June 1, 2024 Illinois Baptist

Illinois Baptist

Start here

NATE ADAMS

Right at home

With ‘my people’ P. 2

SBC NEWS Abuse indictment

How VBS opens doors for the gospel P. 11

Nashville, Tenn. | A new report on improved attendance at Southern Baptist Churches is a mixed bag with a net loss in members, dropping the nation’s largest protestant denomination below 13 million for the first time. On any given Sunday in 2023, just over 4 million people were in attendance at SBC churches.

The tally of Annual Church Profiles calls that good news.

The report, always released just ahead of the SBC Annual Meeting in June, is also being cited as evidence of the ongoing failure of the Great Commission Resurgence attempt make the denomination more effective, which began in 2010. A separate report on the impact of the GCR was released May 16. That report is one of two to be discussed at

RELATED: Two reports on SBC study groups P. 5

the Annual Meeting in Indianapolis June 11-12. (See story on page 5.)

Even as the numbers were released, Baptist Press was saying the declines were probably attributable to parallel declines in the number of churches reporting. Only 69% of SBC churches submitted an Annual Church Profile (ACPs), in strong contrast to Illinois, where 98% submitted an ACP to the state convention.

Lifeway Research projected that worship attendance was probably closer to 4.6 million, rather than 4 million, because of underreporting.

The part-time nature of worship attendance these days means the cumulative total of people who attend SBC churches could be 7 million, SBC President Bart Barber stated.

“The solemn nighttime hours of the pandemic gave way to the morning after all,” Barber said.

Increases in worship and Sunday school attendance were bright spots, P. 3

Former SWBTS provost charged with falsifying records P. 4

INDY PREVIEW

June Convention Messengers head east P. 5-7

Monday is dessert night! Illinois reception in Indy June 10 @ 8 p.m. Room 143

The Illinois Baptist staff

Editor - Eric Reed

Graphic Designer - Kris Kell

Contributing Editor - Lisa Misner

Comm. Coordinator - Nic Cook

Graphics Assistant - Makayla Proctor

Team Leader - Ben Jones

The general telephone number for IBSA is (217) 786-2600. For questions about subscriptions, articles, or upcoming events, contact the Illinois Baptist at (217) 391-3127 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 month by the Illinois Baptist State Association, 3085 Stevenson Drive, Springfield, Illinois 62703-4440. Subscriptions are free to Illinois Baptists. Subscribe online at IBSA.org.

The BIG Baptist family album

Aldo Galicia is planting a new church in Decatur. Ministerios Yahweh is a Spanish-language congregation. Logos Church, recently planted by Pastor Tom Gensler, is the sending church. Galicia served as worship and student pastor at Logos. He is married to Gabriela, and they have three children and recently welcomed a foster child.

TNATE ADAMS

Back to Indy

hough I grew up in a pastor’s home, I didn’t attend a national Southern Baptist Convention until I was 34. I’ve learned that’s not unusual. For most pastors, it’s not easy to carve out the time and resources needed to travel to the various cities where the SBC meets each year, especially with their families.

But that year of my first SBC, the convention met in Indianapolis, as it will again this year, by the way. And for my family in the Chicago suburbs, Indy was as nearby as any SBC in my lifetime. So my dad and a good friend from my Sunday School class and I decided to share a car and a hotel room and make the road trip together.

Even though there were more than 18,000 at the convention that year, from the moment we walked in the door, I felt at home. The music was familiar and worshipful, and of course big. The gifted preaching was inspiring. In the hallways, I witnessed reunion after reunion of Christian friends from college, seminary, or previous ministry days.

Even the exhibit hall felt familiar. The vast Lifeway store offered Bible studies and curriculum options my church had used, and ministry resources that I couldn’t wait to try. Trusted authors and musicians I recognized were there signing their books or recordings. And I could hardly pull my dad away from the largest selection of Bibles either of us had ever seen.

Crossover Indianapolis will take the gospel to the streets of our host city on the weekend prior to the SBC Annual Meeting. Pray for the Southern Baptists who will share the good news and for many salvations in Indy. (2023 photo from The Baptist Message)

CP giving at work Pray the news

“ERLC Explainer” is a regular feature at the website of the SBC’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission. Based in Washington, the ERLC brings Baptist voice to issues related to culture and public policy, and provides resources such as this to SBC churches.

Total giving by IBSA churches as of 4/30/24 $1,948,372

2024 budget goal to date: $2,126,964 2024 Goal: $6 Million

Perhaps most engaging to me were the exhibits and events hosted by our SBC mission boards. While photographic displays from faraway places told stories of the world’s lostness, missionaries and staff members stood throughout the exhibit and surrounding aisles, ready to speak with anyone about needs and victories in the places they were serving.

These were the women and men living out the stories I had learned about in my church’s missions studies. Some served in places where they were the only known believers. I was awestruck at the opportunity just to listen to them and ask questions.

Though I personally knew only a handful of the other messengers there in Indy, I remember thinking to myself, “These are my people! These are the folks who share my life values!” All around me were pastors and leaders from churches like mine, seeking to know the Lord and follow his Word, doing life together as brothers and sisters in their churches, offering the gospel to the people of their communities, and working together to send missionaries and churches to the ends of the earth.

Where I first thought, These are my people!

And though our churches were

many different sizes and styles, and from many different towns, cities, and states, that gathering in Indy showed me clearly that we as a convention of churches were together on the same mission. I knew who I could call for help. And I knew that my church was not alone.

I’m going back to Indy this year, and I would encourage you to do the same if you can. Especially if it’s been a while, or if you’ve never been, it will provide a larger and lasting picture of how many different churches from different places are following the same Lord, the same Bible, and the same mission to the world.

And perhaps just as important, when you return to the home church that you love so much, you will find yourself a more informed and passionate advocate for how our family of Baptist churches cooperate to advance the gospel. Churches did this throughout the New Testament, of course. And this year they will continue to do so, from Indy.

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

from the front: SBC baptisms up, membership down Continued from page 1

but it was the 26% spike in baptisms that cheered SBC officials most of all.

The 226,919 baptisms in SBC churches in 2023 marked a significant bounce from the Covid-affected 180,177 reported in 2022.

On any given Sunday, “members of Southern Baptist Churches will lead at least 622 people to faith in Christ and will celebrate their conversions by baptizing them,” Barber said.

“A linear trendline of baptisms before the pandemic using data from 1999 to 2019 would have predicted fewer baptisms in 2023,” Lifeway researcher Scott McConnell said.

BAPTISM REBOUND — The number of baptisms is better than projected after Covid, according to Lifeway Research.

“It is reassuring that the God who has changed the lives of the people represented by these baptism numbers is not limited by trendlines or history. And Southern Baptist congregations welcomed 175,026 other new members which is within half a percent of those joining in 2019.”

Membership, however, sank to 12,982,090 in the official tally, a drop of 1.82% from 13,223,122 in 2022. The denomination also lost 292 churches, falling below 47,000. Multi-site churches, however, increased to 680, an increase of 95 congregations.

The membership decline began 17 years ago, after a 2006 peak of 16.3 million. The denomination had grown steadily following WW2.

In his essay on morning in the SBC, Barber warned against reading the report negatively, despite the declines in some areas. He is encouraged by advances, numerical and otherwise.

“We have proven that the Southern Baptist Convention actually can do more than one thing at a time. We have witnessed gains in church attendance, and we have simultaneously made consistent progress in bolstering our churches’ defenses against sexual abuse. We have baptized more people, and we have simultaneously worked, through our annual meeting and through efforts like those of the Cooperation Group, to resolve theological differences in favor of biblical orthodoxy and biblical cooperation.”

The Cooperation Study Group, which Barber appointed last year in New Orleans, will come to the mic in Indianapolis with four recommendations for clarifying churches’ “friendly cooperation” with the denomination.

—IB staff, with additional information from Baptist Press, BNG, and Lifeway Research

IBSA news

Gardner retires

Joe Gardner, Associational Mission Strategist at Metro Peoria Baptist Association for 26 years, retired after serving for 44 years in ministry in May. Gardner has also served as an IBSA Zone Consultant for Region 5, which covers Metro Peoria and the Quad Cities area, since 2015. He and his wife, Becky, are planning to move to Bowling Green, Ky., to be near family.

The couple met as students at Union University in western Tennessee. He pastored in Kansas City while attending Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and was called to serve at First Baptist Church in Washington, Illinois soon after graduation.

