’s annual pro-life demonstration drew 6,000 people to downtown streets on January 15.

MCCORVEY

GREITENS

Lent’s evangelical appeal

Renewing the church

God’s glory is focus of conference for pastors

A new survey by LifeWay Research found 28% of Americans who observe Lent have evangelical beliefs. Catholics are most likely to observe the 40-day season focused on personal devotion that precedes Easter, but LifeWay Research’s Scott McConnell said Lent has appeal for evangelicals too, if not for the broader population. The survey found 76% of Americans say they don’t typically observe Lent.

“Lent is not about having your best life now,” McConnell said. “Those who observe it believe they are giving up things they want in order to focus on what God wants. There’s little popular appeal in that.”

Of those who do observe Lent, giving up a favorite food or beverage tops the list of ways to mark the season. On a regional note, in the Midwest, Lent observers are more likely to use the season to pray more (52%) than those in the Northeast (29%) or South (35%).

Faith themes hit multiplex

Easter usually brings new life to the box office, at least in the form of movies that seek to appeal to Christians. Two films set to be released this spring fit that bill.

“The Case for Christ,” based on journalist Lee Strobel’s 1998 book about his search for spiritual truth, hits theaters April 7. “In the end, it’s our hope that everyone who sees it will take their own faith journey,” Strobel told USA Today

“The Shack,” out March 3, promises more controversy, especially for some Christian audiences.

The film, based on a 2007 novel by William Paul Young, features three characters who portray the members of the Trinity, including two women.

– LifeWay Research, USA Today

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

Springfield | Pastors are invited to a one-day retreat this spring focused on bringing new life to churches in new of renewal. IBSA’s Church Revitalization Retreat will be held at the association’s two camp facilities: Lake Sallateeska in Pinckneyville on March 31, and Streator Baptist camp on April 1.

Mark Clifton, senior director of church replanting at the North American Mission Board, will lead pastors in a study of how the church can reclaim its glory. Clifton, author of the book “Reclaiming Glory,” will share his most recent church revitalization experience at Wornall Road Baptist Church in Kansas City. Following Clifton’s presentation, the retreat will include a Q&A with pastors who have led their churches through revitalization.

“Any church can experience revitalization if the congregation answers this one question: ‘What will bring God glory?’” said Sylvan Knobloch, IBSA’s director of church health. “Answering this question will guide the church to experience renewal.

“The Church Revitalization Retreat will focus on how we can lead our people to explore what it means for our congregation to glorify God.”

Each retreat begins at 8:30 a.m. and concludes at 4 p.m. The events are free for pastors; meals are included. For more information, contact Knobloch at SylvanKnobloch@ IBSA.org or (217) 391-3133.

Uniquely designed for ministry

Ministers’ wives to ‘discover their influence’ at annual retreat Springfield | It’s a job that doesn’t really come with a clear job description, said IBSA’s Carmen Halsey.

“Most women wearing the title of ‘minister’s wife’ have never completed orientation for the role,” said Halsey, director of women’s ministry and missions and a minister’s wife herself. “Although there are commonalities to the role, the work that God has planned to do through a minister’s wife has been choreographed just for her. But she has to recognize and believe that.”

On March 24-25, Halsey’s team will lead IBSA ministers’ wives to do just that. The annual Ministers’ Wives’ Retreat at the IBSA Building in Springfield will explore the theme “Discovering Your GodGiven Influence.”

“This year’s retreat will focus on the minister’s wife as an individual—her design, her gifts, and her strengths,” Halsey said. “Each woman has influence, but sometimes it hides

under the busyness of life. Together we will discover our God-given influence and learn practical ways to enhance and live out that influence.”

Diane Nix, a speaker and minister’s wife from New Orleans, will lead the retreat. “Diane’s passion is walking alongside an individual to help them see that God’s grace is enough and that he has a specific plan for their life,” Halsey said. “She will teach us about the spiritual disciplines and how we should be using them in our personal lives to leave feelings of defeat behind, and step forward living life worthy of our calling.”

The cost is $20 for meals and conference only; $55 for meals, conference, and double-occupancy hotel lodging; and $95 for meals, conference, and a private room. The retreat hotel is the Hampton Inn located directly across from IBSA. For more information and to register, go to IBSA.org/women.

NIX

Among Americans who observe Lent

Gaines addresses controversy

Platt apologizes, Texas megachurch withholds funds

Controversies involving the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC), the International Mission Board (IMB), and the Trump administration arose at an annual meeting of SBC state convention executive directors and Southern Baptist newspaper editors in mid-February.

While SBC President Steve Gaines addressed the issues and IMB’s David Platt offered an apology of sorts at the metro Los Angeles meeting, Texas pastor Jack Graham announced his church will escrow it’s million-dollar Cooperative Program offering over concerns about the Convention’s direction.

Apology for mosque support

“I apologize to Southern Baptists for how distracting and divisive this has been,” Platt said when he met later with Baptist state paper editors.

“I can say with full confidence that in the days ahead, IMB will have a process in place to keep us focused on our primary mission: partnering with churches to empower limitless missionary teams for evangelizing, discipling, planting and multiplying healthy churches, and training leaders among unreached peoples and places for the glory of God.”

The apology occurred amid ongoing discussion of an amicus curiae (“friend of the court”) brief supporting the Islamic Society of Basking Ridge, New Jersey (ISBR) in its religious discrimination lawsuit against a local planning board.

In December, U.S. district Judge Michael Shipp ruled the Planning Board of Bernards Township, N.J., violated federal law when it required ISBR to include more than twice as much parking in its site plan for a proposed mosque as it required for Christian and Jewish worship places.

In his ruling, Shipp acknowledged the amicus brief, stating it “supports” the ISBR’s arguments that unlawful religious discrimination occurred.

Platt added, “I am grieved how the amicus brief in the recent mosque case has been so divisive and distracting. And my purpose in bringing it up here is not to debate religious liberty, but to simply say that I really do want IMB to be focused on [its] mission statement.”

Tennessee pastor Dean Haun resigned as an IMB trustee in November because he said joining the brief did not comport with IMB’s mission and could be viewed as an improper alliance with followers of a religion that denies the gospel.

Gaines said he believes IMB President Platt would possibly think twice before the mission board enters such a case. “You may not agree with his theology but he has no arrogance whatsoever in his heart. I really don’t think he would have signed the docu-

ment [favoring government permission for the construction of the mosque] if he knew the ramifications.”

