January 1, 2014 Illinois Baptist

The BIG Pic: Hope after the storm page 3 Holiday leftovers page 8

Potluck Blogger: Our salad days are back, page 11

The next great awakening

What is our role in America’s needed revival?

By Eric Reed

If renewal is a work of the Spirit, is there anything we can do beyond waiting for God to act in His providential timing?

Pastors and leaders meeting in Atlanta in January certainly hope so

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“We had a fabulous response to our Dallas prayer gathering,” Arkansas pastor Ronnie Floyd said “We did not have any plans to do another gathering, but wanted only what God wanted After listening, prayer and discussion, we determined that God wanted us to open it up to all Southern Baptist senior pastors and Godcalled ministers ”

Nearly 200 pastors attended the first meeting Sept 30-Oct 1 The second gathering is set for Jan 13-14 at the Westin Atlanta Airport Hotel

The meeting raises a question: What can believers do to bring spiritual awakening to a nation lulled to disinterest by its tolerance of sin?

In his invitation, Floyd says the next meeting is for those who “are desperate for a move of God in our churches and in our nation.”

“They realize to penetrate their towns, cities, and our nation, God will have to empower a mighty movement of revival in the church, so we can see spiritual awakening in our nation,” Floyd said Or, as one pastor asserted at the Dallas gathering, “God, I’m not going to let go of You until You burst from the heavens and come down ”

Continued on page 9

Taking the light to the darkest corners

Springfield | “The reason I am here is because I don’t want to have to rescue you ”

Tajuan McCarty stood in front of more than 100 teenage girls and their leaders, pulling no punches as she told her story Speaking in short, unflinching sentences, she explained how she was pushed into prostitution at age 15, and trafficked into every state except Hawaii and Alaska over the next 11 years

“I am a survivor of trafficking ”

McCarty is founder and director of The Wellhouse, a ministry that rescues women trapped in the same kind of life that once enslaved her Headquartered in Birmingham, The Wellhouse is in a prime location to fight trafficking along I-20, known as the sex trafficking superhighway

She also helps raise awareness about the global problem that is deeply entrenched in the United States McCarty has been a Christian for four years, so her message begins with this: All women are beautiful, because they’re made in God’s image

“If you walk away from here thinking prostitution is a choice and/or she’s doing it because she’s on drugs, I have not done my job,” McCarty told a captivated audience at AWSOM, an annual missions event for young women in Illinois Drugs are only a symptom of the problem, she added

“At The Wellhouse, what we try to do is reach the core of the problem And yes, we introduce them to Jesus because that is the only way to heal people ” McCarty is bold, about her past and about her testimony She told the girls

Continued on page 7

Pastor leads the way in tornado recovery

By Meredith Flynn

Washington, Ill | Four weeks after the tornado, Josh Monda stood in the pulpit of First Baptist Church in Washington and preached the third sermon in his Christmas series on hope

“ When you think all things are hopeless, there’s hope,” Monda said, his voice urgent “It’s not found in the things of this world, but it’s found in Jesus Christ There’s hope ” Monda’s voice cracked on the last word

“In the middle of everything, there’s hope ”

A month ago, no one knew how timely his message would be

HOPE PROCLAIMED – Pastor Josh Monda chose hope as the theme of his December sermon series well before a tornado destroyed parts of his town

BRIEFING the

Pastor on call

Continued from page 1

Duck under fire

A&E suspended “Duck Dynasty” star P Robertson over controversial comments made in GQ magazine The magazine quot him equating homosexuality with othe sins, similar to the Apostle Paul in 1 Cor

6. Russell Moore, president of the SBC Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, called A&E’s suspension of Robertson “ridiculous ” Noting that some of the TV star ’s reported remarks were “ill-advised and crude,” Moore blogged in favor of honest conversations instead of “muting one another ”

Utah judge reverses polygamy ban

In other TV news, the family at the center of TLC’s “Sister Wives” won their case in the U S District Court of Utah when Judge Clark Waddoups struck down a section of the state’s anti-polygamy law Waddoups ruled as unconstitutional a section of the law on cohabitation, allowing Kody Brown and his four wives (above) to continue to live as one family even though only one couple has a marriage license

Conservatives said the ruling signified the expanding effects of recent same-sex marriage rulings

Judgment Day preacher dies

Radio preacher Harold Camping died Dec 15 at the age of 92 Camping, founder of the Fa ily Radio Network, famously predicted May 21, 2011, as God’s day of judgment on earth After another missed prediction later that year, the network released a statement saying they would no longer prophesy about the end of days.

Kentucky Baptist leader resigns

The leader of a child care agency affiliated with the Kentucky Baptist Convention has resigned after messengers to the state convention’s annual meeting issued a vote of no confidence in his leadership Bill Smithwick, president of Sunrise Children’s Services, had proposed that the organization consider changing its hiring policy to include homosexual employees in order to continue receiving government funding, BP reports In a statement to the Western Recorder, Kentucky Baptist Convention Executive Director Paul Chitwood said the Sunrise board “is fully committed to operating according to biblical values for the sake of the children Sunrise serves and the churches and individual donors that lend their support ”

Poll: Live sermons vs. video messages

Even with the proliferation of satellite church campuses, 65% of Americans say they would still choose a live sermon over a video version, according to a new survey by LifeWay Research 35% say they will only visit churches that feature a live sermon “I don’t think anyone gets up on a Sunday morning saying, ‘Boy, I’d really like to watch a video sermon,’ ” said Scott McConnell, vice president of LifeWay Research “But the fact that many churches utilize video sermons means other factors such as relationships, preaching approach, music, relevance, and location can be more important ”

News updates every Tuesday at www ib2news org – RussellMoore com, Baptist

Monda had just started his sermon on Nov 17, when the sirens went off He and a few others watched the EF-4 tornado approach, coming within a half-mile of the church

The pastor was on the frontlines of the recovery process immediately He posted his cell phone number on Facebook that Sunday afternoon; he was the only person crazy enough to do so, he said “My initial thought was people may need help if I put my number out there, they can call me And no matter what it is, I can try to help them ”

The calls rolled in, numbering in the hundreds, Monda estimated “I don’t think I went five minutes without my phone ringing the first few days ” Many people called to see how they could help and where they could bring donations

There also were immediate needs to meet within his church, where eight families lost their homes It was difficult to get to the church right after the storm because police had much of the city blocked off As soon as they could, FBC Washington provided free lunch in their fellowship hall

Meanwhile, Monda and his wife, Tzigane, were facing an emergency not related to the storm: Their daughter Sarai was in the hospital fighting a severe infection doctors had yet to identify (She has since recovered )

In the month after the storm, the pastor wasn’t in his office

much He was out helping church members who lost their homes, like Bill Sadler, his deacon chairman Monda documented clean-up of the Sadlers’ home on his Facebook page FBC Washington worked with Poured Out, a national relief ministry, to take down uninhabitable homes like the Sadlers’ and haul the debris away The church also has set up a fund to financially assist tornado victims

An urgent message

“When the wheels of life fall off, it is imperative to have a man in the trenches who will continue pointing people to Christ,” said IBSA’s Tim Sadler. “Josh is that man ”

Sadler (no relation to Bill Sadler) was Monda’s pastor in Macon, Mo , before they both moved to Illinois “Josh and I were texting moments after the tornado touched down in Washington,” Sadler said “I remember telling him this was the opportunity for the church to shine Light always shines brightest in darkness ”

As they minister to their community, Monda urges his church members to make the Gospel central in any recovery effort they undertake. “We could go into the community and we can help people rebuild their lives and we can help people rebuild homes and we can clear our debris and we can shovel snow and we can do whatever needs to be done

“We can do all that, church,” he preached a month after the storm

During the evenings, Monda caught up on church business and worked to finish his degree from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary

“I quickly realized when the phone calls starting coming in and that sort of thing, that it was going to be a balancing act,” he said Monda claimed Scripture verses in Ecclesiastes that talk about everything having a season This just happens to be a very busy season

“But don’t miss it If you’re not going to proclaim the mercy that is found only through Jesus Christ, you’ve accomplished no eternal good ”

God’s mercy is on display in Washington, Monda said In our sin, everyone deserves destruction and death “But God says, ‘No, I’m stepping in And I’m taking my sinless perfect son, and I am gonna show these people mercy.’”