A retirement celebration was held for him on May 5 at FBC Morton, where Gardner is serving an interim pastorate. There, Joel Newton, pastor of Woodland Baptist Church in Peoria called him a faithful servant. “He cares for the churches,” said Newton. “He cares for the pastors. He has a passion for the Kingdom of God and reaching those who need to hear the gospel. He will be missed in so many ways.”

Noah Lee, pastor of Tremont Baptist Church, said his family felt isolated after moving from Texas to Illinois. “I was looking to connect with local pastors for fellowship and encouragement. The church was independent at the time, so “there wasn’t a network readily available.” He reached out to Gardner, who “warmly received me and included me. Joe soon became a dear friend, trusted advisor, and pastoral mentor.”

Jerry Higdon, the Associational Mission Strategist for the Quad Cities Association, called him a great friend to pastors. “We are in debted to his excellent service and will miss him greatly.”

Gardner was also honored with a luncheon at IBSA May 7. The gathering featured lots of warm stories and expressions of gratitude.

—IB Staff

Parents’ rights initiative quashed

A question that would have gauged Illinois voters’ views on parents’ rights to their children’s medical information will not appear on the general election ballot. Supporters of the Wheaton-based Parents Matter Coalition (PMC) collected the required 500,000 signatures to place an advisory question on the November 2024 ballot, but the slate is limited to three questions. The ones allowed were written by Democratic legislators and passed in a single bill (SB 2412) two days before the deadline. PMC wanted to poll parents’ rights in minors’ medical decisions, particularly gender transition treatments and abortion.

Students sue over secret meditation

A group of former Chicago Public School students filed a class action lawsuit April 19 because they were taught Hindu meditation practices, then ordered to keep it secret from their parents. Kayla Hudgins said she was forced to sign a non-disclosure agreement about the ‘quiet time’ curriculum, or see their grades suffer. “My classmates and I were particularly warned by a David Lynch Foundation representative not to tell our parents if our parents were ‘religious,’” Hudgins told Illinois Policy. The students are being represented by Mauck and Baker, a Chicago law firm engaged in religious freedom cases.

Objections to Scientology

Columbia College students who live in a dorm in Chicago’s South Loop are objecting to the new Scientology center that opened next door. “When they first started setting up on Saturday, they had all these tables set out again, where it was like, ‘Hey, Columbia, like thank you for being our new neighbors.’ They were giving out free doughnuts and stuff, and it was just a weird taste in my mouth about it,” freshman Devin Schwieters told the Chicago Tribune. “It’s very obvious what they’re trying to do,” she said about efforts to recruit young people.

A couple dozen complaints were filed after the May 4-5 event. The controversial religion has drawn multiple celebrities with its new age beliefs. Detractors call it brainwashing.

PMC, Illinois Policy, Chicago Tribune

the briefing Graham statue dedicated

Franklin Graham stands at the base of a statue of his father, the evangelist Billy Graham, at the May 16 dedication in the U.S. Capitol. The state of North Carolina, Graham’s home, placed the seven-foot tall monument in his honor. John 3:16 and 14:6 are engraved on the base. His Bible is open to Galatians 6:14. Graham died in 2018 at age 99.

Former SWBTS provost indicted

New York, NY | The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York announced a charge against former Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary interim provost Matt Queen on May 21. In a statement, investigators allege one count “in connection with falsified notes Queen produced to the FBI related to an ongoing federal investigation.”

Queen, 49, now lead pastor of Friendly Avenue Baptist Church in Greensboro, N.C., was arraigned, DOJ reported.

“Matthew Queen, an interim Provost, allegedly failed to inform the FBI of a conspiracy to destroy evidence related to the ongoing investigation of sexual misconduct and instead produced falsified notes to investigators,” said James Smith, FBI assistant director in charge. “Queen’s alleged actions deliberately violated a court order and delayed justice for the sexual abuse victims. The FBI will never tolerate those who intentionally lie and mislead our investigation in an attempt to conceal their malicious behavior.”

SWBTS issued a statement on the same day.

“The indictment…stems from a report in Novem-

IBDR in Texas

Springfield | Strong spring storms causing widespread flooding were the source of an Illinois Baptist Disaster Relief (IBDR) callout to Cleveland, Texas. Cleveland is about 35 miles north of Houston, where straight-line winds of up to 100-miles-per-hour brought heavy rains in May, blowing out windows in skyscrapers, and sending water into the Astrodome. At least four people were killed. The spring severe weather season continued with deadly tornadoes in multiple Midwest states.

State Coordinator Arnold Ramage alerted volunteers on May 17 that incident command, assessors, chaplains, and feeding and flood recovery teams would be needed to serve for a week at a time, starting on May 20. Ramage said teams will stage out of Calvary Baptist Church in Cleveland.

ber 2022 of an alleged sexual abuse committed by a Texas Baptist College student. Within hours of becoming aware of an arrest warrant for the student on January 24, 2023, the seminary facilitated the arrest of the accused student, who was suspended and later withdrew from the college.

“When the institution became aware of the original report and the later responses of certain staff, the seminary disclosed the matter to the Department of Justice, as required by a DOJ subpoena…. After the seminary learned of Queen’s actions in June 2023, he was immediately placed on administrative leave and resigned as interim provost. All employees alleged to have acted improperly in this matter are no longer employed by the seminary,” the seminary’s statement said.

This is the first indictment DOJ has brought forward in its investigation of SBC actions related to sexual abuse.

The Department of Justice first informed SBC leaders of its intent to investigate in August 2022. DOJ told the SBC Executive Committee in March 2024 that they were closing the probe into actions by the SBC Executive Committee, according to an EC statement on March 6. No indictments were brought forward in that investigation.

Upon arrival Ramage said due to the heavy flooding, “Many areas are still inaccessible for recovery work.”

Sixteen IBDR volunteers served the first week. They were joined by a flood recovery team from Ohio. Additional teams from Ohio and West Virginia were scheduled to join the contingent in the second and third weeks of the callout.

IBDR is an organization with more than 400 volunteers ministering with the Illinois Baptist State Association.

—Photo from Baptist Press

QUEEN

PREVIEW

Southern Baptist Convention Meets in Indianapolis June 11-12

What we’re watching

▶ Second vote on male-only pastors ‘Law’ Amendment to the SBC Constitution

▶ Major reports on GCR restructuring evaluation and ‘friendly cooperation’ rules

▶ Renewed calls for fiscal responsibility from SBC entities

▶ Comments on first abuse-related federal indictment

▶ Jeff Iorg’s first appearance as Executive Committee CEO

▶ Six-way race for SBC President

4

‘cooperation’ recommendations

The group appointed by SBC President Bart Barber to study “friendly cooperation” will bring four recommendations at the convention. Lack of “friendly cooperation” has been cited as the basis for dismissal of churches from the convention.

“If you think of a basketball game and you have these boundaries … lines all over the court,” chair Jared Wellman told Baptist Press. “The nature of the Convention sometimes is like a game. We’re all in this together but sometimes we’ve not necessarily defined a line.” He said the group has been working since last summer to look at the lines that could look “a little blurry” and find ways to make them “a little bit more clear.”

The phrase “in friendly cooperation” comes from the SBC Constitution, and its qualifications can be found in Article III.

At the 2023 SBC Annual Meeting, messengers greenlighted a motion for a broad and diverse group to study “how we can move forward together in biblical fidelity, missional clarity, and cooperative unity.”

Wellman said in the podcast SBC This Week he believes both of those objectives were accomplished.

“We had male and female, we had ethnic diversity, ecclesiastical diversity in the structure of the various churches that were represented. We had geographic diversity as we had people from all over the country,” he said about the task force assembled by Barber.

“I think there’s two (recommendations) on unity, one on clarity and one on fidelity. We did that intentionally.”

For those hoping the group would deal with specific issues in the SBC, such as the pending Law Amendment, Wellman said the group wasn’t asked to study the “trees” in the Convention but

“You can always spot the Messengers from Illinois”

Failed ‘Resurgence’

rather “the forest of the Convention.”

→ Recommendation 1 is for the SBC Executive Committee to create a more robust process for amending the Baptist Faith and Message. An amendment unexpectedly sailed through at last year’s convention with little discussion.

→ Recommendation 2 is aimed at helping messengers preserve sole authority for seating messengers at the annual meeting in light of the Convention’s now having a standing Credentials Committee.