The ERLC was previous criticized by some SBC pastors for joining the mosque case based on first amendment rights. ERLC

President Russell Moore was also criticized for anti-Trump remarks during the election. Gaines said he hopes there would be less divisive talk coming out of the ERLC. In a question-and-answer session Gaines (pictured at the Ontario, Calif. meeting), told editors he voted for Trump as president because of his pro-life stance. “Overall I’m pleased with the appointments; they are better than what we could have had [with Hillary Clinton],” Gaines said. The pastor of the Memphis-area Bellevue Baptist Church also agreed with Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch’s view to interpret the Constitution “the way it was written, not rewrite it.”

“A lot of people like me chose the candidate who was more friendly to pro-life [causes] and marriage between one man and one woman,” Gaines said. “I do not support many of the things Trump has said, especially what he has said about women. But he was the best choice that we had [in this election].”

Prestonwood escrows CP

Texas megachurch Prestonwood Baptist’s decision to escrow gifts previously forwarded through the Cooperative Program was announced Feb. 16. Mike Buster, executive pastor for the Plano, Texas, church, wrote that the action was taken because of “various significant positions taken by the leadership of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission that do not reflect the beliefs and values of many in the Southern Baptist Convention,” and that it’s a temporary move.

The decision impacts $1 million the 41,000-member congregation would otherwise contribute through the Cooperative Program.

But Graham subsequently described to the (Louisiana) Baptist Message an “uneasiness” among church leaders about the “disconnect between some of our denominational leaders and our churches.”

“I’m not angry at the SBC, and neither are our people,” Graham said, “and I’m not working to start a movement to fire anyone. We’re just concerned about the direction of the Southern Baptist Convention, and feel the need to make some changes in the way we give.”

Moore told Baptist Press, “I love and respect Jack Graham and Prestonwood Baptist Church. This is a faithful church with gifted leaders and a long history of vibrant ministry working and witnessing for Christ.”

– Reporting by Baptist Press, Georgia Christian Index, and Louisiana Baptist Message

Culture Watch

Pastors may counsel against homosexuality

Federal Judge Ronald Guzman ruled Feb. 16 pastors are not subject to the Illinois’ Youth Mental Health Protection Act that went into effect Jan. 1, 2016. The Act reads, “No person or entity may, in the conduct of trade or commerce, use or employ any deception, fraud…in offering conversion therapy services in a manner that represents homosexuality as a mental disease, disorder, or illness.”

According to the Chicago law firm, Mauck & Baker, LLC, the plaintiffs, a group of five Illinois pastors and two church associations, argued the ambiguous language threatened their ability to counsel homosexual conduct is a sin, because counseling is considered part of the duties for which they are compensated. The court ruled the law does not apply to pastors because such counseling is not in trade or commerce, saying, “the ordinary meaning of these terms [trade or commerce] does not suggest they apply to private religious counseling.”

School restroom challenge dropped

The girls’ room will be for girls, now that the Trump administration said it will not challenge a current policy that requires students nationwide to use bathrooms that correspond to their biological gender, rather than their gender identity.

More than a dozen states filed suit last year after the Obama administration introduced guidelines to expand facility access for transgender students. A Texas judge issued an injunction, but the Obama administration appealed the decision and argued that the injunction ought to only affect the states involved in the lawsuit. On Feb. 10, Trump’s Justice Department announced they would not challenge the injunction; two weeks later Press Secretary Sean Spicer told reporters the administration will release “further guidance” on the issue.

Florist will take liberty case to highest court

The Washington Supreme Court upheld a lower court ruling

Feb. 16 convicting

Barronelle Stutzman of violating the federal and state civil rights of Robert Ingersoll and Curt Freed when she refused to design floral arrangements for their same-sex wedding nearly four years ago. The Southern Baptist grandmother remains liable for the plaintiffs’ attorney fees and damages but will appeal the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court.

– Press release from Mauck & Baker, LLC, The New York Times, Baptist Press Get breaking news in The Briefing online, posted every Tuesday at www.ib2news.org.

GAINES

reporter’s notebook sound off

Should congress ‘fix’ the Johnson Amendment?

YES: “As a minister who has experienced intimidation from the IRS firsthand, I know just how important it is to ensure that our churches and nonprofit organizations are allowed the same fundamental rights as every citizen of this great nation.”

– Rep. Jody Hice, Ga., co-sponsor of the legislation and former Southern Baptist pastor (Baptist Press 2/3/17)

NO: “Politicizing churches does them no favors. The promised repeal is an attack on the integrity of both our charitable organizations and campaign finance system.”

– Amanda Tyler, Baptist Joint Committee (Huffington Post 2/2/17)

YES: “The First Amendment of our Bill of Rights, the first right granted expressively and clearly by our founding fathers was the right to the free exercise of religion, and I think it’s important to note that it’s not just somewhere in the Bill of Rights, it’s at the beginning, the first right to be protected.”

– Jordan Sekulow, American Center for Law & Justice (VOA News 2/8/17)

NO: “Muslims would have to be included. How comfortable would those conservatives now campaigning for repeal of the Johnson law be if some imams began preaching death to America and endorsing Muslim candidates for political office?”

– Conservative columnist Cal Thomas opposing repeal (Washington Times 2/6/17)

Free speech for churches

The old adage says there are three things you should never talk about in polite company—money, religion, and politics. We already break two of those three rules every Sunday in church. Are we ready to break the third—politics?

The Free Speech Fairness Act was introduced the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives Feb. 1. The bill doesn’t repeal the Johnson Amendment, which limits chuch involvement in politics, but offers what Alliance Defending Freedom calls a “relief valve”—“as you carry out the mission of your church, you would have the right to speak freely on all matters of life, including candidates and elections.” Most importantly it maintains the prohibition against churches and other 501(c)(3) organizations from donating money to candidates and political campaigns.

The Johnson Amendment became part of the U.S. tax code in 1954 when then Senator Lyndon Johnson successfully restricted taxexempt organizations, including churches, from endorsing or opposing political candidates under penalty of losing their tax-exempt status.

President Donald Trump discussed eliminating the amendment numerous times

throughout his campaign and most recently at the National Prayer Breakfast Feb. 2. “[Thomas] Jefferson asked, can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed a conviction that these liberties are the gift of God,” Trump said. “Among those freedoms is the right to worship according to our own beliefs. That is why I will get rid of and totally destroy the Johnson Amendment and allow our representatives of faith to speak freely and without fear of retribution. I will do that, remember.”