And that’s a message worth sharing

Reed heads communications team

S p r i n g f i e l d | Eric Reed joined the IBSA staff in November as Associate Executive Director of Communications and Editor of Illinois Baptist media He has served as IBSA’s editorial consultant since January 2012, working with the comm u n i c a t i o n s team on a variety of projects including the continued development of the Illinois Baptist, launching the ib2news org news blog, launching Resource magazine for church leaders, design oversight and implementation of the Mission Illinois theme, and two state mission offering campaigns including new graphics and videos

“I’m delighted to join this outstanding team on a full-time basis,” Reed said, “and to wrap up a two-year commute from Chicago “I have been impressed by so many aspects of

IBSA’s ministry through the years, but especially the communications staff Their work is excellent and compares favorably with any of the Baptist state newspapers. Their desire to report, support, and encourage the work of Baptists in Illinois has blessed me as a pastor, and more recently as a coworker ”

Through most of his ministry career, Reed has served as both pastor and journalist He holds a Master of Divinity from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, and pastored a church near the NOBTS campus during his nine years in New Orleans

After moving to Chicagoland in 1998 for a position in Christian publishing, he simultaneously served interim pastorates, leading six churches through times of transition and pastor searches He also served nearly three years as director of evangelism and church growth with Chicago Metro Baptist Association

Reed’s work as a journalist began in high school and college, working for a local AM/FM/TV station group while studying communications. Later, after seminary and a long season in the pastorate, he joined Christianity Today International as managing editor of Leadership journal, a professional magazine for pastors and church leaders

Over a 10-year period, he also hosted the Preaching Today audio series, edited Leadership Journal net, and launched a blog for younger leaders called Out of Ur As Editorial Vice President for Consumer Publications, he led the staffs of six magazines and their websites and handled public relations

“Together we will seek to produce effective communications across a variety of media platforms,” Reed said, “to aid our IBSA churches in advancing the Gospel in Illinois and around the world ”

HELP FROM ALL OVER – Monda goes through a stack of letters from people and organizations across the country, all wanting to help Washington recover

The BIG Pic ture Hope on display after the storm

Washington, Ill | One week before the nativity scene was scheduled to go up in the town square, organizers weren’t sure it would happen this year

“We’d wondered, ‘Should we still do it?’ There are so many other things that needed to be done,” said Marti Teubel. The youth group at her church assembles the display every year A calendaring error had them scheduled to put it up a week earlier than usual, on Nov 23, just six days after a tornado ripped through town, destroying whole neighborhoods and leaving families displaced right before the holidays

“The kids said, ‘Yeah, we need to do this for our town,” Teubel said The restaurant where they usually have breakfast after putting up the display called to see if they would be there The display went up as scheduled

It’s a sign of hope, said Steve Hull He and his wife, Marian, led worship at First Baptist Church in Washington the morning of the tornado Four weeks later, he stood again before the congregation and listed several ways hope has been on display since the storm – people working together, generous gifts arriving from unexpected places, and the decision to go on with the nativity scene

Washington needed a symbol of hope, Marti Teubel said “It ended up being a good thing that it was scheduled a week early this year ”

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HEAVENLY PEACE – The Washington nativity scene, covered in snow in mid-December, is the centerpiece of the town square during the holidays Usually set up the Saturday after Thanksgiving, the scene went up early this year, less than one week after the tornado Photo by Meredith Flynn

The new buzz on cooperation B

ees are far more important than most of us realize Known as models of cooperation and hard work, these buzzy, busybodies are the major pollinators in any ecosystem that contains flowering plants, and on every continent except Antarctica As much as one-third of the human food supply depends on insect pollination, and bees are by far the leading contributors A recent report estimated that bees, through pollination, add at least $15 billion to annual crop values in the U.S. alone.

That’s why farmers, scientists, beekeepers and many others (that should include you and me) have become extremely concerned, as Time magazine reported in a recent cover story Since 2006, millions upon millions of bees have been dying at mysterious and alarming rates from something that has now been dubbed CCD or “Colony Collapse Disorder ”

In short, something is causing a breakdown in the cooperative system that helps bring food and life to us all And unless we can cooperate ourselves to help find a solution, we may all be in trouble

Like bees, Southern Baptists have always depended, and thrived, upon cooper ti W do not have a church hierarchy o mity that forces us work together God’s blessing, we have become t Protestant group of churches in and have fielded perhaps the wor expansive and effective missionar

There are signs across the SB however, that some churches ar acting more and more independently in their missions strategies and with their missions resources

Pray through the news

Pray for the requests below and pass them along to your pastor or prayer leader to use as a guide for weekly prayer meeting, Sunday School classes or fellowship groups:

– Human trafficking prevention and awareness, page 7

– Waiting for the next great awakening, page 9

Prayer prompts are provided by Phil Miglioratti, IBSA’s prayer consultant Contact him at philNPPN@gmail com

The ILLINOIS BAPTIST Staff

Flynn

For questions about subscript ons, articles, or upcoming events, contact the Illinois Baptist at (217) 391-3110 or IllinoisBaptist@IBSA org

POSTMASTER: The Il inois Baptist is owned and published b weekly, Jan , March, May, July-Sept , Nov ; monthly in Feb , April, June, Oct and Dec , by the Illinois Baptist State Association, 3085 Stevenson Drive, Spr ngfield, Il inois 62703-4440 Subscript ons are free to I linois Bapt sts Subscribe online at IBSA org

Cooperation, some say, is more fashionable among older generations and among smaller churches If that’s true, it’s possible we are facing our own form of CCD Perhaps we could call it “Cooperation Collapse Disorder ”

To overcome it, we must remain vigilant to understand and teach in our churches why cooperation is biblical, and so important And we must make sure new believers and new generations see the unique benefits of that cooperati both to ourselves and to the world

I see at least four foundational reasons that churches decide to look beyond them selves and cooperate with other churche

1. Shared belief in biblical, Baptist doctrine. There are many ways that Baptist doctrine is distinct, and leads to different conclusions and behaviors, than we see among many other Christian groups This shouldn’t necessarily lead us to isolation But we should cooperate with the greatest passion, sacrifice, and effectiveness with those who share our deepest convictions

2 Common commitment to evangelism and ssions as priorities. Without a doubt, the high lling and common cause that unite diverse Bapst churches in cooperation is the Great Commission of Jesus to make disciples of all the

Reporter’s Notebook

The real Person of the Year

When Time magazine announced the new pope as its person of the year, we were reminded that sometimes the publication has not chosen an individual, or even a person

Time named “the computer” as its entity of the year in 1982, and in 2011, following the Occupy movement and the “Arab spring” uprisings in the Middle East, the “honor” went to “the protester ”

So are many others.

world’s peoples I sometimes marvel at the different styles and cultures I see in Baptist churches But when it comes to evangelism and missions, we are all on the same page and speaking the same language of passionate commitment

