Leaders gather for new regional church planting ‘hubs’

Champaign | Leaders from 17 churches gathered March 1 in Champaign for the first Multiply Illinois Hub meeting. A second hub gathering was held two weeks later in Metro East.

The 38 men and women who met at New City Church adjacent to the University of Illinois campus learned about opportunities and strategies to help create a church planting movement across the state. They also built connections with other ministry leaders in central Illinois. “I came expecting to hear about how to get involved in church planting, but what I found was much more holistic,” said Josh Parsons, pastor of Western Oaks Baptist Church in Springfield.

Multiply Illinois Hubs will inspire church leaders interested in church planting and equip them to lead with multiplication in mind, according to IBSA Church Planting Directors Kevin Jones and Paul Westbrook.

Population-dense areas of Illinois, such as Chicago and its suburbs, come to mind when mentioning church planting needs. However, rural areas and small towns often have little gospel witness, as well. There are 10 counties across central and northern Illinois with no IBSA church.

According to Jones, the Multiply Illinois initiative will continue planting in metro areas, while increasing pathways for planting in other regions. With a church multiplication goal in every sector of the state, these quarterly regional gatherings are planned throughout Illinois.

Some leaders come because they want to pray for or financially support a church plant. Some explore the possibility of becoming a church planter. And some desire to see their church plant another church.

“There was information about how to multiply my leadership, multiply our church’s evangelism efforts, and things like that,” Parsons said. “This is helpful now and will help us be prepared if God moves us into more direct involvement with church planting in the future.”

Jones said their team wants to help leaders, volunteers, and planters in all kinds of locations lead with the Great Commission in mind. “At every hub meeting, we are asking those who attend to do one thing they learned before we gather again for the next meeting. We hope this leads to them multiplying their ministry, leading to lives being changed, churches revived, and new churches planted in every community across Illinois.”

The second Multiply Illinois Hub took place at Heights Community Church in Collinsville in Metro East. For more information about future hub meetings, visit IBSA.org/multiply-illinois.

How to ‘Ignite’ evangelism

Both the Metro Peoria and Quad Cities Baptist Associations hosted Ignite Night evangelism trainings March 13 and 14. Between the two evenings, over 70 people from 19 churches gathered for churchwide evangelism strategy and methods. They chose two of four breakout sessions.

Joe Gardner, IBSA Zone 5 Consultant and Associational Mission Strategist for Metro Peoria Association, helped organize both events. “I thought the trainings were really well attended,” said Gardner (pictured below left). “There was definitely excitement for the opportunity.”

The Metro Peoria Ignite Night was held at Grace Church, near downtown Peoria while New Hope Church in Coal Valley hosted the Quad Cities event. Church volunteers served dinner, then IBSA leaders covered evangelism principles including “The Domino Effect,” a churchwide strategy taught by IBSA’s Director of Evangelism, Scott Harris.

Communications team leader Ben Jones demonstrated the SOW Evangelism tool, a smartphone app designed to mobilize church members to pray for and reach out to lost people in their lives. Users can create an evangelistic prayer list that reminds them to pray daily. Ignite Nights are a partnership with IBSA and local associations. They are single evening versions of the larger Ignite Evangelism Conferences held regionally across Illinois. The next Ignite Night is May 2, hosted by the Three Rivers Baptist Association. For more information about Ignite Evangelism events, contact ScottHarris@ IBSA.org.

Revival huddle inspires leaders

About 170 leaders gathered at Pleasant Hill Church in Mt. Vernon March 17-18 for Revive ’23, a touring revitalization conference staged by the North American Mission Board (NAMB) and co-sponsored by IBSA.

“Great movement of God among his people,” posted NAMB’s church replanting expert Mark Clifton, one of the plenary speakers. “In 45 years of ministry across USA/ Canada, I’ve never experienced anything as transforming as these two-day Revive gatherings. That’s not hyperbole.”

Mike Young, pastor of New Beginnings Church in Streator which was born of a merger five years ago, said he came away with fresh attention on the role of worship in reaching the community. Joe Crider, dean of worship at Southwestern Seminary, “pushed everything back to Scripture,” Young said. He was impressed by Clifton’s question, “Is God being made visible in your worship service?”

Speaker Richard Blackaby said to pastors of median and smaller churches seeking revitalization, especially after Covid’s impact, “Because God is sovereign, every assignment from him is significant,” he said.

Clifton concluded, “There are no ‘small’ assignments or ‘insignificant’ places of service assigned by an all-powerful God.”