The question is, are churches ready for this? The pastor of the small church I grew up in was not shy about sharing his political views. He shared from the pulpit who he was voting for in the presidential election, and told congregants they could vote for whomever they wanted, just go vote. I remember as a middle-schooler being shocked, not so much by his action, but by the person he was voting for on election day. His candidate lost, there was no outcry in the church, and the IRS never came knocking on our church doors.

Not all pastors and congregants want to discuss politics within the church walls, but, if passed, the Free Speech Fairness Act would give those who want to the freedom to do so.

JOHNSON

– Lisa Sergent

IN FOCUS

Raising baptism

As rates continue to decline, can evangelism as a lifestyle make a comeback—and make the difference?

BY MEREDITH FLYNN

Illinois | Until recently, the man who accepted Christ at Cross Church a few weeks ago was a skeptic. He was moral and hard-working, said Pastor Tim Rhodus, but he just didn’t buy into Christianity. But a few weeks ago, he came to a point of personal faith.

“It wasn’t an evangelistic message in that guy’s case,” Rhodus said. “It was two-and-a-half years of authentic living in front of him, [so] that he saw it was real.”

At Rhodus’ church, which has campuses in Carlinville, Staunton, and Hettick, evangelism is a way of life—of living, actually. Cross Church offers evangelism training a few times a year where participants learn tools to share their faith, but mostly, they’re encouraged to reflect Christ in their everyday lives.

“It’s not a gimmick or a program,” Rhodus said. “It’s normal people choosing to reflect Jesus in their normal lives. And then God uses that to draw people to himself.

“All you have to do is just not be afraid to have the conversation.”

According to a 2016 survey by LifeWay Research, 79% of unchurched Americans say they don’t mind if their friends talk to them about their faith. But only about one-third of unchurched people say they’d go to a worship service if a friend invited them.

As people grow less and less connected with the church as an institution, the numbers show that churches are finding it more difficult to reach people with the gospel. IBSA churches baptized 3,953 people in 2016, a decrease of 10% from the

Chilly Jordan

In the Jordan River where Jesus was baptized, Pastor Sammy Simmons of Immanuel Baptist Church in Benton baptizes Don Cruz, a deacon at his church.

On page 1

Simmons baptizes Pastor Adron Robinson of Hillcrest Baptist Church in Country Club Hills while Pastor Brian McWethy of Grace Fellowship in Amboy looks on. They were on a tour of Israel led by IBSA’s Pat Pajak.

More photos from Israel and a story will be featured in the March 20 issue of the Illinois Baptist

– photos by Lindsay McDonald

Stirring the waters

From local associations across Illinois, these churches celebrated significant increases in baptisms from 2015 to 2016

Pelley Road Christian Fellowship

Rockford | North Central

From 7 to 9

Trinity Baptist Church

Lyndon | Sinnissippi

From 0 to 6

River Terrace Baptist Church

Edelstein | Metro Peoria

From 0 to 10

First Baptist Church

Joy | Quad Cities

From 0 to 8

Community Baptist Church Dawson | Heartland

From 7 to 19

Charity Southern Baptist Church

Greenfield | Sandy Creek

From 0 to 4

Charity Baptist Church

Carlinville | Macoupin

From 1 to 11

Bayle City Baptist Church

Ramsey | Rehoboth

From 9 to 28

New Life Community Baptist Church

East St. Louis | Metro East

From 27 to 95

First Southern Baptist Church

Flora | Kaskaskia

From 1 to 7

Steeleville Baptist Church

Steeleville | Nine Mile

From 14 to 28

Transformation Church

Lake Villa | Lake County

From 3 to 11

Westview Baptist Church

Shorewood | Three Rivers

From 0 to 14

Whittington Baptist Church

Whittington | Franklin

From 6 to 25

Cornerstone Community

Marion | Williamson

From 35 to 47

First Baptist Church

Tamms | Clear Creek

From 0 to 7

Iglesia Bautista Betel

Berwyn | Fox Valley

From 8 to 19

Vale Church

Bloomington | East Central

From 73 to 86

Strong Tower Baptist Church

Flora | Louisville

From 0 to 7

Marshall Missionary

Baptist Church

Marshall | Westfield

From 8 to 23

Hidalgo Baptist Church

Hidalgo | Palestine

From 0 to 8

Logan Street Baptist Church

Mt. Vernon | Salem South

From 2 to 13

McKinley Avenue Baptist Church

Harrisburg | Saline

From 8 to 18

First Baptist Church

Vienna | Union

From 6 to 15

Top IBSA churches in total baptisms

Continued from page 7

previous year. And 352 churches reported no baptisms for the year.

“This is the lead strategic concern we should have as we try to help churches,” IBSA Executive Director Nate Adams said of the decline in baptisms.

While possible solutions abound, Rhodus and other leaders have seen people come to Christ through lifestyle-oriented evangelism, a method which has gotten a bad rap when used an excuse to not have difficult conversations. But Rhodus explained Cross Church’s philosophy this way: If you’re a mom, you don’t have to fake being a mom. You are a mom wherever you go. You talk openly about it, you’re proud of it. It’s who you are.

“How we try to teach it here is that following Christ ought to be just as authentic.”

More talk and more action

The decline in baptisms isn’t just a problem in Illinois. Nationally, baptisms in Southern Baptist churches fell 3.3% in 2016 from the previous year, and the total has fallen eight of the last 10 years, according to data from LifeWay Christian Resources. In an informal Twitter survey last summer, LifeWay President Thom Rainer asked why many churches are less evangelistic than they once were. The top response: “Christians have no sense of urgency to reach lost people.”

Tim Rhodus agrees. “If people aren’t coming to Christ, we should be broken-hearted,” he said. “If there’s a budget crisis (at the church), we call a timeout and have big meetings about budget crises. We don’t have big meetings [if] nobody got baptized in a while, because nobody wants to own that.”

But owning up to the evangelism crisis is exactly what Christians are called to do, said Levi Hart, pastor of Ignite Church in Breese. His church baptized 16 people last year while meeting in a bar in Hart’s hometown. “We’ve got some excited people,” Hart said of his congregation, and they’re excited about making disciples.

Hart pointed to Jesus’ example in the New Testament. “His absolute focus was bringing people to himself.” After Jesus met the Samaritan woman at the well, he told his disciples, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me

and to accomplish his work” (John 4:34).

“I think it starts with (church) leadership being in that place as well,” Hart said. “‘Bringing people to Jesus is my food, it’s my sustenance, it’s the way I will spiritually thrive.’”