3 Trust in a cooperative missions system Some churches practice “societal missions,” where individual churches sponsor individual missionaries And hile we can be grateful for every missionary that is aithfully delivering the Gospel, Southern Baptist hurches have learned that trusting the accountable processes and people of a “cooperative missions” system is much more powerful and effective in getng missionaries and the Gospel to the world

4. Fellowship of an extended family. Something very special happens when churches that share the same, deep biblical convictions prioritize the Great Commission together and trust one another within a cooperative missions system They become an extended family, and not just over the miles but over the years Through cooperation, we join generations that have preceded us, and generations that will follow us, in a Great Commission purpose

In their recent cover story, Time magazine referred to the crisis of the dying bees and the loss of their cooperation in food production as the “beepocalypse,” and indicated that some even saw it as a sign of the world’s end If we worker “B’s” known as Baptists will put a new “buzz” in our hallmark of cooperation, we can give the world a much more hopeful outlook

Nate Adams is executive director of the Illinois Baptist State Association Read the full version of this article from Resource magazine online at http://resource IBSA org

The also-rans

“Thank God for you all showing up to Mary Lou’s house in Rapid City, SD, to help with all the trees and branches due to the snow storm,” one couple who look after their elderly neighbor wrote to the Illinois team that aided them “We are praising God and thanking Him for each one of you who made it all possible to come out to South Dakota and serve God ”

And when Rex Alexander, IBSA’s DR mobilization director, summed up the recent response to tornadoes in Illinois, he said there were more volunteers and offers of assistance than he had ever seen Just before Christmas, 250 relief workers finished up their service in Washington and other communities laid waste by twisters in mid-November

In his short time as leader of the Catholic church, Pope Francis has refocused a global conversation on poverty, said Radhika Jones, deputy managing editor of Time His competition for the magazine’s “person of the year” may not have equaled his worldwide influence, but they did make headlines in 2013 The list of finalists included two of 2013’s most controversial figures (hint: neither one is a leader in business or politics)

Syrian President Bashar Assad

– Gay rights activist Edith Windsor

– Amazon founder Jeff Bezos

So it’s not surprising that the village of Sturgis, South Dakota, chose not a single person to receive its annual Volunteer of the Year award, but a group And that group is Southern Baptist Disaster Relief Volunteers

When Sturgis was hit with a winter storm in October, SBDR sent 110 relief workers in five teams to help them dig out About 50 of those volunteers were from Illinois

The town council noted in their announcement last week that many of the people receiving assistance were elderly or disabled, and the time given amounted to 576 days of work Sturgis is grateful

A new NAMB video shows Illinois residents picking through the remnants of their homes, weeping not so much at their loss, but in gratitude for the aid of strangers in yellow shirts

“It’s raining, it’s cold, it’s nasty,” said a tearful Melissa Helfin outside her home “And all these people –they’re here with chainsaws and pulling limbs and – it’s amazing I don’t know what we would have done, honestly And it’s such a blessing ”

If we offered a “Person of the Year” award, it would be to the whole group who share Jesus Christ with a Bible in one hand and a spatula, mop, or chainsaw in the other

U S President Barrack Obama

– Senator Ted Cruz of Texas

Pop singer Miley Cyrus

– U S Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius

– Iranian President Hassan Rouhani

– National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden

We must remain vigilant to understand and teach in our churches why cooperation is biblical, and so important

Nate Adams

Voices

Be it (still) resolved

At this time of year, it’s likely that someone may ask us this question: “Do you have any New Year ’s resolutions?” And when asked, we usually answer: “Lose weight,” or “Read the Bible more,” or something like that Our culture’s common thinking on resolutions tends to be individualized thinking about our own personal goals That’s normal, right?

Scott Kelly

Not if you’re an Illinois Baptist Our family of churches makes resolutions together We make these resolutions not as individuals, but as a gathering of Christians from hundreds of Illinois Baptist churches And we make these large-group resolutions at a strange time, in early-to-middle November, not on January 1 These resolutions are part of our Annual Meeting every year

My dear Illinois Baptist family, now that the New Year has come, I must gently ask: Do we even remember our resolutions from our annual meeting this past November?

The messengers from our churches enthusiastically approved resolutions about marriage, religious freedom, human trafficking, and state-sponsored gambling As we gather in our churches for our first prayer meetings of 2014, let’s remember our resolutions and keep praying about these things that we were so resolved about on those days in November

I left our annual meeting very encouraged by what God is doing

through our Great Commission work in Illinois. As I boarded the last Amtrak train out of Springfield a few hours after our last meeting session had ended, I was still affected by the last-minute resolution that one of our brothers proposed regarding repentance and evangelism

The wording of the resolution was both convicting and inspiring – and repentant We confessed our disobedience by failing to faithfully and regularly share the Gospel and resolved we should “repent of our unfaithfulness to God and beg for His mercy, grace and forgiveness ”

“The Wednesday night small group is following up to see if God answered their prayers

Have you felt a sudden urge to start reading your Bible, lead the youth group, or wear less cologne to church?”

A slice of life

Furthermore, we said, “All members of Illinois Baptist State Association churches are encouraged to regularly pray for God to give His people the ability to speak HIS message with boldness and clarity by the power of the Holy Spirit, and regularly pray for all to receive Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior ”

Illinois Baptists, let’s keep repenting and sharing the Gospel in 2014, so that we may truly grow as churches together advancing the Gospel

And may God receive all the glory!

Scott Kelly is pastor at Evanston Baptist Church and director of the Baptist Collegiate Ministry at Northwestern University

Table Talk: Theology, ministry, and things that matter

‘Tis the season Pew asked 2,000 Americans: For you, is Christmas more a religious or cultural holiday?

32% Religious

Cultural Both/neither

Don’t celebrate Celebrate sometimes, or declined question

51% 1% 7%

Two Andy Stanley’s and a Beth Moore

Discipleship doesn’t come in a box Lessons come in boxes, neatly packaged with DVDs and participant guides And for years, discipleship to me was the newest lessons from great teachers It was all I had ever known, until God called me to a church outside the Bible Belt

Our Southern Baptist church in Pennsylvania was mainly comprised of former Catholics, Methodists, or unchurched people Many in our congregation came from a background where they had never been encouraged to read the Bible One former Catholic who joined told me, “Our priest said if we ever needed to know something from Scripture, he’d tell us ” It became quickly apparent that doing discipleship the same old way wasn’t going to work

And then I began to ask myself a tougher question: Did it ever work?

Much of our discipleship today fails because of a lack of biblical literacy. We have assumed for so long that those within our congregations are having a personal devotional time of some sort because they’re Christians The reality is that many lack this important time with the Lord, not

because they don’t love God, but because they were never discipled on how to do it

So we scrapped our random discipleship efforts in Pennsylvania We canceled all the classes, not because the subjects or teachers were bad, but because there was no fruit Our pastoral staff and wives established discipleship groups We didn’t promote them in the bulletin, but as individual leaders we identified potential future disciple makers We established these as regular groups, meeting at least on a monthly basis We prayed together, ate together, and studied the Bible together As group leaders, we did this to make disciples who would make disciples

When God called our family to northern Illinois this year, I had the opportunity to step back and look at my group Corey had been silent and plagued with guilt over his lack of depth as a believer He’s now the leader of the group, and a new deacon in the church Matt was becom-

ing serious about studying the Bible, but often unwilling to commit He’s now leading the youth ministry since my departure and learning to be a doer And after two years, another man finally left the comfort of those friends to invest in a new group, where he will pass along the lessons of personal discipleship he learned

9%

dreams I have for our church I dream of a church that is debt-free I dream of a church that is focused outside of our walls I dream of a church where our people live in a passionate relationship with their Savior And all those dreams are tied to personal discipleship

Jesus’ earthly ministry over a threeyear stretch was marked by twelve disciples That ministry would barely register a blip on the radar of many church leaders today because of its humble beginnings But as a result of Jesus’ personal investment in those men, churches were started, the Gospel spread, and many were saved. Jesus gave us a simple model: love them then lead them This is the lesson I am now living out Here at First Baptist Church in Machesney Park, there are many

Disciples will give, disciples will go, and disciples will grow But for these dreams to become reality, I must set the example as pastor So I will invest in the lives of our people, finding those who can be grown not only as disciples, but disciple makers It will grow our First family closer to God and each other Christ called us in Matthew 28:19 to “Go therefore and make disciples ” Andy Stanley and Beth Moore are great teachers, but they can’t make disciples for you Discipleship requires personal investment that a box cannot provide I challenge you to examine discipleship in your church How can you personally invest in the lives of your church family such that you will make disciples who make disciples?