→ Recommendation 3 is to ask the Executive Committee to propose changes to the SBC’s governing documents to require the Committee on Nominations to nominate as entity trustees and standing committee members only those candidates who affirm the Convention’s adopted statement of faith.

→ Recommendation 4 asks the Executive Committee to evaluate the usefulness and accuracy of a public list of churches.

→ An addendum to the report encourages Southern Baptists to refrain from using the word “disfellowship” for churches that messengers determine no longer to be in friendly cooperation with the Convention.

Wellman said he had received “grateful and positive” responses, including from “the one who made the motion.” The motion was officially made by former SBC president James Merritt in New Orleans as former presidents Ed Litton, J.D. Greear, Steve Gaines, and Bryant Wright stood with him.

The Cooperation Group report is scheduled for Tuesday, June 11, at 7:45 p.m. during the evening session.

The study group responsible for analyzing the effectiveness of the denomination under the 2010 Great Commission Resurgence has concluded the streamlining and focusing plan failed. In fact, only two of the plan’s seven original recommendations were acted on, stated the report released in May. While that may account for some of the decline in baptisms and new churches, placing some at the feet of national SBC entities, “there’s plenty of blame to go around,” the report stated.

Much of the report focuses on the two original tenets which called for the refocusing of the ministry assignment of the North American Mission Board and for new cooperation between NAMB and the International Mission Board to evangelize unreached people groups in North America. The report noted effective partnership between NAMB President Kevin Ezell and IMB President Paul Chitwood in the creation of Send Relief.

But the clarification of NAMB’s focus was not so successful. A 1997 reorganization of the SBC gave the new home-focused mission board so many responsibilities that by 2010 NAMB was called a “bloated bureaucracy”–compared to “an octopus with all tentacles and no head” in the 2024 evaluation.

But the effort to fix the problem resulted in overcorrection that cut state conventions out of church planting and evangelism in many cases, severed “cooperative agreements,” and distanced NAMB from the states and local churches.

The group will bring recommendations to messengers at the gathering in Indianapolis.

Baptist Press; IB Staff

BARBER

Two views of the Law Amendment for male-only pastors

Messengers at the SBC Annual Meeting in Indianapolis will vote on the Law Amendment to the SBC Constitution that passed on by the required two-thirds vote last year. A second vote is required. This amendment would limit pastors to male only, and provide additional grounds for dismissing churches with female pastors of any kind. Three current candidates for SBC President are for the amendment, and three are against. Here are two views from outside the presidential election. The full versions are available at BaptistPress.com.

FOR: Robin Hadaway AGAINST: Randy Davis

“I want to be the pastor,” said the woman in our church. It was 1985, and I was a first-term missionary in Tanzania. The lady was a graduate of Tanzania’s Baptist seminary and the wife of a government official, while the other candidates were uneducated men. I explained to her why this was not biblical.

In 2002, I was the International Mission Board’s regional leader for eastern South America, supervising about 350 missionaries in Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay. I received word that a local Brazilian church had ordained a female IMB missionary. A trustee and I asked her to rescind the ordination. She agreed, but soon after her retirement, a stateside Southern Baptist church ordained her.

Messengers to the 2024 SBC Annual Meeting in June will vote on an amendment which would add a sixth subparagraph to Article III, Paragraph 1 of the SBC Constitution. Article III outlines the criteria for churches to be able to seat messengers at an annual meeting.

In order to be deemed “in friendly cooperation” with the SBC, a church should:

▶ Align with the Baptist Faith and Message (2000)

▶ State its intention to cooperate (often this is in the form of filing an Annual Church Profile report)

▶ Contribute through the Cooperative Program or other SBC-related channels

▶ Align with the Convention’s beliefs regarding the handling of sexual abuse

▶ Refrain from exhibiting or affirming racial discriminatory behavior.

The Law Amendment would add a sixth criterion. A church will be in friendly cooperation only if it “affirms, appoints, or employs only men as any kind of pastor or elder as qualified by Scripture.”

I support the amendment for three reasons:

1. It clarifies Southern Baptists’ view of who should be a pastor. Even on the mission field this issue emerges. The matter is not about a woman’s status before the Lord. The amendment addresses only who can be a pastor. Scripture teaches that men and women are equal before God (I Peter 3:7). Yet their roles are different and complementary. Men and women need one another for

Southern Baptist churches to represent Christ to a lost world.

2. I do not believe passing this amendment will result in a flood of efforts to exclude churches who use the title “pastor” incorrectly. I served on the SBC Credentials Committee (CC) at the 2000 annual meeting (and the Resolutions Committee in 2005 and 2006). Although configured differently today, the CC still responds to issues brought to it rather than search for violations.

Article III states that one evidence of cooperation is “regular filing of the annual report requested by the Convention.” According to the latest ACP data, only 69% of Southern Baptist churches fulfilled this marker indicative of friendly cooperation. Even though many churches do not file an ACP report, there has been no movement to dismiss these churches— only encouragement for them to do better.

3. One’s stance on the amendment should be based upon Scripture and not perceived cultural, ethnic, or linguistic factors. I served as an IMB missionary in Africa for 12 years, and the finest Christians I know live there. These believers decide doctrinal issues according to biblical hermeneutics, not to match certain cultural practices.

Furthermore, I supervised IMB missions in eastern South America for six-and-a-half years. I dealt with the usage of the Portuguese and Spanish term, pastora. In most cases, the word was used for the pastor’s wife, not to indicate a female pastor or co-pastor. When a church did use the term pastora incorrectly, they were lovingly corrected. The use or misuse of a foreign word or perceived cultural preference should not influence a determination of the merits of the Law Amendment.

As secular culture pushes Christianity to conform to its evolving redefinitions of orthodoxy, the SBC must periodically recalibrate its documents accordingly. The Law Amendment clarifies what Southern Baptists believe the Bible teaches concerning who is qualified to serve in the role of pastor.

At last year’s convention, my wife, Kathy, and I were thrilled to see all the young pastors and their wives lifting their ballots and voting for the first reading of the Law Amendment. This year we will again join them.

Robin Hadaway is senior professor of missions at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (semiretired). He was a candidate for SBC president in 2022.

I am firmly conservative and complementarian in my theology, and I wholeheartedly affirm the Baptist Faith and Message (2000). Article VI of the BF&M speaks to the senior pastor role. We are not confused. However, I believe the Law Amendment draws a line that points us away from our denomination’s historical polity.

I have three primary concerns about this amendment and its possible unintended consequences, so therefore I am not in favor of it becoming a permanent part of our Convention’s governing documents.

Southern Baptists throughout our history have respected differences of opinion on doctrinal issues for the sake of a shared mission. I sincerely pray we can capture that civility regarding this challenge. I respect views on both sides of the Law Amendment, but I believe we would do well to pause and give its implications thoughtful consideration.

1. I am concerned about whether the amendment is imperative.

Messengers to last year’s convention overwhelmingly voted not to seat messengers from churches that had either a lead pastor or a campus pastor who is a woman. It was the messengers’ clear affirmation of their understanding the BF&M’s statement defining a pastor “as qualified by Scripture.” The messengers’ vote also demonstrated the SBC has a healthy mechanism in place to address questions related to doctrine and cooperation. Collectively and collaboratively, we as a Convention can—and do—address challenges without the need to modify our governing documents.

2. I am concerned that the amendment could be unintentionally damaging.

Our confessional statement has provided doctrinal clarity and has served the SBC well. It has effectively provided needed parameters for SBC seminaries, its mission boards, state conventions, other entities and churches. The BF&M 2000 committee was composed of brilliant minds, men and women. Dr. Adrian Rogers, who chaired that committee, moved at the 2000 SBC Annual Meeting the adoption of the BF&M report with the following paragraph added as the sixth paragraph of the report’s preamble: “Baptists cherish and defend religious liberty, and deny the right of any secular or religious authority to impose a confession of faith upon

a church or body of churches.

“We honor the principles of soul competency and the priesthood of believers, affirming together both our liberty in Christ and our accountability to each other under the Word of God.”

We’ve ardently maintained through the years that the BF&M is a confessional statement (defining our distinctives as Southern Baptists) and not a creedal statement. However, if we begin narrowly interpreting the BF&M through the Law Amendment and require (through the Credentials Committee) strict adherence by every Southern Baptist church to participate in a likeminded, cooperative, Great Commission effort, haven’t we begun “to impose a confession of faith upon a church or body of churches,” denying their liberty in Christ?