Gospel conversations

Even with an evangelism method focused on living out one’s faith naturally, it can be difficult to know what to talk about when the opportunity arises. Hart encourages people to start with their own story.

“Our testimony should be the easiest story we know how to tell,” he said. “It should be like the back of our hand.” And not just the moment we were saved, Hart said, but how God led us to that moment, and what he’s done in our lives since then.

And sometimes, an evangelistic encounter starts with a simple question, said Associate Executive Director Pat Pajak, who directs IBSA’s evangelism efforts.

“My wife and I have always made it a practice when we go out to dinner to say to the waitress, ‘Hey we’re going to pray for our meal in just a minute. How can we pray for you today?’” That’s one way to do lifestyle evangelism, which Pajak also calls “conversational evangelism.”

“You start a conversation with someone and you make it plain that you are a Christian and that you have a concern for that person. It’s the way I live my life publicly before somebody else so that they say, ‘There’s something that they have that I want in my life.’”

While evangelism tools and training resources can be helpful, when an opportunity is presented to share the gospel, a memorized presentation isn’t required, Pajak said.

“I’ve used part of the Roman Road, along with the F.A.I.T.H. presentation, a few things I learned from Evangelism Explosion, and some Continuous Witness Training. In other words, you don’t need a canned approach that’s been carefully memorized, but

Continued on page 10

Diagnostic questions

To kindle revival in leaders

If you’re a church leader, you’re responsible for modeling evangelism for your congregation. Maybe asking these questions will challenge you to be more evangelistic:

1. Am I broken over lostness? Paul was willing to be accursed so others might be saved (Rom 9:3). That kind of burden results in evangelistic leaders.

2. Was I more evangelistic earlier in my spiritual journey? Our evangelistic fire often burns most brightly during the first months after our conversion. The problem is that most of us are far from those days—and too far from that fire.

3. What keeps me from doing evangelism today? Honest evaluation is a good start toward improvement.

4. What are the names of the nonbelievers for whom I am praying regularly? Your prayer life is a starting place to determine your evangelistic passion.

5. What intentional connections am I making with nonbelievers? It’s so easy for church leaders to get cocooned in the church world that we must intentionally choose to connect with unbelievers.

6. How many genuine friendships with nonbelievers do I have? We won’t reach nonbelievers if we don’t really know any of them.

7. When was the last time I personally shared the gospel with someone? A mentor once challenged me to tell the good news to somebody at least once a week. That’s a good start.

8. Have I limited my evangelism to talking only with nonbelievers who come to me? It happens to most of us— we proclaim the gospel from the pulpit or in our office, and we fail to initiate evangelism in the street.

9. Do my church members and friends know my conversion story? Many church members don’t know the testimony of their closest friends in the church. If we don’t even tell our story to other believers, we’re not likely to tell it to the lost world.

10. Will I intentionally tell somebody about Jesus today? Your answer to this question will determine what you do with this post.

Chuck Lawless currently serves as Professor of Evangelism and Missions at Southeastern Seminary. You can connect with him on Twitter @Clawlessjr and on Facebook at facebook.com/CLawless.

Top IBSA churches in total baptisms per member

COME TO THE WATER – Brian McWethy, an IBSA zone consultant and pastor of Grace Fellowship, Amboy, baptizes his daughter Brianna in the Jordan River during a recent tour of Israel.

rather a desire to help those who’ve never heard the story of why Jesus died and rose from the dead, and how he can change their life for all eternity.”

At Cross Church, Tim Rhodus encourages his church members to live evangelistically by authentically, accurately representing Christ. “You be you,” he advises them. “Let Jesus be himself in and through you. And then all the other things fall into place.” After all, the man who recently came to faith at Cross Church was drawn by watching the Christians around him live authentically.

“Increasing baptisms is more about the spiritual temperature in the room,” Rhodus said, “and whether the people are good reflections of [Christ] from Monday to Saturday.”

Our ultimate purpose

A 2012 LifeWay Research survey found that while 80% of people who attend church at least once a month believe they have a personal responsibility to share their faith, 61% had not told someone how to become a Christian in the previous six months. And 48% hadn’t invited anyone to church in the same time period.

While a pastor isn’t solely responsible for reinvigorating evangelism in his church, he does have an integral part to play, Pajak said. He gave an example of pastor who’s able to stand before his church on Sunday morning as a couple walks down the aisle who he personally led to Christ. As pastors are engaged in evangelism and modeling it before their congregations, it sends a message to their congregation.

“Can you imagine what would happen if we had a couple of thousand people in our churches spread out all across Illinois who took this thing seriously—the Great Commission—and really began to share their faith with friends and neighbors and co-workers and family members? What a difference that could make evangelistically, and in baptisms in our churches,” Pajak said.

Rhodus, whose church has grown from 90 people to more than 600 in his 17-year tenure, said the authenticity he thinks is so crucial to reaching people with the gospel starts at the top. Like the apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians: “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.”

A church follows its pastor’s example, Rhodus said, and churches that see lives transformed by the gospel are led by pastors who radiate that.

Before he planted Ignite Church in Breese, Levi Hart reconnected with a high school friend whom he started discipling. The man is now the discipleship director for Ignite.

“He is all about discipleship,” Hart said. “He wants to see people not just get saved, but discipled and grown up (in their faith).”

That example brings him great joy, Hart said, because the mission of making disciples is a Christian’s ultimate purpose, and therefore the thing that brings the most fulfillment. When pastors and leaders communicate that to their congregations, the excitement is contagious.

“I really think it comes down to this very simple, basic thing,” Hart said. “Each one of us living our life on mission, and that being not just taught, but lived out.”

How to set your church on fire

Hint: It’s not how we used to do it

In a post-Christian era, the average person isn’t drawn to church by good music or preaching, says Pastor Levi Hart of Ignite Church, a new congregation in Breese. And according to a 2016 LifeWay Research survey, many aren’t drawn to church at all, at least on Sunday mornings. Twothirds (66%) of unchurched Americans said they would be unlikely or extremely unlikely to attend a worship service if someone they knew invited them.

That presents a different challenge than 25 years ago, when, Hart said, more people were willing to check out a church based on its worship service.

It’s not that people aren’t willing to talk about spiritual things, according to the LifeWay study. Of those surveyed, a large majority (79%) said they don’t mind if their friends talk about their faith. But they may prefer to see it lived out at a community-minded event or project, rather than in a worship service.