Heath Tibbetts is pastor of FBC Machesney Park, Ill

Why study kits are great tools, but don’t make disciples

Let us remember our most important resolutions.

Heath

Tibbetts

New missions housing opens in Chicago

Disaster turns to blessing as old building is reborn

Chicago | Two days before Christmas 2010, the pipes froze in an old threestory building in Chicago’s East Humboldt neighborhood

Then they burst.

The result was cascading waters that left much of the building in ruins and many people who saw the aftermath saying it should be sold or torn down

Today, that building is all new inside, and ready to welcome mission teams to come work in Chicagoland

“Lack of affordable short-term housing is one of the bottlenecks in bringing mission teams into urban centers,” said Jay Noh, multi-ethnic church planting catalyst with IBSA

Noh was missions director for Chicago Metro Baptist Association at the time of the flood It was Noh who found the damage “Even with water running down the walls and the ceilings collapsing, we could see that this could be a place for missions and new churches ”

So began the three-year restoration

which meant wrestling with aldermen and inspectors, building codes, insurance companies, and several contractors

“Mission housing has been a real need in Chicago,” said Mindy Cobb, CMBA administrator Churches were willing to offer gym space and Sunday school rooms for short-term mission teams, but none had adequate shower facilities

“Hopefully this will enable more workers to come to Chicago to share the good news ” The Rockwell Street building has already hosted mission teams from Alabama, Arkansas, and Missouri, and spring break weeks are booked

The surrounding neighborhood, once notably racked by violence, is showing signs of gentrification Built in 1917, the building was formerly home to Rockwell Chapel CMBA had rented the space to several mis-

sion congregations in recent decades

The last of them, Greater Exodus, had just vacated the property when it flooded

Some 9,000 square feet on three floors have been remodeled into several large spaces for mission teams to stay, plus a chapel/meeting space, and in the basement a large dining hall and full commercial kitchen

And nine showers

At $15 per mission tripper per night, “it’s a clean, affordable, func-

Coming this year: GO Week for students

E l g i n | Through a partnership with Judson University, IBSA will offer the first-ever GO Week missions experience for students in grades 7-12 this summer

During the week of July 13-18, teens will serve in Chicago alongside church planters working in various parts of the city “GO Week helps us expose students to church planting early,” said IBSA’s Mark Emerson,

with the hope that God will call some of them into church planting ministry in the future

Students will stay at Judson, go to their project sites during the day, and come back together for worship in the evenings, led by Ben Calhoun of the band Citizen Way. The Illinois All State Youth Choir also will perform during one of the week’s worship services

The cost for GO Week is $150 per udent IBSA’s missions team is ponsoring a video contest, with a rize of 10 free registrations The ules are online at www IBSA org/ tudent For more information about O Week or to register, call (217) 91-3138 or e-mail BarbTroeger@ BSA org

MULTI-PURPOSE – The new headquarters for Chicago Metro Baptist Association will also house future church plants and visiting mission teams The Rockwell Street building includes spaces for groups to stay and meet, a commercial kitchen, and a dining hall (left)

tional place,” Noh concluded, “and I am prayerfully optimistic that many more churches will be able to bring groups to minister in the city ”

“It is really great to be able to offer overnight housing at a reasonable price to our mission groups, and I love having them in the same building as the [CMBA] office,” Cobb said The Chicago association relocated its office there in July and a new church plant began meeting in the chapel space on Sundays starting in November

“Our people have been very impressed with the beauty of the building and the various ways it is being used,” Cobb said

A true ‘cell movement’

Another alternative for mission team housing in Chicagoland is the former police station in Plainfield, complete with jail cells Now home to Crosswinds Community Church, the building has a full kitchen, men’s and women’s locker rooms with showers, and bunk beds for 25

“It is important to have mission team housing in the suburbs, because, if you are going to reach Chicago, you need to reach the suburbs,” said Crosswinds co-pastor Ken Schultz Plainfield is a 45-minute drive from the city’s center and serves as a good staging area for groups working almost anywhere in the metro area “For teams coming to Chicago, the suburbs can offer a safe place to stay while doing trips to work in the city ”

Renovation on the former police station was jointly supported by Crosswinds, NAMB, IBSA, and First Baptist Church of Columbia, which had partnered with Crosswinds on many outreach projects and saw the need for overnight accomodations

“It is a great way for our church to catch a larger vision of the kingdom,” Schultz said. “Vision is expanded for both churches as we cooperate together ”

As for the jail cells, they aren’t used for sleeping very often, but they are fun, “definitely a conversation starter,” Schultz said “People like to take pictures in the cells to post on Facebook with funny captions or send to friends about their time in Chicago ”

For more information about missions housing at Crosswinds, go to www xwindschurch org or contact the church at (815) 230-7624

RE-PURPOSED – Crosswinds attender Sarah Eck poses for a (hopefully) comical photo inside a jail cell in the church’s renovated building The former police station in Plainfield is now a short-term housing option for mission teams

Trafficking testimony raises question, ‘What do we do next?’

Continued from page 1

at AWSOM how she’d talked about Jesus to the man sitting next to her on a recent flight She wears a bracelet engraved with the phrase “never thirst again ”

“He is our living water, and we don’t talk about Him enough ”

It happens here too

Carmen Halsey saw God move at AWSOM After the girls heard McCarty’s story, “They were ready to engage something,” said IBSA’s director of missions mobilization and Illinois Woman’s Missionary Union (WMU)

“‘What do we do next? How do we get involved?’ It was like mobilizing an army ”

Halsey was ready with answers

She’s creating a focus group, led by students with the help of their leaders, to educate people across the state about human exploitation Go to www IBSA org/womensmissions for more information

At the center of McCarty’s talk at AWSOM was the message that trafficking is a widespread problem and takes many different forms The girls “went home recognizing this is in our community, this could happen to them, and it’s not as obvious as you think,” Halsey said

WMU has worked nationally since 2010 to draw attention to the issue of human exploitation The organization’s Project HELP is a five-year emphasis on a major social issue, and exists to help churches meet needs within that area.