The Law Amendment brings the SBC to the brink of becoming a legalistically narrow road that chokes participation rather than being a Great Commission superhighway promoting missions and traveled by churches of all sizes and cultures. Our historical Baptist polity is to trust the local church to decide its own structures under the umbrella of our doctrinal belief system.

3. I am concerned about the future implications of the amendment in SBC life.

If we…rewrite our Constitution and Bylaws to include the Law Amendment, where does it end? Will the Convention (or the Credentials Committee) then decide which “official” version of the Bible churches must use to be considered in “friendly cooperation”? Or that churches must adhere to a premillennial, postmillennial, or an amillennial perspective to participate? Or that churches must be reformed or non-reformed to maintain their status?

And at what point will we have thwarted the local church’s autonomy while continuing to propagate the idea that its members have freedom to govern themselves? As one of my fellow state executives said last summer, “The Southern Baptist Convention is organized to promote a mission, not to police our churches.”

We have proven through the messenger process we can police ourselves without infringing on a local church’s right to govern itself and without making monumental changes to the SBC Constitution and Bylaws.

Randy Davis is Executive Director of the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board.

Missions Celebration to bring ‘Joy’

“Join us and discover ways God is at work in our midst and around the world as you hear inspiring stories from missionaries and missions advocates who are making Christ known,” said Sandy WisdomMartin, executive director of Woman’s Missionary Union. This year’s national WMU gathering will be held in the Indiana Convention Center in the 500 Ballroom on Sunday, June 9, beginning at 12 p.m.

The event theme, What Joy!, will be supported by 1 Thess. 2:8 in which Paul writes, “Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well.” Missions speakers will encourage various aspects of this verse, including being passionate about reaching the lost, compelled by love, generous in sharing, and serving with much joy.

“In addition to hearing from field personnel, testimonies from our national Acteens panelists along with WMU emeritae presidents is a special time for me,” national WMU President Connie Dixon said. “It is an encouraging reminder that while we have a rich heritage in WMU, we

also have a very bright future.”

Jason Stewart, worship and music consultant for the Kentucky Baptist Convention, and his wife, Stephanie, will lead in praise and worship, along with the Native Praise Choir, which is celebrating 25 years of ministry. There are 19 tribes represented in the choir that sings in the languages of the Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw and Muskogee Creek and Seminole tribes.

“Their celebration tour launches at the WMU Missions Celebration,” Wisdom-Martin said. “There is something about hearing them that touches me deeply and profoundly. Everyone should experience that blessing.”

Between general sessions, participants can discover a wide variety of missions-focused ministries and initiatives in the “Idea Pit Stop,” a self-paced interactive area designed to provide tangible, takeaway ideas for greater missions involvement.

“You will gain insight, inspiration and ideas to advance your missions journey,” Wisdom-Martin said.

At the conclusion of the missions celebration, participants will be

New abuse prevention kit

To be offered at Indy gathering

A five-step program to combat sexual abuse in churches will roll out in June during the Southern Baptist Convention’s Annual Meeting in Indianapolis. Essentials: Sexual Abuse Prevention and Response revolves around five key words: train, screen, protect, report, and care.

“The desire and goal of this toolbox is to make every church the safest place on planet earth for every child, student and adult who comes to a church,” the document says. “To make our churches safe from abuse, we must be proactive.”

IBSA Associate Executive Director Mark Emerson has been engaged with the national SBC in developing strategies to combat sexual abuse and to improve screen and training of volunteers. “The SBC Essentials curriculum and strategy is a good addition to what we are already doing,” Emerson said. IBSA urged screening and training volunteers prior to the 2018 reports on abuse in churches, and has continued to improve its offerings to churches since that time.

Brad Eubank, senior pastor of Mississippi’s Petal First Baptist Church and an abuse survivor himself, has been working for two years with the SBC’s Abuse Reform Implementation Task Force. “Our real heart is to hit normal size churches, of 100 or less, give them something a little easier to grasp, more basic, if you will,” Eubank said. “If Caring Well and Church Cares are 3.0 programs, we tried to make (the new program) a 1.0.”

Giving churches a program that is easier to grasp and implement may help toward the goal

invited to the WMU booth in the SBC exhibit hall to watch the top state RAs race their cars. The grand finale will be Monday morning at 10 a.m.

Early bird registration for the WMU Missions Celebration through April 29 is $30; regular registration is $40 through May 23. For more information and to register, visit wmu.com/indy.

On Saturday, June 8, WMU will participate in Crossover Indianapolis to plant seeds, share the gospel,

of reaching some 15,000 SBC churches that currently have no program to weed out potential sexual abusers.

Currently, Eubank noted, as many as 75% of SBC churches have no programs to screen potential abusers and care for those who have already been abused. “We want to target them with those resources that are very easy to access,” Eubank said. “Everything is free. The training is around the five words. It is video training where they can gather five people for five months to do these five principles. Any church of any size can do this.”

The toolbox is at SBCabuseprevention.com.

and give people an opportunity to respond. Registration for Crossover is separate; visit namb.net/crossover to learn more.

On Monday, June 10, at the SBC Annual Meeting, be sure to visit WMU in the SBC Exhibit Hall for a friendly competition on the RA racers racetrack, shop WorldCrafts at the Women’s Expo, and see the schedule for missions-focused speakers on the CP stage.

—Julie Walters for

IBSA

Reception

We can’t promise Hoosier pie (also called Sugar Cream, Indiana’s unofficial state pie) but the desserts will be tasty. Come visit with your IBSA family Monday, June 10, at 8 p.m. in meeting room 143, directly opposite Hall H.

WMU

Making hope a ‘Priority’

Two days of spiritual refreshment for Illinois women

appreciate what God does each year that he brings us here,” said Vivian Johnson. “Here” is the annual Priority Conference, a women’s leadership event.

“Our women’s department has grown quite a bit because of their experience,” she continued. “One thing that I have a concern about is somebody saying they’re giving their life to the Lord, but it doesn’t stick and they’re right back out in the world.” She thinks the event helps prevent that from happening.

By coming to Priority, Johnson, a member of Galena Park Baptist Church in Peoria Heights, said they “really get to know God for themselves” and not only that but each other. “The personal relationships, that’s what’s happening,” she declared.

Held April 26-27 at the Bank of Springfield Center, this year’s Priority Conference had a registration total of nearly 500 and that’s not counting the exhibit hall vendors, speakers, worship leaders, musicians, volun-

teers, guests, and the attendees at the seven churches that signed up to host simulcast events.

“Priority is a place to intentionally sit with God,” said Carmen Halsey-Menghini, IBSA’s director of leadership development who coordinates the conference. “It’s a time of celebration and worship.”

She described Priority as “a time to learn from our sisters who are on this journey with us so we can go home with more tools in our toolboxes and better share the love of Jesus with our worlds.”

First-time attender Tabitha Snider, a member of Net Community Church in Staunton, said one wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but her friends who’d been before assured her it would be good.

The first breakout class she attended was “A Spiritual Reset” led by Diane Nix of Contagious Joy 4 Him. It was one of the nearly 30 breakout sessions offered. “It was the most impactful,” said Snyder as she shared how spiritually refreshing the class was for her. “I feel like if I could have just gone to that one class this whole time, and it would have been enough to impact my heart about what God’s been trying to speak to me about burnout. It’s all just about him and having a relationship with him.”

in the hard times and holding onto hope was the focus of Lifeway Trainer

Anne Harrison’s keynote session. “As believers, we are a people of hope because we have a God of hope,” she said. “And that hope, it gives us perspective. It gives us perseverance.”

National WMU President Connie Dixon was another of the event’s keynote speakers. She addressed the need for compassion in our world because of our hope in Christ. Dixon said it’s because of this hope that “we need to be compassionate to all. Compassion goes far beyond simply seeing and praying for those who are suffering. It’s compassion that helps you take action to alleviate that suffering.”

Remembering God’s faithfulness

First Person: They’re cheering me on!

Traci Jahnke, Faith Baptist Church, Breese

One truth kept penetrating my mind and heart at Priority—I am not alone, others are cheering me on! This theme was not communicated by a solitary speaker, but over and over again by multiple people over the weekend. As the writer of Hebrews said, we really were “surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses” (Heb. 12:1).

The time of worshiping and learning together with my sisters in Christ is such an encouragement. But as Jennifer Smith reminded me in a breakout session, Priority weekend is not real life. I don’t get to stay there; I have to leave and go home. My church is very small and it

Evangelist Bruce Kugler addressed the topic of spiritual warfare and breaking the bondages of sin in our lives. He said there are two persons who know us better in our

is easy to get overwhelmed. The Christian life can seem lonely, at times.