When they are invited to church, a personal touch works best for most people. Half of unchurched Americans say a personal invitation from a friend or family member would be effective in getting them to visit a church. Other methods, such as a church member knocking on the door (21%), a TV commercial (23%), postcard (23%) or Facebook ad (18%), are less effective.

MISSION

With over 269 million lost people, North America and its major cities are among the most spiritually dark places in the world. The North American Mission Board’s Annie Armstrong Easter Offering changes lives forever by empowering missionaries to bring the gospel to the lost.

Go to anniearmstrong.com for more resources for this year’s Offering and Week of Prayer, including:

New church, new purpose

Canadian pastor rediscovers joy leading church plant

BY JIM BURTON

Videos about people who have met Christ through the ministry of missionaries and churches like Resonate Church in Ellensburg, Washington.

Mission study materials for adults, teens, and children, and missions-focused sermon helps.

Editor’s note: The Annie Armstrong Easter Offering and Week of Prayer supports missionaries serving through the North American Mission Board, including Garth and Patty Leno in Canada. This year’s Week of Prayer is March 5-12.

Windsor, Ontario | John D’Antonio’s family knew that his four-year battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig’s Disease, would soon be over. Many of his Italian-Canadian family and friends had gathered in his Windsor hospital room to say goodbye to the 30-year-old father and husband.

The stories of missionaries like Dan and Amanda Coleman (above), who, as New Englanders themselves, planted Kennebec Community Church in Maine to reach people in one of the country’s least-religious regions.

Annie Armstrong Offering posters and planning guide.

Bulletin inserts about each Week of Prayer missionary, prayer guides in six languages, and a downloadable prayer reminder bookmark.

Just before John’s diagnosis four years earlier, his family had moved next door to Garth and Patty Leno (pictured above with their daughter, Jamie). Leno was the pastor of one of Windsor’s largest churches, and John’s mother, Italian immigrant Elena, was a faithful member. On this most difficult of days, the family called Leno.

Leno arrived at the Windsor hospital around 11 p.m. and entered a packed hospital room. The family had requested a reduction in morphine so that John could communicate with them. John’s wife, Mary Anne, gave permission for Leno to be alone with her husband.

“Could I just have the room with John for a few minutes, please,” Leno had asked. John couldn’t talk and he was having

trouble breathing.

“John, if you can hear me just squeeze my fingers,” Leno said, then felt pressure from John’s weakened hands.

“John, I’m not going to waste any time because there is no time to waste. I just want to talk to you about heaven.”

Leno then explained the gospel, God’s grace toward us, the plan of salvation, and that it’s available to any man or woman at any stage of life.

“Do you believe this?”

John squeezed Leno’s hand.

“Can I pray with you and for you to trust in Christ alone for your salvation?”

John again squeezed Leno’s hand.

When Leno said “Amen,” the room was full again. One by one, family and friends had slipped quietly back into the room, standing behind him. They heard John’s declaration of faith through the prayer.

When he was serving as the senior pastor of a large church in the city, Leno could have dispatched any one of his 20 staff members to the hospital that night. Now, as the pastor of a Canadian National Baptist Convention church plant called The Gathering, he has only two additional staff.

“One of the most delightful things that has happened to me is that I’ve rediscovered what shepherding is all about,” Leno said of The Gathering. “When you are planting

Continued on page 12

Continued from page 11

a church and making disciples, you get to see lifechange happen up close. I wouldn’t change that for anything. Church planting has helped me rediscover what it means to be a shepherd and really take care of the flock.”

‘How can we help?’

Garth and his wife, Patty, spent more than 30 years serving churches in a denomination that began to alter important doctrinal positions and has seen no net gains in Canadian churches in many years. Then, during a three-month sabbatical, struggles within the church erupted that eventually led to Leno’s departure.

He could have turned in any number of directions. The child of an alcoholic mother and a “weekend drunk” father, he grew up feeling rejected and lonely. Despite his genetic predisposition for alcoholism, he joined other teenagers as a high school student and began getting drunk on weekends.

“The shadows grew very long and I lost my way,” Leno said.

After high school, he met a girl from a Christian home. As he spent time with the family, he saw parents who were “rock-solid believers in Jesus,” and he knew they had something he wanted. After 13 months, the girl’s mother explained the plan of salvation.

“That afternoon I trusted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior,” Leno said of his 1976 decision.

More than 35 years later, he found himself in yet another lonely place. He never expected that church planting would be so difficult and isolating. With his wife, Garth started a Saturday night Bible study mostly with people who were “disillusioned with church.” What started in their home in September 2013 soon moved to a local golf clubhouse, and before long they had outgrown the place.

“Maybe we should start a church,” Leno joked one evening. He did not expect the overwhelming response. Everyone agreed they should. Someone said, “Whenever you are ready, we are ready.”

When their close friends made that offer, Patty began sobbing as wounds from their last church were still fresh. “Seriously—planting a church was the last thing we wanted to do,” Garth said. “But it was obviously the first thing that God had in mind for us.”

Leno had no job leads—secular or ministerial—when he met Wayne Parker, pastor of Merriman Road Baptist Church in Garden City, Michigan, just across the Detroit River from Windsor, the southernmost city in Canada. Parker is the North American Mission Board (NAMB) Send Detroit City Missionary. Parker knew about Leno’s Bible study, and had one question, “How can we help you?”

Leno wasn’t sure what help Parker could offer, but he was quite sure he didn’t want to associate with another denomination. Yet Leno also connected with Andrew Lamme, the Canadian National Baptist Convention’s lead church planting catalyst for Southern Ontario. Multiple telephone calls of encouragement to the Lenos soon followed, along with e-mails, and offers of help, something they rarely received in more than 30 years with the other denomination. He also began to receive valuable resources, training, and mentoring through NAMB’s Send North America initiative and other Southern Baptist church planters.

With counsel from Parker, Lamme and others, and through an affiliation with Canadian convention, Annie Armstrong Easter Offering (AAEO) funds soon helped Leno and his following of “disengaged and disenfranchised” people secure and renovate a warehouse for The Gathering. The Gathering is also part of Send Detroit, NAMB’s church planting strategy for the metro area surrounding the city.

Soaking it all in

Leno now knows that The Gathering was an atypical church plant as the core group had already gathered. Though he has a lifetime of pastoral experience, he’s now an enthusiastic student of church planting, even working toward a master’s degree in church planting at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, N.C.