National WMU will start a new Project HELP after 2014, focused on post-traumatic stress disorder But Halsey is hoping trafficking awareness and prevention is a focus Illinois women will engage for years to come (Messengers to the IBSA Annual Meeting last fall approved a resolution concerning human trafficking )

Halsey will facilitate a mission trip to Birmingham next summer to work with McCarty and The Wellhouse, in projects called “special ops ” The volunteers will prayer walk and hand out information about the rescue ministry They’ll try to engage women desperately in need of hope, and the Gospel

‘Jehová, El está aquí’

Women’s meeting declares ‘God is here’

O a k b r o o k | More than 850 women were in the west Chicago suburbs late last year to worship and learn at the annual Hispanic WMU meeting

“The meeting is a celebration,” said IBSA’s Carmen Halsey, “a celebration of the work over the past year and how God is moving in the lives of people ” Organizer Ana Melendez recruited speakers and musicians, some nationally known and some from Illinois, to encourage women to grow deeper in their commitment to Christ

Speaker Chrissy Toledo shared her story of running away from the church As an interpreter translated her words into Spanish, the daughter of Brooklyn Tabernacle Pastor Jim Cymbala told the women how she started listening to deceptive messages she found in non-Christian music “She started to believe what the devil was saying into her life,” Melendez said

But after having a daughter of her own, Toledo realized she wanted something better for her child Melendez summed up the speaker ’s message: “The best decision that you can make in life is to follow the Lord ”

Luis Lopez, president of LifeWay Espanol, encouraged women by sharing about marriage, Melendez said The conference also featured a concert by recording artist Julissa, whose song “Jehová” set the meeting’s theme.

The large-group sessions used both Spanish and English, but an additional meeting for teenagers was totally in English The student track featured former Illinois WMU director Serena Butler and was attended by at least 100 people, Melendez estimated Halsey, in her first year as director of Illinois WMU, gave a welcome at the meeting on behalf of the organization She told the Illinois Baptist she’s looking forward to working alongside the Hispanic women and learning from them, especially in the areas of missions and leadership development

“The Hispanic women’s leadership team works all year to facilitate leadership development and mission opportunities for Hispanic women,” Halsey said “The plans are strategic to equip the women to be missionaries within their communities and effective leaders within their local churches.

“By probability, I shouldn’t be standing here,” McCarty said at AWSOM “But Jesus is outside of probability ”

Forgiven much

Illinois WMU will take on another pressing social issue in 2014: reducing the recidivism rate in the state’s prisons Halsey has started another focus group to investigate how WMU can help with prison ministry, beginning by identifying what local churches are already doing in the way of outreach

In February, women will travel to Arkansas, where Southern Baptist

Chaplain Stacey Smith runs a discipleship program for female inmates and former prisoners Smith, herself a former inmate, shared about her ministry at the annual Illinois Women’s Missions Celebration in May

“When I’m able to go in there to that prison, and I can share with them about the forgiveness of God, I can share that personally,” Smith said then, “because of how much He has forgiven me ”

A volunteer team will work with Smith Feb 3-6; for more information, go to www IBSA org

“We’ve committed to work together to further God’s kingdom, embracing diversity but using our identity in Christ as the common point of focus ”

Because the women involved in Hispanic WMU are primarily in northern Illinois, Halsey said she and Melendez have talked about ways to expand the ministry downstate. And along with reaching out to Hispanic women, Halsey hopes to help meet another important need: helping non-Hispanic church leaders as they reach out to Hispanics in their communities

“We want to help our non-Hispanic churches also look into their communities, identify Hispanic women and learn how to engage them and get them involved in their churches,” Halsey said

The next Hispanic WMU event is a training conference March 29 The one-day conference has 15 breakout sessions on women ’ s ministry, missions, family, Bible study and leadership For more information, contact Ana Melendez at AnaDeMelendez@ gmail com

JEWELRY WITH PURPOSE – Girls at AWSOM (left) made beaded bracelets to raise awareness about human trafficking The bracelets included a card with the national rescue phone number “They made two, one to keep and one to give away,” said IBSA’s Barb Troeger Tajuan McCarty (above left), praying with leaders at AWSOM, will partner with Illinois volunteers when they visit The Wellhouse ministry this year

AMIGAS – You can’t put a price on seeing so many women worshiping the Lord, said Ana Melendez, coordinator of Illinois’ annual Hispanic WMU meeting

First, we ask forgiveness for being unaware of how human trafficking victimizes so many people Help us know how to pray and proceed

PEOPLE AND CHURCHES

Our holiday album

In Memory

David Ford, pastor of Charity Southern Baptist Church in Greenfield since 1994, died Dec 19 after an earlier heart attack Ford also served on the Baptist Foundation of Illinois board of trustees He is survived by his wife, Joanne, and his three children, Jeremy, Dulcy and Jordan

Updates

Richard Tribble, pastor of Church of the Open door in Springfield, was certified in November as a registered parliamentarian by the National Association of Parliamentarians For information or help with parliamentary procedure, contact him at rrtribble@yahoo.com.

Ministry Positions

The Illinois Baptist State Association is seeking resumes from individuals interested in a leadership position with Streator Baptist Camp Candidates should possess some skills in facility maintenance, calendaring and employee supervision Promotion or camp programming skills are a plus Send resumes to Melissa Phillips, Illinois Baptist State Association, P O Box 19247, Springfield, IL 62794-9247 or to Melissa Phillips@IBSA org For more information, call (217) 391-3104

Baptist Children’s Home and Family Services has an immediate opening for a husband and wife houseparent couple. Position is full-time, with salary and benefits package Send resumes to Scott Kiser at 949 County Road 1300 North, Carmi, IL 62821, or call (618) 382-4165, ext 206

FBC Valier is seeking a full-time or bivocational pastor Contact the church at (618) 724-7823, or search committee chairman Joe Moyers at (618) 420-3911

Resources

For Sale: 1996 Ford bus, 136,000 miles, seats 22-24 people, will need AC repair Call (217) 254-6222 or (618) 483-6374

For Sale: 2004 Ford E-150 XL 12-passenger van 74,000+ miles, $7,500 or best offer Contact Don Trail at (618) 841-2226.

For Sale: Forsyth Baptist Church is selling 31 pews, each padded and 12 feet long For info or photos, contact the church at (217) 877-0302

Send news for Around Our State to MeredithFlynn@IBSA org

DINNER – Ashmore and Enon Missionary Baptist Churches, both in Ashmore, Ill , joined with two other churches to serve a Thanksgiving meal to 240 members of the community The event, sponsored by the town’s Ministerial Alliance, doubled in attendance over last year “All in all it was a wonderful time,” reported David Colvin, pastor of Ashmore Baptist “A great opportunity for the community to see churches of differing denominations come together to minister to the community free of charge ”

Year-end information

All Cooperative Program and other gifts received in the IBSA Business Office by 9 a m Monday, Jan 6, 2014, will be reported in the 2013 church giving totals, published in the Illinois Baptist and the 2013 IBSA Annual Gifts received after 9 a m Jan 6 will be credited as 2014 giving For a detailed report of your church’s 2013 gifts, contact Kendra Jackson at (217) 391-3111 or KendraJackson@IBSA org

BFI scholarships

The application for 2014-15 scholarships from the Baptist Foundation of Illinois is available now at www.baptistfoundationil.org. All materials are due Jan 31, 2014 For more information, contact BFI at (217) 391-3116 or SheilaOdle@IBSA org

PAId AdverTISeMeNT

The Jefferson Baptist Association, south of St Louis, MO, is looking for a full-time Director of Missions requirements: degree from an SBC-affiliated seminary and senior pastor experience Full salary and benefit package Send cover letter and resume by Feb 28, 2014, deadline to domsearchteam@gmail com

AND A SHOW – Ben Cox and Nicole Mings portray George and Mary Bailey in “It’s a Wonderful Life,” a Christmas musical presented by FBC Marion The annual production, always a Broadway-style musical, is held at the Marion Cultural & Civic Center and includes a Gospel presentation by Pastor Bob Dickerson

HONORED – National Disaster Relief has awarded Jack Shelby (right) the Robert E Dixon Lifetime Achievement Award IBSA’s Rex Alexander notified Shelby of the honor at his home in Springfield Shelby served as State Director of IBSA Disaster Relief from 1999 through early 2012; he is currently an assistant state director The award will be presented at the National Disaster Relief Roundtable banquet in Georgia on Jan 27

We need revival

Continued from page 1

“Generally, the people of God were going about life and ministry with a business-as-usual attitude,” Phil Miglioratti, IBSA’s prayer consultant and leader of the National Pastors’ Prayer Network says of the periods just before the Great Awakenings

“They were either satisfied with the current situation of cultural decline or lacking in faith for the church to have an impact on the country ”

But God moved back then.