But Jennifer declared I am not alone! Look up and remember that there is a great group of Christians that have gone before me that are in heaven cheering me on! “You can do this, Traci! Keep praying, keep listening, keep obeying! You can complete this race well!”

In addition, I have all my Illinois sisters in Christ cheering me on. We are on this journey of following Christ together. If needed, I can reach out to my Illinois connections for prayer and direction. As Bruce Kugler reiterated, “Heaven AND earth

lives than any other–God and Satan. “Satan knows your weaknesses. He already knows the open doors in your life. Satan will exploit [our weakest areas] until we do something about it.”

Catherine Renfro reminded the attenders, “God has a way of taking the ordinary and doing extraordinary things.”

She told the story of the widow in 1 Kings 17, who had so little food to offer the prophet Elijah but fed him before feeding herself and her son. She gave of what little she had and the Lord honored her for it. “For the remainder of the drought she never ran out of oil and flour,” said Renfro, the National Director of Women’s Evangelism for the North American Mission Board.

“The little that we have to offer in the hands of God is a lot,” Renfro said.

are cheering us on!”

Connie Dixon added to this truth when speaking of the Sequoia trees. They may grow 300 feet tall, but the roots are only four feet deep. On the surface, that seems too shallow to support such a large tree. But the reason that the four-foot roots are so strong is because the roots of the trees are all intertwined together. In the same way, I can stay strong in my calling by growing roots with my sisters. Their strength can strengthen me. We are bound together in this mission for Jesus.

During Priority 2024, the Holy Spirit wanted me to hear loud and clear that I am not alone. Message received.

COFFEE TALK — On stage at the BOS Center in Springfield: Illinois Baptist WMU President Lindsay Wineinger, National WMU President Connie Dixon, IBSA Leadership Director Carmen Halsey-Menghini, Lifeway Women’s Ministry Specialist Kelly King, and NAMB Women’s Evangelism Director Catherine Renfro. The panel discussed women in the church.

First person: The Next Step

Rita Klundt, Liberty Baptist Church, Pekin

I don’t use numbers to count the years I’ve attended Priority. I do the counting more by memories of traveling to Springfield to worship with a crowd of women and lessons taught by gifted and inspirational speakers. And I always come away knowing what my next step needs to be. The Holy Spirit overwhelms me every year with new hope and promise—or maybe courage. I always need more of that.

The next step for me at last year’s conference came in the Friday night session. The Holy Spirit urged me to go forward where other women were already praying. The room was dimly lit, and it was crowded at the foot of the stage—women with their heads bowed, confessing, committing, pleading, and thanking. Women talked to Jesus in groups of two, three and more.

My plan was to pray alone, keeping my business between me and Jesus. Then, I had trouble starting a prayer. It was too crowded to kneel. Other women were already in groups. I prepared to turn and go back to my place in the audience. That’s when I noticed an empty seat, right behind me on the front row.

I sat next to a stranger. “Would you pray with me?”

She took my hand. “Sure.”

“My daughter has walked away,” I said, “from her faith, our family and anything that resembles church. It’s been almost seven years, and I am broken. She’s threatened

horrible things if I even attempt to contact my grandkids. I haven’t stopped praying, and I won’t, but I’m sick, and the pain doesn’t go away. Would you pray with me?”

I knew God had opened this particular seat for me before she finished praying. I might have hugged her anyway, but then I opened my eyes in that dimly lit room and saw her nametag. “Paula.”

“My daughter’s name is Paula.” I said, and then I really hugged her neck.

My next step after getting home last year was to message Paula and thank her for that prayer. I did.

“I’ll keep praying,” she said. “It will be easy to remember your daughter’s name.”

A year has passed, and more prodigals than I thought possible have been added to my prayer list. I know these people. It’s an epidemic—an often silent, but painful worm that eats from the core of our churches.

Returning to the conference in April, I didn’t recognized my prayer partner from last year’s Priority. We’d only spoken in person that one time when the room was dark and tears clouded my vision, but she approached me this time. New nametag, same Paula. She remembered me and my Paula. We are still on her prayer list.

Speaker says remember God’s faithfulness

“I currently, in my inbox, have 62,582 emails. I have 153 unheard voicemails, and I have 891 unread texts,” Anne Harrison said about some of the clutter in her life. Winnowing the messages down, she says is akin to a “shrinking iceberg.”

But the many messages serve a purpose, she believes. They are there to “as triggers to remember.” Harrison is a Lifeway Christian Resources trainer and former Director of Women’s Ministries at First Baptist Church in Wichita Falls, Texas.

The Bible, Harrison said, uses the word “remember” more than 250 times from the Old Testament through the New Testament. While we may be a forgetful people in need of reminders, she emphasized, “God is not a forgetful God. … From Genesis to Revelation, our creator God is telling us to remember.”

Even as there are times we may wish to forget, full of hurt and pain, Harrison encouraged the audience to remember, “God was good even in those hard times. When we go back and remember his goodness and we see his goodness in those times we think nothing good can happen, there’s healing that happens.”

That, she said, makes it possible to “remember God’s former faithfulness, remembering when God was faithful….It helps us rely on his future faithfulness.”

In Joshua 4, 12 men representing each of the Israelite tribes were sent by Joshua to each lift a heavy stone from the middle of the Jordan River to take to Gilgal to assemble a memorial marking God’s faithfulness in taking them across the Jordan and into the Promised Land.

Harrison described the work as a “process,”

and the rocks as “weighty,” creating a “tangible reminder” for the Israelites. She equated it to how “the process and the pattern of remembrance can be weighty. You’re going to have to be intentional. It can be hard. But how important it is.”

Joshua also had the men bring rocks for him to stack in the middle of the Jordan River in the spot where the priests who carried the Ark of the Covenant had been standing. The purpose, Joshua said, was so when those generations asked about their meaning, “You shall tell them, ‘The water of the Jordan was cut off in front of the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant when it crossed the Jordan, and the Jordan’s waters were cut off. Therefore, these stones will be a memorial for the Israelites.’”

The river would cover the rocks in times of flooding, only to be seen again in times of drought. Leaders, she said, also walk through times of drought. But as a leader, you can say, “God, I know you were formerly faithful, and I’m going to look at this tangible reminder, because if you were formerly faithful, you’ll be future faithful because that is who you are.”

NEW FRIENDS AT PRIORITY

1. A Priority attendee shops in the fair-trade section of the exhibit hall which featured a market by WorldCrafts, a ministry of National WMU. Fair trade goods are made by impoverished people, helping them earn a living with dignity through ethical practices.

2. Throngs of people explore the exhibit hall featuring 23 ministries including B&H Publishing/Lifeway, Baptist Nursing Fellowship, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, First Step Resource Center, International Mission Board, Love Packages, Prison Fellowship, and many others.

3. Catherine Renfro, NAMB Women’s Evangelism Director, prays with a woman during the Friday evening session of Priority. She was among four main keynote speakers at the event.

4. Christi Gibson led two breakout sessions, What is lamenting? and Agree with God: Necessity of Confession, over the Priority weekend. Widowed by suicide, she calls herself an encourager, storyteller, and teacher. After 30 years in the local church and seminary in New Orleans, she travels the country in a camper named Amazing Grace, serving where she’s invited.

Guatemala pastors line up for training

Illinois team brings teaching as they develop mentoring relationships

Brotherhood. This was the lesson being taught in Jalapa, Guatemala, said IBSA Mission Director Shannon Ford. Four Illinois Baptist pastors joined Ford in April for a weeklong trip to the Central American country. Practical ministry training for Guatemalan pastors was the goal, but Ford said the trip to sparked a renewed sense of the importance of the mutual encouragement and equipping found in a network of brothers in Christ.

The group of five included Ford, Carlton Binkley of Tabernacle Church in Decatur, Noah Lee of Tremont Church in Tremont, Rob Mathis of Oak Grove Church in Pinckneyville, and Jesse Webster of Sugar Camp Church in Mt. Vernon. They were hosted by Otto Echeverria, a former Guatemalan Baptist Convention President, who serves as a pastor and leadership coordinator within the local Southeast Baptist Association of Churches.

Binkley has a long history of missions work with Echeverria and churches in Guatemala. This was his seventeenth trip.

Even with more than 3,000 field personnel, IMB missionaries can’t be everywhere. But they often have strategic working relationships with other missionary organizations in the region or have knowledge of other work in the country.