“I’m learning as much as I can about church planting,” Leno said. “I’m like a sponge.”

He’s learning about creating an invitational culture, sparking evangelism, transformational discipleship, hosting summer camps, and mobilizing mission teams to help The Gathering conduct the camps.

“We’re talking about intentionally engaging this city with the gospel,” Leno said.

God is doing something so special among his weekly 220 attendees that one senior pastor from a large sending church in Tennessee said, “I’d like to take some of The Gathering back home.”

Starting a Baptist church may have been foreign to Leno several years ago, but his church is on board now, particularly with missions giving. In its first year, The Gathering collected $9,350 for the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering for North American missions. The second year resulted in more than $13,000 given to North American missions through the offering.

The Gathering is now assisting other church plants and plans to sponsor one soon in a nearby town. The shepherd loves his flock and wants his church to be a church planting church.

Meanwhile, he enjoys the changes God has allowed him to experience through church planting. “I have become much more kingdom-focused,” Leno said. “I’ve become much more gospel centered. Discipleship is key. Prayer has become more valuable to me. It’s a more important tool in the toolkit than it has ever been before.”

– Story and photos from the North American Mission Board

‘GATHERING’ PLACE – Pastor Garth Leno (right) baptizes a new believer at a church plant in Windsor, Ontario.

5 centuries later, 5 beliefs still matter

At our church we have a questionnaire that anyone who desires to be an elder has to fill out. One of the questions is, “What are the five solas of the Reformation and would you be willing to be burned alive at the stake for holding these?” We strongly believe these rallying cries of the Reformation are still just as needed today as they were 500 years ago.

Before returning to Germany and facing his eventual martyrdom at the hands of the Nazis, theologian and pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer lived for a time in the United States. His assessment of the religious scene here was “Protestantism without Reformation.” This critique still largely holds true. We may not be Roman Catholic, but might some of the same problems that precipitated the Reformation in 16th century Europe be present in 21st century evangelicalism? I am afraid so.

The five solas provide a helpful grid for assessing the American church’s current spiritual climate and guide us in how to pray and work for revival.

Sola Scriptura (Scripture alone)

I think there are many churches who say on paper that they believe the Bible to be the inspired, inerrant, authoritative, sufficient Word of God. But in practice, you cannot tell. Scripture does not saturate their worship services. The sermon is cut short and full of stories and tips instead of exposition and proclamation of the whole counsel of God. The Word is not trusted to grow the church, but rather we look to and lean on techniques and tricks. Science is respected over Scripture, psychology prized over theology, experience trusted over exegesis. And many church-goers today are as biblically illiterate as they were in the Middle Ages.

Sola Fide (faith alone)

If we gave Southern Baptist church-goers a test with this true or false question—“People get into heaven by doing good”—I imagine a majority would know enough to say FALSE. But that doesn’t mean they could pass an essay question on what justification by faith entails.

We may have simply lowered the bar or tried to lighten the law, but we still are preaching a form of works-righteousness when we major on what people need to do…to end sex-trafficking, get out of debt, have healthy families…

instead of what Christ has done to free us from sin, forgive us our debts, and adopt us into his family. The truth is that you actually have to be perfect to get into heaven, and thus our only hope is having Jesus’ perfect record given to us as a gift, received by faith.

Sola Gratia (grace alone)

We like grace—when it is seen as an assist for our slam dunk. The polls are heart-rending that show the number of Christians who think that the quote “God helps those who help themselves” comes from the Bible. Do we really believe our salvation is wholly of grace? If so, we could never allow our Christianity to be a badge of pride that makes us feel superior to or live in fear of the big, bad world.

Solus Christus (Christ alone)

We may say that we believe Jesus is the only way to God, but do our actions back that up? We live in a highly pluralistic society. Do we really believe that the nice Hindu family living down the street is destined for hell apart from faith in Christ? Do we believe it enough

to lovingly and sacrificially share with them the gospel of what Christ has uniquely done? Our lack of evangelism betrays our lack of belief in the exclusivity of Christ. Furthermore, so much of our faith talk is vague spirituality that does not really need the virgin birth, perfect life, substitutionary death, victorious resurrection, and imminent return of the historical God-man Jesus Christ. We spout meaningless Oprah-esque mumbo-jumbo and it is no wonder that our kids start to think Christianity is not that distinct from the other religions and philosophies of their friends.

Soli Deo Gloria (the glory of God alone)

Ministry can so easily become about our name or brand. We like to take the credit for our successes. Plus, there is a pervasive mancenteredness in our culture which has seeped into our churches. We are not in awe of God, but obsessed with our felt needs. Therefore, we fundamentally view God as there to serve us instead of the other way around. We have not been struck by the utter weightiness of the triune God, but are pathetically shallow and flit easily from this fad to that fad.

In our consumeristic context where everyone is bombarded with endless options all the time, the solas can at first seem like a straightjacket. But they truly represent our only hope. We are in desperate need of a fresh vision of God’s glory, in the face of Jesus Christ, as a result of his grace, perceived by faith, in the pages of the Bible.

Nathan Carter is pastor of Immanuel Baptist Church in Chicago.

Luther: action hero

His story has all the markings of a summer blockbuster: thunder, lightning, daring escapes, an imprisonment (of sorts) in a German castle. But Martin Luther, born in 1483, was supposed to have been a lawyer and lived a much quieter, less adventurous life.

As a young teen, Luther was sent to school to study the law. His life changed dramatically in 1505 as he was traveling through a thunderstorm and a bolt of lightning struck too close for comfort. In desperation, Luther promised to become a monk.

He was ordained as a priest in 1507, but after 10 years of monastic life and increasing disillusionment with church practices, he sent a letter to leaders protesting the sale of indulgences, or pardons for sin. He included in the letter 95 Theses on faith, grace, sin, redemption, and religious authority. Those concepts, which sparked the Protestant Reformation, will celebrate their 500th anniversary this October 31, the date of Luther’s letter to church leaders.

Of the Scripture passages believed to have inspired Luther’s transformation, it is Romans 1:17 that theologian R.C. Sproul said “turned the lights on for Luther” because it details a righteousness given by God to those who would receive it by faith, rather than to those who could earn it.

In 1523, his life took another unexpected turn when a group of nuns asked for his help to escape their convent. He did so, sneaking them out in fish barrels. One of the sisters, Katherine Von Bora, eventually became Luther’s wife and the mother of his six children. (Von Bora must have been an unlikely partner for Luther; he once said that upon hearing of his choice, his close friends said, “For heaven’s sake, not this one.”)