What historians generally call the First Great Awakening started in the 1730s when the stern preaching of Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield, in a ritualistic period of churchmanship, stirred in their hearers a desire for a more personal faith

Another wave started in the early 1800s and set the stage for sweeping revivalism across the U S both before and after the Civil War That awakening moved from New England, across what was then the upper Midwest, and after the war down into Kentucky and Tennessee

What woke Great-grandpa

“In both the First and Second awakenings, the church needed a revival of prayer,” Miglioratti said “The Holy Spirit responded with a rhythm of praying in the First awakening, at first with individuals, then congregations, and then regional prayer movements

In the Second, it was an outside-thebox movement of noon-time prayer meetings that spread west from New York City across the country ”

The pattern Miglioratti identified started with individual repentance, but often spread quickly It began with prayer and proclamation of the word And the awakenings came ahead of times of national testing: the American Revolution, the Civil War God was preparing his people

In recent years, the pattern of awakenings has included spontaneous prayer meetings on college campuses, where run-of-the-mill chapel services turned into days-long sessions of per-

sonal confession. Wheaton College experienced such a revival in 1995, at the same time campus revivals broke out in Texas, with students praying non-stop for several days

But there is a difference between protracted personal chest-beating and intercession on behalf of a wayward nation pleading for the salvation of millions of lost souls

“For some time, God has been burdening my heart about prayer and spiritual awakening,” Frank Page wrote when he called the denomination to prayer in 2013 “I talked about this a great deal when I was president of the Southern Baptist Convention (2006-08) That deep sense of need for revival in our land has only gotten stronger over these past six years,” said Page, now president of the SBC Executive Committee

“If we do not have God’s reviving hand upon us, we will move into a precipitous decline from which we will never recover,” Page said

Beyond personal confession and pleading for the nation, some theologians say believers can’t just sit back and hope God moves Action is required, specifically, bringing the body of Christ together in unity

“I was recently involved in a prayer gathering, entreating the Lord for spiritual awakening and revival in our nation,” said Roger Oldham, executive editor of SBC Life, published by

the denomination’s executive committee “As we prayed, person after person lamented the apparent lack of love for the brethren within Christian circles We don’t stand our ground in defending one another, especially when a fellow believer takes a strong stand on a crucial issue ”

Oldham is not alone in that opinion Leaders in several denominations have called on evangelicals to come together to pray for revival – and to take stands on issues vital to America’s spiritual renewal

So, the pattern emerges: prayer for renewal begins with the individual believer, then moves to the church as prayer for revival, and ultimately becomes prayer for national awakening

“‘Start with me, Lord’ must be our personal call for real conviction and cleansing,” said Miglioratti, “and we do not need to wait for a leader to schedule a Solemn Assembly to pray that prayer Then pray for your congregation to be called into times of honest reflection and Holy Spiritsourced repentance, with witnessing and evangelization as the fruit of an authentic restoration of Christ as Head of the Church ”

Or, as one pastor in Dallas prayed: “Lord, I don’t want to do [ministry] if You don’t come down in power Lord, it’s one thing to read about it; we want to experience revival ”

Prayer for 2014

Intercede for the church

Here’s a plan for praying for the church and church leaders throughout the year It focuses on Paul’s prayers in his letters to the churches he founded

In these verses, Paul teaches us the power of praying Scripture back to the Lord His written prayers train us to pray beyond convenience and consumption to consecration and commitment These apostolic prayers lead us into Trinitarian praying: to the Father, in the name of Christ, by the filling and empowering of the Spirit And the Apostle reminds us to pray with faith, hope and love for the Bride of Christ

As you pray, ask the Holy Spirit what to focus on Memorize all or part of the verses by repeating phrases that best express your passion as you pray Write out the Scripture; then, write your response prayer Stick to one theme per month And pray that theme daily for your church, its leaders, and all IBSA churches and missionaries

Jan Wisdom and revelation (Eph 1:17-19)

Feb Abound in love (1 Thess 3:9-13)

March Strengthened with might (Eph 3:16-19)

April Walk worthy (Col 1:9-12)

May Abound in hope (Rom 15:13)

June Like-minded (Rom 15:5-7)

July Faith with power (2 Thess 1:11-12)

Aug Enriched in everything (1 Cor 1:4-8)

Sept Pray for us (2 Thess 3:1-5)

Oct Continue earnestly in prayer (Col 4:2-4)

Nov Fruits of righteousness (Phil 1:9-11)

Dec He will do it (1 Thess 5:23-24)

Phil Miglioratti, IBSA’s Prayer Ministries Consultant, offers training to churches and leaders in prayer, spiritual disciplines, and renewal PhilNPPN@gmail com

A Scripture plan to revolutionize your life

While all the spiritual disciplines are commended, Bible intake is the most foundational and most urgent It is the indispensable discipline because it informs, fosters and enables the other disciplines The Bible is self-described as being “like a hammer that pulverizes rock” (Jer 23:29), and as a word that “will not return to Me empty” (Isa 55:11)

Practice these six simple steps and see your Christian life revolutionized

1 Hearing the Bible is the most basic and common form of Scripture intake whether preached or taught, received in person, or through other media Jesus pronounced blessing upon those who hear the Word of God and obey it (Luke 11:28), and Paul assigned the “public reading” of

Scripture as an indispensable part of public worship to ensure God’s people heard God’s Word (1 Tim 4:13)

2 Reading the Bible is perhaps the most essential form of Bible intake For the Christian, nothing should displace daily Bible reading This includes both the macro-level of reading through books of the Bible and the micro-level of reading passages and verses repeatedly for greater familiarization and specific application

3 Studying the Bible gives the Christian depth and strengthens his knowledge of God, thus enabling him to more ably teach and defend the faith every believer is called to be a Berean, searching the Scriptures and weighing teachers and doctrines by

them (Acts 17:10-12)

4. Memorizing the Bible… follows the pattern of the Bible itself Whether it is Jesus quoting the Scriptures to Satan or Paul reasoning from the Old Testament to his Jewish interlocutors, the Bible prioritizes “treasur[ing] Your word in my heart so that I may not sin against You” (Ps 119:11)

5 Meditating on the Bible sounds like a mystic practice to some, but it is a biblical concept and a distinctly Christian activity In fact, God links meditating on His Word with obedience and blessing (Josh 1:8, Ps 1:1-3) Meditating on God’s Word is as simple as intentionally reflecting on a passage of Scripture, directly applying its truth to your life, and letting it marinate in your heart

6 Praying through the Bible flows naturally from Scripture meditation Giants of the faith, such as Martin Luther, Charles Spurgeon and especially George Mueller, made a habit of praying through Scripture

The Psalms especially lend themselves to prayer Additionally, praying the Scriptures helps assure one’s prayers are biblically sound and most pleasing to God

Jason K Allen is president of Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City, Mo

This column first appeared at his website, jasonkallen com Read the full version at Baptist Press, www bp net

POWER OF PRAYER – “We were broken before God, crying out to Him personally and collectively,” said Ronnie Floyd, organizer of a prayer gathering of senior pastors Submitted photo, BP

With info from Baptist Press and SBC Life

FOR LEADERS

Getting small groups on board

How old is God’s man?