That on-the-ground information is invaluable to churches seeking to establish an overseas missions presence. Working with Ford or through IMB field personnel can help a church avoid a mission trip or partnership experience that ends poorly due to unforeseen concerns like a lack of clear missions strategy or ethical issues with local leadership.

“When I was at First Baptist Woodlawn, there was a group of men who really wanted to be involved in international missions. We ended up in Guatemala through a mutual friend,” Binkley explained. That led to a connection with Echevarria. “We went to work with his church, and we’ve done pastor conferences and evangelistic work all over the country down there.”

The Decatur pastor, who currently serves as Vice President of the Illinois Baptist State Association, and Ford connected around the idea of planning a trip for a small group of Illinois pastors.

A conversation about the importance of churches having a well-rounded missions strategy led to the two planning the trip. Ford said, “The idea is that a trip like this can help them have a fresh mission trip experience, and also inspire them to lead a trip for their church.”

Local pastors, global impact Ford spent over 20 years with the International Mission Board (IMB) serving among the European People Group in places including Ukraine and the Czech Republic. His work with mission field leadership training and church planting networks gives him a wealth of experience and international connections to draw upon.

Once the destination of Jalapa was set, he immediately reached out to IMB personnel in Guatemala to ask questions about the region and the state of the churches.

Once on the ground in Jalapa, about three hours east of the capital of Guatemala City, the Illinois Baptist team spent their days training pastors and their evenings preaching in local churches. Rather than using a published curriculum, the team taught through the New Testament book of Titus for the pastor training.

“It was Noah Lee’s idea to work through the book of Titus,” Binkley said. “We decided that there was no better material. Paul writes to Titus and says, ‘Here are these things. Set up elders in these churches. You do these things personally.’ We get to actually teach pastors what a pastor is supposed to be, which was the original first century purpose of the book.”

The Illinois team shared daily teaching duties, with each member leading an assigned section of Titus through a translator. About seven local pastors from this underserved part of the country took part in the daily training. One man shared that in his 30 years as a pastor in that area, this was the first time anyone had come to help them. “He was ecstatic,” Binkley said.

Trip bands brothers

As is often the case on mission trips, some of the most significant spiritual work happened in the missionaries along the way, rather than in the plans.

“You feel like you may pour out into these people, but really what you find is they welcome and pour into you, and you leave full, you leave refreshed, you leave edified, and strengthened onward for the service,” the youngest pastor on the trip, Jesse Webster, said.

He had not been on a foreign mission trip in his 13 years of ministry. Experiencing the simple joy and hospitality of the Central American believers made an impact on him.

“There is a culture of love that comes in the bond

of Christ,” he said. But the larger impact was in the brotherhood he experienced with his Illinois team and the Guatemalan pastors.

Like most pastors, Webster’s ministry can feel lonely at times. “I’m the only teacher. I’m filling the pulpit, I’m doing the Sunday school, I’m doing the Sunday nights, men’s Bible studies.”

“Thrust into the pastoral ministry” at just age 26 after five years of youth ministry, Webster said he has spent much of the last eight years “trying to figure out what it means to be a pastor and how to do it.” The busy schedule of a bi-vocational pastor made it difficult for him to make these connections in his local rhythms of the day-job, a growing family, and church responsibilities.

Seeking greater pastoral brotherhood, he jumped at the opportunity for this trip.

“And wouldn’t you know it, I’m here hungering for an older guy to pour into me like Paul to Titus, and God sits me next to Rob (Mathis) on every plane flight. We roomed together. It was an answer to prayer,” Webster said.

“He was just very open with where he was, with his family, and ministry,” Mathis said, as he talked about the connection the two made during travel, mealtimes, and doing home visits with local churches. “We just got to spend a lot of time together.”

That connection and encouragement was also felt between the Illinois and Guatemalan pastors. Mathis, the elder statesman of the team who has been at his church for 25 years and led pastor trainings in numerous countries over the years, said the loneliness and feelings of inadequacy, as well as the hunger for pastoral brotherhood, are always present. “The need is the same. It’s transnational. It’s a spiritual thing.”

“I was able to relate so much with these pastors because they were in very similar situations that I am,” Webster said.

“One pastor, he’s got his own business, he’s been working full-time. He’s thrust into pastoral ministry in the last year. He loves his people, but he’s discouraged. They don’t have the resources or money they need… So I’m able to share with him that I’m right where he’s at. It’s exactly like our church. It’s a miracle that we stay open. Thousands of miles away. Here I am, able to share with him what God’s done for me, and it encourages him.”

LOOKING AHEAD — The colorful cemetery is a main feature of Jalapa, Guatemala, a city of 160,00 at the base of three mountains.

Connecting VBS kids with Sunday school

About 25% of all baptisms in SBC churches result from decisions made at Vacation Bible School. After VBS concludes, the important work of follow-up begins to meet families and connect the children with Sunday school. Here are some recommendations from childhood specialist Vicki Hulsey.

1. Plan follow-up.

Include VBS leaders in follow-up with families after VBS by making follow-up part of the training. Especially include new volunteers and teenage workers who may not have made the VBS-to-church connection before.

2. Send cards.

Encourage leaders to write a postcard during the week to each child in their class. Put them in the mail on Friday, and let kids get excited when they receive a note from the teacher who invested a week to get to know them and share Jesus with them.

3. Make visits.

For in-person visits to families who attended VBS, deliver a craft the child made during the week or a photo of the child in a VBS-themed frame. Include leaders in the follow-up visits.

Starting point

VBS is the beginning for many young disciples

BY MEREDITH FLYNN

Most people who walk into Freedom Church in Neosho, Missouri, start with a worship service. It’s an on-ramp to the church’s discipleship pathway, a natural starting point on the journey from being a first-time visitor to a growing, serving follower of Christ.

For kids and families, said Pastor Jack Lucas, that first worship service is often in the context of Vacation Bible School (VBS). Children attend worship at VBS during the day and bring their parents back to Family Night at the end of the week. The church, located in a rural community in southwestern Missouri, holds its VBS in July, just a few weeks before new small groups start meeting during back-to-school season.

“We want to move them from Bible school to our Wednesday night groups,” said Lucas, who spent 20 years promoting VBS in Illinois before moving to the neighboring state last summer. If worship is the entry point, life groups for kids and adults are the next step in the pipeline, followed by discipleship classes, service teams, and missions involvement.

But it all starts with worship, and for many families, with VBS. Freedom Church intentionally positions Vacation Bible School as an integral part of its discipleship pipeline.

For many churches, Vacation Bible School is a missions opportunity that leads to contact with new families, salvation decisions, and baptisms. As our own Meredith Flynn reported for Lifeway, some churches are rediscovering the lasting value of summer’s busiest week. This story includes former IBSA leadership director Jack Lucas, a champion for VBS.

Best outreach

Continued from page 11

“It’s never a miss when a child hears the gospel,” Lucas said. But a common mistake is making VBS a one-week outreach only. Churches miss an opportunity, the pastor said, when they don’t have a plan to incorporate VBS into their overall discipleship strategy.

A unique opportunity

Frank Lewis believes there’s nothing quite like VBS. The revitalization pastor at Nashville’s Tusculum Hills Baptist Church said the annual outreach is a user-friendly option for families who are looking for summer opportunities for their children but may not be involved in a local church.

“You’re going to love them and treat them well,” Lewis said of interactions with kids at VBS. Plus, what churches offer that week is hard to find elsewhere: concentrated teaching time for five days, with a thematic approach to God’s Word and practical application.

“In a week’s time, children get the equivalent of about a year’s worth of Sunday School classes,” Lewis said. And that’s especially true for families that don’t attend church every Sunday.

Several years ago, Tusculum Hills discontinued its VBS because they didn’t have the volunteers they needed, Lewis said. But they brought it back last summer with the help of partnering churches in the area and Lifeway’s VBS team. The church has positioned VBS as a launch point for other discipleship-focused ministries.

“I knew if we did a good job with our VBS, we could strike while the iron is hot and encourage people to let us enroll their children straight from VBS into our Sunday School,” Lewis said.

The church’s South Nashville community is

home to immigrants and refugees who have resettled in the area. Before last year’s VBS, Tusculum Hills had one Sunday School class for children with around three attendees each week. After VBS, the church started new children’s classes. They’ve grown from one class to four and from three kids to an average attendance of 40—a number they’ve maintained throughout the school year.