Luther’s battles with established religion continued throughout his life, leading to his excommunication from the Catholic church after he refused to recant the Reformation’s ideals. Labeled a heretic and an outlaw, he was put in protective custody at Wartburg Castle. There, he translated the New Testament into German.

In the end, Luther left a legacy even larger than the life he led.

– Meredith Flynn, with info from Christianity Today, Ligonier Ministries, and Britannica.com

‘Alone’ is a good word—in tandem with belief.

This 3” tall toy from Playmobil is a big seller in Germany this year.

meet the team

Meet: Scott Foshie

Zone Consultant, Zone 9

He also serves as pastor of Steeleville Baptist Church.

Encouragement is aim of Korean pastors’ group

people

With the Lord

Dennis Penrod died February 7 at the age of 56. The son of longtime Illinois director of missions and pastor Delbert Penrod and his wife, Barbara, Dennis was a member and deacon at Payson Southern Baptist Church and moderator for the Bay Creek Association.

Family: I have been married to Audra for 15 years. Our children are Lydia, 10; Levi, 8; and Liz, 5.

Illinois history: We have been blessed to serve at Steeleville Baptist for two years. Before that, I was an associate pastor in Tennessee for 15 years.

Favorite thing about church as a kid: My parents wanted to make sure we had a church experience that showed us God’s love and led us to Jesus. My siblings and I enjoyed Sunday school, and we were active in children’s and youth choirs, along with other fun ways to serve the Lord.

Favorite thing about church now: It is amazing to enjoy loving God, listening for his invitation to join him in his work, and obeying him. When we do, lives are always changed, especially mine.

Memorable IBSA moment: I’ve really enjoyed serving on the IBSA VBS travel team that trains and encourages VBS leaders around the state. Jack Lucas does an outstanding job leading that team, and it has been exciting to see and know all the great church leaders that God has placed around this state.

Favorite sports teams: St. Louis Cardinals and Tennessee Volunteers

Illinois highlights: Abraham Lincoln Museum in Springfield and Giant City State Park

Favorite Scriptures: John 15:5 and Acts 2:21b

Wheaton | Fellowship, encouragement, and a meal together. That’s what on the agenda at monthly meetings of Illinois’ Korean Southern Baptist Pastors’ Fellowship.

“While most of the member churches are located in Chicagoland, the fellowship exists to encourage the 20-plus Korean Southern Baptist churches and their leaders throughout Illinois and southeastern Wisconsin for greater kingdom impact and effectiveness,” said John Yi, a

pastor and IBSA church planting catalyst in Chicagoland.

Their February meeting (pictured above) was hosted by The Lord’s Church in Naperville, followed by lunch at a Chinese restaurant in nearby Wheaton.

Andrew Kim, pastor of Korean Baptist Church in Schaumburg, is the fellowship’s current president. For more information about the group, contact Kim at andi1129@yahoo.com or (847) 310-0160.

Needed: Scholarship application evaluators

The Baptist Foundation of Illinois is in need of volunteers to read and evaluate scholarship applications for the 2017-18 school year. The group will meet at Chatham Baptist Church on Saturday, March 4, 8 a.m to 3 p.m. Breakfast and lunch are provided.

For readers coming from farther than two hours away, BFI will provide hotel lodging on Friday, March 3. For more information, contact Rob Gallion, Scholarship Committee chairman, at pastorrobfbcpetersburg@gmail.com, (217) 632-2488, or (217) 801-8350.

Find more information on ministry positions at IBSA.org/connect

Send NetworkiNg items to IllinoisBaptist@IBSA.org

Baptist Children’s Home and Family Services seeks a couple without children to serve as relief houseparents in Carmi. The couple will work four days per week between two boys’ cottages, providing relief for primary houseparent couples. An apartment is available for days off. Full-time job with benefits. Contact melinda.bratcher@bchfs.com, and go to bchfs.com for information about the agency.

Church of the Cross in Mahomet is seeking a bivocational discipleship coordinator to support and facilitate a culture of disciple-making. E-mail pastor@churchofthecrossmahomet. org or call (217) 586-6764 for more information. Resumés must be submitted by March 24.

Along with his parents, he is survived by his wife of 32 years, Kim; two sons, Kevin and Kyle; two grandchildren; brother, Douglas; sister, Leanna; and several nieces and nephews.

Raymond Belcher died February 1 at the age of 90. He served as pastor of IBSA churches in Wayne City and Lebanon, as well as New Haven Baptist in Evansville, Ind. Belcher, a U.S. Navy veteran of World War II, also worked as a school teacher and courtroom clerk.

He is survived by his wife of almost 60 years, Margaret; two sons, David and Don; one sister; and one aunt.

Walter Welch died January 30 at the age of 96, after a brief battle with cancer. Welch, who was associate pastor of Eastview Baptist Church in Springfield, was a U.S. Army veteran of World War II and a retired mechanic who also served several churches in central Illinois. He married Zoah Kincaid in 1951 and she preceded him in death on March 1, 2003. He married Janet Cain in 2006 and she survives. Welch also is survived by his son, John; step-daughter, Sherri; three granddaughters; nine great-grandchildren; five great-great-grandchildren; and one great-great-great grandson.

Strasburg Baptist Church is seeking a part-time or bivocational pastor with at least two years of ministry experience. Contact Carol Menter at (217) 875-7450 or menterc46@ yahoo.com.

LUNCH BUNCH – The Illinois Southern Baptist Korean Pastors’ Fellowship meets every month to spur one another on to greater effectiveness in ministry, and to share a meal.

EVENTS

March 2-3

Pastor and Chaplain Training Conference

What: Training in crisis management and communication for pastors and endorsed chaplains

Where: IBSA Building, Springfield; 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Thurs., 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Fri.