Q: I’m on the pastor search committee It seems that everyone wants a 30-year-old guy with two children, a wife who will lead the young women, and he must be great at everything What if God wants to send us an old guy? Nobody wants to listen to me say that

A: The search committee’s function is to seek out the type of pastor the church is looking for, not to satisfy their own wants It would be best to conduct a simple survey and poll the church in order to find out what the membership wants in a pastor

Keep in mind that both a 30-yearold and a 60-year-old will have pluses and minuses What one lacks in practical experience and on-the-job training, the other will have What one can provide in the way of fresh innovative ideas, the other might lack

I’ve known churches led by 75- to 80-year-old pastors who could preach down heaven, loved the congregation, were full of energy, attracted young couples, connected with youth and built wonderful lasting friendships,

while a 30-year-old fumbled his way through his first and second churches, stayed only long enough to make a mess of things, and left discouraged

I’ve also seen the opposite thing happen when a mature 30-year-old stepped into a leadership position that many would have thought was beyond his years, but did a wonderful job and was loved by the young and old alike Ultimately, through prayer, the direction of the Holy Spirit, the diligent work of the committee and the sovereign will of Almighty God, a church should trust the Lord to send and make known the right candidate for their congregation and not allow preconceived notions, objections, and expectations sway their vote of confidence.

The ultimate field trip

Q: I heard you’re taking a group to Israel Should pastors do that?

A: I never thought I’d ever have an opportunity to travel and see Israel, but this month, I’ll take my thirteenth trip there I always come back revived, refreshed, reinvigorated, renewed, and

ready to preach the truths of God’s Word with a fresh excitement

A visit to Israel will forever change the way a person understands the Bible Passages you’ve always believed now come to life with a rich and deeper understanding of why something was said in a particular location Seeing the remains of ancient cities in the exact location referenced in the Scriptures adds validity to what you’ve already believed It helps the student of the Bible understand how small the Holy Land really is, how Jesus and His disciples traveled, and the beauty of a culture so different than that of the United States

Personally, I think every pastor ought to spend at least 10 days in Israel before he begins his ministerial calling You cannot walk in the footsteps of Jesus without having your life forever changed I sincerely hope you will be able to visit Israel some day!

Pat Pajak has pastored churches of all sizes across Illinois He presently leads IBSA’s Church Strengthening team Send your coaching questions for Pat to IllinoisBaptist@IBSA org

Church leaders should be actively involved in determining what small groups and classes will study, says LifeWay Christian Resources President Thom Rainer But many don’t give it the same time and attention they give to preaching on Sunday morning

Rainer shared these five dangers of an “anything goes” approach to small groups:

1 Because preaching is held to a higher standard, the perception becomes that the small group teaching is just not that important

2 The vision of the church could be distracted or derailed

3 It opens the door for heretical teaching

4 It takes away from the unity of the church

5 It does not allow for strategic teaching

“Leaders in churches need not be autocratic in their desire to get small group teaching aligned with the ministry of the church,” Rainer says “It can and should be a mutually agreed upon goal to move people toward greater maturity in Christ with clear and known material ”

January 1-5: January Bible Study; for Colossians curriculum, go to www LifeWay com and type January Bible Study 2014 in the search box

January 6, 11: Tax Seminar at Second Baptist, West Frankfort on Jan 6 and Pleasant Hill Baptist, Mt Vernon on Jan 11 (217) 391-3126, DebbieMuller@IBSA org, www IBSA org/Church Health

January 19: SBC Sanctity of Human Life Sunday

January 25: All State Choir Auditions at Rochester FBC; Logan Street, Mt Vernon; Emmanuel, Lemont; and Calvary, Elgin. For students in grades 9-12; choir members will attend Summer Worship University (July 7-11) and go on a music and ministry tour of Illinois and Oklahoma on July 12-18 (217) 391-3126, DebbieMuller@IBSA.org

February 6, 7: Tax Seminar at the IBSA Building, Springfield on Feb 6 and the CMBA Office (6559 W 92nd St , Oaklawn) on Feb 7 (217) 3913126, DebbieMuller@IBSA.org, www IBSA org/Church Health

February 8: Churches of Strength Conference, IBSA Building, Springfield This free training event features a variety of areas, including leadership development, Sun

day School, evangelism, music & worship, student ministries, church renewal, prayer, WMU, and more Starts at 8 a m with continental breakfast; concludes at noon (217) 391-3124, CathyWaters@IBSA org

February 9: SBC Racial Reconciliation

Sunday

February 10-16: Focus on WMU. For resources, contact Carmen Halsey at CarmenHalsey@IBSA org, (217) 391-3143

February 21: Youth Ministry Worker Connection in Springfield; 6-8 p m An opportunity for student ministry workers, whether paid or volunteer, to network and share best practices RSVP to JennaNickelson@IBSA org by noon on Feb. 17.

February 22: VBS Clinic, IBSA Building in Springfield Free training event for pastors, VBS directors, and leaders in preschool, children, special needs, Backyard Bible Club, music, crafts and missions LifeWay’s 2014 VBS theme is Agency D3: Discover Decide Defend Clinics start at 8:15 a m , conclude at noon CathyWaters@IBSA org, (217) 391-3124

For a complete listing of training opportunities, go to IBSA org

– Excerpted from “Five Dangers of Unaligned Small Groups” on ThomRainer com, June 2013

DVD’s: New and coming soon

1 True Love Waits: The Documentary A new film looks at the abstinence movement’s impact on culture, 21 years after it started Feb 15

2 Grace Unplugged A prodigal daughter story set in the music world Feb 11

3. Unstoppable Kirk Cameron asks the question, “Where is God in the midst of tragedy and suffering?” Jan 28

4 When Calls the Heart A young teacher moves to the Canadian frontier in this love story, based on a 1983 novel by Janette Oke

5 The Ultimate Life A man gains wisdom from his grandfather’s journal in this sequel to 2006’s “The Ultimate Gift ”

6. My Hope America with Billy Graham This video, released Nov 1, coincided with Graham’s televised last public sermon on his 95th birthday

7 Believe An animated tale of birds in the Holy Land

8. VeggieTales: God Loves You Very Much A collection of four veggie stories focused on God’s love

9 Not Today The global epidemic of human trafficking is the subject of this film about a once-carefree young man who helps a father in India rescue his daughter (Rated PG-13)

10 The Promise: The Birth of the Messiah An animated musical chronicling Jesus’ birth as told in the Gospel of Luke (LifeWay com, Dec 2013)

Illinois student survives post-typhoon journey

Manila, Philippines | The stench of rotting dead bodies was overwhelming

“I can’t breathe It’s burning my eyes,” Makenzie Baker told three Filipino co-workers

With no choice but to continue, they trekked forward over the remains of buildings, animals and bodies in the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan when most people were leaving the city of Tacloban

A member of Fairfield Baptist Church in Southern Illinois, Baker went to the Philippines to spend a semester serving through the International Mission Board’s Hands On program Her assignment was to serve among the Waray Waray people, an unreached people group on the island of Samar

For the past few months, Baker traveled up and down the Ulot River, spending the night in different villages, building relationships and studying the Bible with villagers

Though Typhoon Haiyan damaged some homes and schools in the region, people were returning to life as normal Baker had no idea of the extent of the typhoon’s devastation in other parts of the Philippines