“I think [VBS] is the friendliest outreach approach we can have for families that may have no familiarity whatsoever with Christianity,” Lewis said.

Training ground

At Freedom Church, Jack Lucas has seen VBS as a way for people to engage in the last step of the church’s discipleship pipeline: go. If VBS is a discipleship starting point for kids and families, it’s also a missions opportunity for more seasoned disciples.

“VBS is the one week of the year that has the potential to mobilize your entire church to reach your community with the gospel,” said Vicki Hulsey, childhood specialist for the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board. VBS not only introduces newcomers to a church’s discipleship opportunities, but Hulsey said it also plays an integral role in the growth of Christ-followers who serve during the week—no matter where they serve.

She pointed to a Lifeway statistic that shows for every leader trained for evangelism at VBS, there are 1.1 salvations. “That is such a motivator to me, to be able to see every leader trained so they can confidently go back and share the gospel.”

Leading any part of VBS is a big responsibility, she said. “Our goal should not be to bring in volun-

teers to do childcare.”

Hulsey encourages churches to train volunteers serving in all areas–Bible study, music, crafts, snacks–to share the gospel with children at VBS. “I have seen crafts, snacks, and recreation be places where it comes together for kids. They let down their guard and are willing to talk to someone.”

VBS isn’t only an opportunity to disciple kids and students, Hulsey said. It has an impact on a church’s younger leaders as well. Let them work alongside experienced leaders, she said, so that new leaders who may never have been in a classroom before are being discipled by those more seasoned leaders.

“It’s a natural training ground for being able to raise up and disciple leaders.”

Then, the follow-up begins, where VBS students and their families get connected to the church. “When the last decoration comes down, VBS should not be over,” Hulsey said. “The most important work of VBS comes afterward with the follow-up.”

GROWING

MEET THE TEAM

Hometown: Originally from Southern New Mexico, we called Denver home.

Family info: Married to Jamie

Education: B.A. from Howard Payne University, M.Div. from Denver Seminary

My journey: Long and winding. As a soldier, I found a mentoring relationship with a chaplain who directed me toward a path of service and faith. Another chaplain, who had transitioned into full-time pastoral work, urged me to pursue my degrees and lay a solid foundation for ministry. I served in church planting and later joined a church staff in Bloomington whose passion was infectious and inspiring.

Favorite verse: John 3:16 is the very heart of humanity’s most profound love story. It’s about a divine parent, stepping down from the heavens, not just to visit his wayward children, but to save them. Such is the depth of love that it reaches into the chaos of our lives and offers us redemption and hope.

Favorite Bible person: Dorcas. Who among us isn’t a five-year-old laughing at the name.

Hobby: Making people smile.

Favorite book: The Great Gatsby serves as a powerful reminder that true satisfaction and lasting joy can only be found in embracing a faith that offers a hope that extends beyond fleeting pleasures and material possessions.

Ice cream: Can anyone have just one favorite flavor? In a pinch I’d say Rocky Road.

table talk

The

man I never really knew

I walked out of my office and into the church parking lot not long ago just as an older couple was pulling in to visit our church bookstore. As the husband rolled down the window, I recognized him as the son of an old pastor, long since departed to glory. That old pastor had been the pastor of my grandparents in their older years and, before his death, had told me some about my grandparents’ lives and faith.

My grandfather died when I was just three years old. My earliest childhood memory is of him sitting in a chair in his home. I don’t remember anything else about him; just seeing him, an old man sitting in a chair. I never had any meaningful conversations, don’t remember playing with him or giving him a hug or any of the other things grandpas do with their grandchildren. I’ve always wished I had known him.

So, I was delighted to hear this pastor’s son tell me about visiting with my grandfather. The man told me that my grandparents’ house was near his boyhood school. On good weather days, my grandfather-to-be would sit out on the porch and the two would talk. The man told me about my grandfather’s sense of humor and kind disposition. How I loved hearing these stories about this man I never knew.

My grandfather came to Christ

as a middle-aged man. His life was dramatically changed by the power of the gospel. A life of drink and profanity, of pain and loss, of frustration and anger was changed by the forgiveness and purpose found in his new life in Christ.

While I know many stories about my grandfather, I never knew him. My father told me about the dramatic changes in my grandfather. My mother told me about his kindness to her when she entered the family. Relatives have told me about his actions and antics. But I never knew him. And this makes me look forward to heaven all the more.

There are many things about heaven that I look forward to. I want to bow in worship before the Lord Jesus who died for me and to see his hands and head that were

scarred as payment for my sins. I want to see that beautiful, bright and massive new Jerusalem described in Revelation 21. I want to meet all the heroes of faith described in the 11th chapter of Hebrews. And there are so many friends and family I want to see again; those who have gone before me.

But I also look forward to seeing a man I never knew. I want to spend time with the man who sits in that chair in my childhood memory. I want to talk to the man whose conversion changed the trajectory of my family.

Someone I barely remember had such a profound impact on my life.

However you picture heaven, it is greater than that, I’m sure. The wonders and responsibilities and discoveries that will be ours are beyond our ability to fully grasp yet. But I was reminded in the church parking lot of great things still to come. I want to urge you to give your life to Christ as your own Savior and Lord. I want to encourage you to be sure that you know Jesus personally and that you have experienced his mercy and grace. I want you to be sure that heaven will be your home one day.

And then, let’s plan to meet and talk a bit there in heaven. I’ll introduce you to my grandfather.

Doug Munton has served as senior pastor of First Baptist Church of O’Fallon since 1995. He is married to Vickie. They have four children and 13 grandchildren.

Even before the pastor began his illustration, everyone assumed Larry would represent the goats.

Mark Maestas Growth Team Leader

Why multi-generational women’s ministry works for the pastor

Research shows women make up 50-60% of the attendance at our churches across the country. When we look at our Illinois churches that are running 50 or less in attendance, it’s been my experience that most of our pastors recognize the intentionality of the women seeking to be discipled and further their leadership opportunities who are there on Sunday morning filling the pews.

I believe many of these women have a call on their lives to ministry. That they are in our churches sitting at the table ready to lead. I’m not alone. According to Lifeway’s recent State of Ministry to Women Study, most (57%) women’s ministry leaders say discipling women and encouraging their walks with Christ is the top priority for their ministries.

Discipling women builds stronger leaders which leads to transformation. It helps us get

an understanding of the Word, making us accountable. We see transformation happening in our churches as women are sharing their faith. It’s making their families and marriages stronger. They’re going outside the four walls of the church as agents of hope engaging broken people.

In that same survey, leaders said 52% of women were attending or participating in their ministries, while 55% were connecting with women in different age groups. We see that same multigenerational ministry is happening through the efforts of women in our Illinois Baptist churches. Many smaller churches don’t have youth groups, but younger women are at the table with senior women who are pouring into them.

In the past, younger women may have been confused about women’s ministry and what they did. Now, they’re learning its more than just crafts. They’re getting around tables together and connecting by talking.

I know as I began to age, I started to realize that the older women who were sitting around the table were on the other side of any hurt I was about to face as a younger woman. They have friends at their own heart level that they’re doing life with. We don’t see as high of a rate of loneliness among them as we do people who aren’t doing life together.

So, now we’re seeing the older generations

pouring into the younger generations and the younger ones are asking them questions. They [the younger women] are asking the senior women questions about the areas they are struggling in. It shouldn’t surprise us because 68% of the women surveyed told Lifeway that women’s ministry helps them to have stronger relationships with other women; while 58% said it gave them a place to ask questions and discuss their faith. Plus, 65% said it provided them with opportunities to be refreshed and restored both spiritually and emotionally.

The survey also found that women go out and tell. As women we’re creating a culture of evangelism and don’t even realize we’re doing it! We start to share stories and that becomes catalytic. Collectively we’re starting to see God’s hand move and we’re creating the cultures to see what God is doing.

Women’s discipleship is creating healthy churches. Women who are intentional about discipleship and maturing in their faith are often the first to step forward, serving and cheering on what God is doing. Women are helping sustain and even grow.

Carmen Halsey-Menghini is an IBSA leadership director.

Churches face legal issues all the time, so they need to be prepared. And when an issue arises, churches need trusted counsel.

With over 24 years of service, at all court levels, Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) has seen the cultural and legal trends clearly shift against the Church.

We can help your church prepare itself for these changes.