Cost: $40 per person

Info: IBSA.org/dr Register: DebbieMuller@IBSA.org, (217) 391-3126

VBS Clinics

March 4: South—FBC Marion

March 18: Mid-South—Pleasant Hill, Mt. Vernon

April 1: North—Broadview Missionary

What: Training for this summer’s “Galactic Starveyors” curriculum; 8 a.m. to noon

Register: IBSA.org/kids

March 5-12

Annie Armstrong Easter Offering

Info: anniearmstrong.com

March 11

Children’s Ministry Day

What: Hands-on mission projects for kids at multiple sites around the state

Cost: $15 per person Register: IBSA.org/kids

March 31-April 1, April 21-22

Disaster Relief Training

What: Classes in food prep, mudout, childcare, chaplaincy, and more

Where: March 31-April 1: Pasfield Southern, Springfield; April 21-22: Streator Baptist Camp

Cost: $40 new volunteers, $10 badge renewals, $10 yearly training, $10 overnight stay

Info: IBSA.org/dr

March 31, April 1

Revitalizing the Church

What: A one-day seminar for pastors and leaders who want to bring new life to their churches

Where: March 31: Lake Sallateeska; April 1: Streator Baptist Camp

Contact: SylvanKnobloch@IBSA.org

April 3-4

Resilient Call Retreat

What: Training for pastors on building solid relationships

Where: Lake Sallateeska Baptist Camp

Contact: SylvanKnobloch@IBSA.org

April 9

Cooperative Program Sunday

Info: cpmissions.net

Contact: LisaSergent@IBSA.org

dave says

Consider this house?

QMy husband and I have been debt-free, except for our mortgage, for a few years now. Recently, we’ve been thinking about moving back to our home state to be closer to family. We’ve found a home we’re interested in, but it has a large utility tower on the property not far from the house. Should we still consider this home?

AThe downsides are simple.

One, you’ve got to look at the stupid thing every time you’re sitting on your patio. Two, when you get ready to sell it, everyone who looks at the house is going to have the same concerns you have. It’s not going to appreciate in value, and you’re going to have trouble selling it when the time comes.

If you’re willing to put up with those two things, you might get a steal of a deal on this place because no one else may want this house. And when I say a steal, I’m talking around 40% off the appraisal. To me personally, it

would be enough of an eyesore that I probably wouldn’t buy. Again, that’s just a personal opinion.

Keep in mind that if you go through with this, when you get ready to sell it you’re going to lose out on any money you gained in the buy. Someone is going to do the same thing to you. I’m not completely killing the deal, but I definitely wouldn’t buy it to live in. As a rental? Maybe, if I were going to keep it forever. Because people will always rent. But honestly, I wouldn’t want to put up with the hassle in either scenario.

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

DAVE RAMSEY

Church needed here...

Location: Tuscola

Focus: New families on the north side of this central Illinois community

Characteristics: Douglas County, where Tuscola is located, currently has no Southern Baptist congregation. But the community is growing as a result of people moving in from nearby Champaign.

Prayer needs: Pray that those who have shown spiritual interest would become followers of Christ and would be catalysts in reaching their families. Pray also for a church planter to sense a calling to Tuscola.

inspirations

pinterest.com/illinoisBaptist

Get your kicks

ZOOM-ZOOM: Car shows are all the rage in Illinois. Red Hill Church in Edwardsville participated in a big auto show in their community last summer. A tent raised amid old Chevys is a great place to offer bottled water, car talk, and an invitation to church.

FREE: Look for 20 summertime outreach ideas in the next issue of Resource, a magazine for IBSA church leaders. The Summer issue will arrive in church mailboxes soon. To order individual subscriptions, free to IBSA church members, contact Communications@IBSA.org. Read the online version at http://resource.IBSA.org.

illinois religious landscape

Who believes the Bible?

26% 31% 34% 9%

of adults in Illinois say the Bible is the Word of God and should be taken literally say it’s the Word of God, but not everything should be taken literally say it’s not the Word of God say it’s “other” or they “don’t know”

– Pew Research

Triumph through tribulation

Consider the contrasts in the course of Joseph’s life:

favored son jealous brothers coat of many colors envious privilege dreamer murderous thoughts freedom enslavement servitude diligent service sexual temptation godly purity false accusation merciful imprisonment more dreams rising hope forgotten patient suffering royal summons God’s truth prison prominence reunion reconciliation incessant adversity faithful perseverance man’s evil God’s goodness hopeless situations God’s abiding presence

The life of Joseph is one of ups and downs much like our own. Unforeseen circumstances, unfair treatment, and dashed hopes occur. They cause us to ask, “Why?” They compel us to seek God. They tempt us to despair and spiral downward. How can we endure? Will we prevail? When will the trials cease?

Joseph teaches us to look beyond our circumstances to the one in charge of all things. We see him trusting God in the midst of adversity through his faithful and diligent service. We learn from him how to honor God by fleeing temptation no matter how enticing. Joseph affirms the truth for us that God never abandons his people. God is always at work in our lives to accomplish his plans.

“The LORD was with Joseph, and he became a successful man….But the LORD was with Joseph and extended kindness to him…[B]ecause the LORD was with him, and the LORD made everything that he did successful” (Genesis 39:2, 21, 23).

PRAYER PROMPT: Father God, give us your confidence when we feel abandoned and hopeless. Help us look beyond the moment to your glorious future. Amen.

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

The key to successful outreach

If you’ve ever a big event, you know how it feels when it’s over. All the work and energy and trial and error that went into planning and executing the project can be exhausting, and when it’s finally over, all that energy seems to fly out the window too.

But for church leaders, the end of an outreach event is only the beginning.

This is heavy on my heart as we enter Vacation Bible School season, and I’m reminded how crucial a church’s follow-up process is to their overall VBS strategy. That’s why I advise churches to recruit a follow-up director. His or her only job is to connect people from VBS or any other outreach with other people and opportunities at the church. Encourage the director to have their follow-up strategy before the first person ever walks in the door, including: Effective registration. The followup director will likely work with other VBS leaders to accomplish this. The truth is, you can’t follow up with someone you can’t find. Make sure you have the full name and contact information for every person who attends your VBS. It’s important to know these things not only for follow-up, but in case you need to get in touch during VBS with someone related to the child.

Follow-up teams. Ask the director to recruit pairs or small groups of people who can make personal visits to families. The church I previously served sent our deacons two-by-two to follow up after VBS. We found inperson visits to be most effective, but some of our teams felt more comfortable making a call first to set up a time to visit.

Connection points. When our follow-up teams made their visits, they made it a point to take something that would forge a connection with the family. For example, one year the children decorated frames during VBS and we attached a calendar of church events for the deacons to deliver.

Above all, remember that a follow-up strategy doesn’t have to be complicated; it just needs to allow you to make significant contacts with people who otherwise may only encounter your church through one event. The goal of any VBS or outreach effort should be to connect unchurched people with the church for the purpose of expanding God’s kingdom. We can’t do that if we don’t follow up.

Jack Lucas is IBSA’s director of next generation ministry.

LUCAS

– IBSA Church Planting Team