After the Nov 8 typhoon passed, she jumped back into her ministry and traveled to a larger village the next day where a Filipino pastor encouraged them to go to the city of Tacloban, which had suffered widespread destruction

Baker said she wasn’t sure about going to Tacloban, a city of about 200,000, not having any idea of the circumstances there But she decided to proceed, spending four hours on rough, mountainous roads in three different vehicles, punctuated by several flat tires, before reaching their ministry base camp at the town of Can-Avid

Baker and her three Filipino ministry partners boarded a bus to Tacloban At a major bridge, a mob of

Potluck Blogger

Mandarin Orange Salad

Looking to get back on track after the holidays? Try this family recipe from Barb Troeger, a member of IBSA’s missions team

Ingredients

Romaine lettuce, ripped into small pieces

1 bunch green onions, chopped

1 can mandarin oranges

Toasted almonds

1/3 c sugar or Splenda

1/3 c white vinegar

1/4 c olive oil

Optional: additional fruit, like raspberries or blueberries

To prepare: Put lettuce in large bowl Drain mandarin oranges and reserve juice And oranges to lettuce, then add in onions and other fruit, if using Mix mandarin orange juice with sugar, vinegar and oil, and pour over lettuce Toss, add almonds, and serve!

traumatized people began attacking the bus, demanding that it turn around and take them away from the devastation Baker had to crawl through a window to get out of the bus

both physically and emotionally Baker and her companions had no choice but to continue walking over and around dead bodies, meditating on the verses in Proverbs All of the landmarks were gone, and they had trouble finding their way through the city

As darkness fell, Baker realized they needed to find shelter Desperate crowds were stealing from stores and from people passing by They hiked for another hour and were about to give up on trying to find a local church

“I looked up and there is another American,” Baker said “My Filipino partners start talking to him and he answers in perfect Cebuano

“He said, ‘We’ve been looking everywhere for you,’” Baker said. “Why are you looking for me?”

She and her ministry partners took a bicycle taxi across the bridge and then set out on foot – hiking 15 miles in a blazing hot sun On the trek, Baker said she was worrying whether she’d be able to return to her ministry among the Waray Waray people

That’s when she said God gave her Proverbs 4:25-26 “Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure” (ESV)

Dead bodies littered the road The smell of decaying flesh was crippling

She then learned that he was Stan Smith, an IMB missionary on the island of Cebu who had traveled for hours, hiking for a long portion of the journey on foot through destroyed villages, to find her and IMB missionaries Carl and Suzie Miller

Smith and Baker subsequently found the Millers in their typhoonravaged home in Tacloban He, Baker and the Millers waited for six hours at the airport to be flown to Manila by U S Marines

Throughout the whole ordeal, “God gave us all strength,” she said “God kept us so safe ” Saying goodbye to her Filipino teammates was one of the hardest things she’s done, she said “Even though I am upset, I know God has a purpose ”

DAVE Says Financial advice from Dave Ramsey

Get intense about debt

Q: What would you recommend for 401(k) contributions while getting out of debt?

A: I recommend putting a temporary stop to investing while you’re getting out of debt Lots of people are shocked by this advice, because they’re afraid of missing out on the wonders of compound interest or their employer ’s match But the key word here is “temporary ”

Millions of people have followed and been successful with the program found in “The Total Money Makeover ” The first step, Baby Step 1, is to save $1,000 as a starter emergency fund Baby Step 2 is pay off all of your debts, except for your house, from smallest to largest with the debt snowball plan During this time you’re attacking your debt with incredible intensity and putting every penny you can scrape together toward knocking out debt

The average person working my plan can pay off all their debt, excluding their home, in 18 to 24 months Some folks can do it faster,

and for some it takes a little bit longer But during this time I want your financial focus to be squarely on getting out of debt. Once that’s done, you’ll find that you have a lot more control over your biggest wealthbuilding tool: your income

Many times in life we try to accomplish too many things at once One problem with this is often it diminishes our ability to focus When you spend all your time nickel-anddiming everything, the result is that nothing gets done very well You need to really move the needle and see results because personal finance is 80% behavior and only 20% head knowledge It’s not really a math issue because if you’d been doing the math all along, you wouldn’t have a bunch of debt

That’s why, for a short period of time, I want you to concentrate with laser intensity on knocking out debt Once that’s out of the way, you can pour even more money into saving, investing and achieving financial peace!

For more financial advice from Dave Ramsey, go to www IBSA org

WISDOM FOR THE ROAD – Makenzie Baker (right) meditated on Proverbs 4:25-26 on a difficult journey in the Philippines

– Excerpted from Caroline Anderson’s story on BPNews net

@ the Crossroads

@ the Crossroads

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compiled by Eric Reed

Father God,

Thank you that you are a God who communicates, a God who has spoken Thank you for your word, the Bible, and for the Word made flesh

Thank you that you are the Lord of Facebook, of Twitter, of Google+, and of all the media that are yet to come Lord we love you, and long for you to be made known amongst the nations, that ever y knee would bow and confess you as Lord Help us as we desire to be par t of your communications plan, in word, status update,

Immigration refor stalled in Congress, b of Protestant pastors citizenship for illegal impor tant (58%) and say reform would he istr y to Hispanics (5

“Many Protestant predominantly comp ethnic group, ” said searcher Scott Mc therefore have few m would be affected per ever, while only 21% pastors say reform their members, 54% reform That numb 82% of mainline past reform

Russell Moore , pr the SBC’s Ethics & R Liber ty Commissio one of eight clerg y in to the White House

Multi-ethnic America

In less than 30 years from now, there will be no racial majority; or to say it another way, Whites will no be longer a majority in U S by 2043 The majority of children under age 1 are already non-white The church in America is very much in transition, and one of those transitions may well be the faster growth in the number of minority Christians, yet that is not clearly reflected on the stages and pages of evangelical media

mission illinois

Pray for a new church

Location: Skokie, Cook County

Target: People of Hungarian heritage

Characteristics: Chicagoland is home to approximately 8,600

Hungarians The village of Skokie is 15 miles north of downtown Chicago

Prayer Needs: That people might see the truth of the Gospel, and the freedom it brings through Jesus

– From the IBSA Church Planting Team

Budget Goal: $6,250,000

Received to date 12/20/13: $6,032,860

Received to date in 2012: $6,005,858

Here’s the thing, this multiethnic diversity in the United States gives the evangelical churches a greater potential to better serve the global village, the whole wide world, if the church will take bigger and bolder steps to engage this diversity

Granted, not every neighborhood in America is overwhelmingly ethnic diverse yet, but it’s increasing practically everywhere The nations have already come! They’re at our doorsteps!

Strategist D J Chuang blogging at EdStetzer com

Consider yourself at home Suppor t for immigrants grows among Evangelicals POSTCARDS

ue in November “I sident not to make issue , but to work Republicans,” said need to work tothe system rather m at each other ” e president that deo shut down House tion reform still has an momentum not about politics,” Mandes “It’s about ommission and the dment ” As director Hope , Mandes trains sist immigrants Ten angelical churches nt to get involved, he day “ a lot of congrehave realized that e now on a mission ”

LifeWay Research (Sept 2013) and The Washington Post blog (Nov 2013)

Illinois stats

White 63% Black 15% Hispanic 16% Asian 5% Native peoples 1%

(Note: Hispanics may be of any race The percentages of White and Black Illinoisans are nonHispanics ) – U S Census 2012 (est)

Missionaries: Hugo & Patricia Quiroga

Planting In: West Chicago

Focusing On: Hispanic population

Growth Stage: Holding weekly Bible studies and forming a core group

Pray: For members’ spiritual growth and opportunities to share the Gospel