Enter code IBSA20 to receive a reduced annual membership of $200, which is 20% off the regular price.

welcome

Mark Hutson was called as pastor of Walnut Grove Missionary Baptist Church in Harrisburg Ill. Hutson has pastored 43 years, including Herrin First, Blooming Grove Church, and Bankston Fork Church. He has also sung with several gospel groups. Hutson and his wife, Tammy, have one adult daughter and two grandsons.

IBSA LEADERSHIP NOMINATIONS SOUGHT

The Nominations Committee will soon draft a slate of candidates for at least 30 elected positions in IBSA leadership. Organizers emphasize the important role committee members play in IBSA. In addition to IBSA’s six committees, the Nominating Committee will recommend people to serve on the Association’s three boards: IBSA, the Baptist Foundation of Illinois (BFI), and Baptist Children’s Home and Family Services (BCHFS).

The deadline to receive nominations is August 5, 2024. The online nominations forms are posted at IBSA.org. Questions may be directed to BarbTroeger@IBSA.org or 217-391-3107.

NeTworkiNg

Send NetworkiNg items to IllinoisBaptist@IBSA.org

Long Branch Baptist Church, 2480 Hamburg Rd near Galatia, is a historic, mission minded, small country church in southern Illinois that is seeking a co-vocational pastor with good biblical knowledge and a desire for church shepherding and growth. Send resume to Pastor Search Committee, 600 Galatia Rd., Galatia IL 62935 or email LBBC2480@gmail.com

First Baptist Church of Dupo seeks a fulltime pastor for medium-size traditional church with traditional Baptist theology. Experience preferred. Contact: fbcdupopastorsearch@gmail.com.

The Ridge Church in Carbondale is seeking a lead pastor to follow a pastor who retired after 25 years. With newer facilities and university town location, there is plenty of opportunity for the gospel here. Submit resume and three references to pastorsearch@ontheridge.org, or write to Pastor Search Committee, The Ridge Church, 7350 Old Hwy 13, Carbondale, IL 62901

Search more church openings at IBSA.org/pastor-search or scan this code.

with the lord

Chester Wayne Keene, 74, of Jerseyville died April 26. Keene served several Illinois churches as a bi-vocational pastor, retiring from Otterville Baptist Church. He held degrees from Clark Memorial College, Hannibal-LaGrange University, and Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville. Keene served as a chaplain for Illinois Baptist Disaster Relief. He was survived by his wife of 53 years, Mary Jane, their three sons and families. The couple was mostly recently members of Faith Baptist Church of Carrollton.

Marian L. Leftwich, 90, of Carbondale died May 24. She was a native of Belleville and a member of Winstanley Baptist Church in Fairview Heights at the time of her marriage in 1954, and most recently a member of Lakeland Baptist Church. Leftwich and her husband of 56 years, Eugene, served as missionaries in Nigeria. Upon returning to Illinois, she served as pastor’s wife and in ministry with women and children, while her husband pastored Villa Hills Baptist Church. She is survived by three children and their families.

Campers on Mission

Prepping camps for summer

Campers on Mission spent a week at Lake Sallateeska Baptist Camp, April 21-26, helping the camp managers prepare the facilities for their summer visitors. A team of 40 Illinois Baptist volunteers parked their RVs at the IBSA camp near Pinckneyville and tackled a long list of projects. Among them were the construction of two privacy fences, several minor plumbing projects, and prepping the cabins and sleeping quarters for guests.

A similar week of work was planned for mid-May at Streator Baptist Camp, which serves the northern half of the state.

The two IBSA facilities will host eight weeks of summer camps for kids who have completed third through twelfth grades starting June 3. In addition, multiple churches and local associations hold their own retreats and activities each year.

Check IBSA.org/camps for openings.

BRIGHTER DAY

Post-game analysis

e have been married too long to make the mistake we made last fall. On a beautiful Saturday morning, my husband and I drove our daughters the few hours to his alma mater, where his football team was playing mine. It’s been years since the “Flynn Bowl” meant anything; over the course of our 13-year marriage, our teams have rarely been good in the same season. But this year was different. There was a lot on the line, and I was fairly confident my team would win.

We didn’t. His team completely dismantled mine. It was a joyless four hours (for me). But I managed my disappointment well—for the sake of the children—and I thought I’d get through the weekend gracefully. I was fine until the drive home the next morning.

that seems especially silly with the benefit of hindsight. But how easy it is to do that in the context of our relationships! How tempting it is to prioritize being “known,” to lead with our expectations and deep desire to be understood.

Our marriage is relatively young— almost 13 years—so the advice we got during premarital counseling still comes back to me quickly in moments like that one in the car. Back then, we were reminded that the ultimate goal of our marriage wouldn’t be to know or understand each other, or to meet each other’s expectations. That would be impossible much of the time anyway. Instead, our aim should be encouraging one another toward a deeper knowledge and love of God.

I was typing on my laptop in the passenger seat, so my husband turned on the post-game analysis from the day before. As pundits blasted my team’s poor performance, I fumed silently in the passenger seat. This is insensitive, I thought. He knows I don’t like to lose. That’s my team they’re talking about. Does he not know I’m listening? Did he not know this would bother me?

Does he even know me at all?

Admittedly, this was a large leap

June 25-29

I fumed another few minutes in the car before confessing my bitter thoughts. Like most minor disagreements, we fixed it quickly. Other differences and hurts take longer to heal, we’re learning. Remembering the goal, though, is helpful: learning to love God more every day—together— and becoming more like Jesus as we learn to sacrificially love each other.

Meredith Day Flynn is a wife and mother of two living in Springfield. She writes on the intersection of faith, family, and current culture.

Super Summer

Where: Hannibal LaGrange University

What: Training for students to live an active life as a Christfollower at home, school, their community, their country, and the world.

Cost: $250 per student

Info: IBSA.org/events/super-summer/ Contact: TammyButler@IBSA.org

JUNE 28-29

Level Up Guys’ Camp

Where: Lake Sallateeska Baptist Camp, Pinckneyville

What: Dads, grandpas, and mentors to spend some “guy time” with their boys in a spiritual retreat setting.

Cost: $75 per adult. Kids under 18 and under no cost. Meals included.

Info: IBSA.org/events/guys-camp-streator/

Contact: TammyButler@IBSA.org or JacobKimbrough@IBSA.org

See ad on page 12 for IBSA Kids and Students Summer Camps.

Trends from nearby and around the world.

Culture: Pastors on pot

With the proliferation of cannabis shops in Illinois, here is a pertinent poll. Among Protestant pastors, how many favor legalization of marijuana throughout the U.S.?

Lifeway Research’s Scott McConnell also reports 43% of mainline pastors are in favor, but only 7% of Baptists. “Cultural stigmas around smoking a joint have diminished, but most pastors still say it crosses a moral line.”

EVENTS

July 19-20

Guys’ Camp

Where: Streator Baptist Camp, Streator

What: Dads, grandpas, and mentors to spend some “guy time” with their boys in a spiritual retreat setting.

Cost: $75 per adult. Kids under 18 and under no cost. Meals included.

Info: IBSA.org/events/guys-camp-streator/ Contact: TammyButler@IBSA.org or JacobKimbrough@IBSA.org

July

22-28

GO Chicago

Where: Chicagoland, overnighting at the Chicagoland Association Building

What: This immersive student mission experience engages church planting, missions, and inner-city ministry. There will be different mission projects and experiences each day.

Cost: $275

Info: IBSA.org/events/go-chicago/ Contact: KevinJones@IBSA.org, ShannonFord@IBSA.org

August 25-26

Pursuing God Together: Marriage Retreat

Where: TBA

What: Ministry is hard. And it can take its toll on relationships. Our pastor and wife retreat focuses on replenishing couples spiritually, maritally, and missionally, as they pursue their calling here in Illinois as a team. It also provides encouragement, replenishment, and a renewed sense of passion in the pursuit of God’s purpose. Spots limited. Registration opens June 14.

Cost: Free

Info: IBSA.org/events/pgt2/ Contact: MarkEmerson@IBSA.org

October 11-12

Northern Ladies Retreat

Where: Streator Baptist Camp, Streator What: An extended sabbath retreat designed for women to get away for rest, fellowship, fun, and most of all to grow in their walk with the Lord.

Cost: Friday and Saturday- $50, Saturday only- $35

Info: IBSA.org/events/northern-ladies-retreat-streator/ Contact: TammyButler@IBSA.org

see the IBSA calendar for more events. www.ibsa.org/calendar/

MEREDITH FLYNN