Illinois Baptist
Connecting with volunteers
Big Launch
Priority moves to Decatur
Springfield | Significant vandalism to the elevators and sprinkler system forced the temporary closure of the Wyndham Springfield City Centre March 28, which was scheduled to host the IBSA annual women’s conference, Priority April 25-26. The Wyndham cancelled all its events for the month. IBSA Leadership Director Carmen Halsey-Menghini and her team shifted into high gear to find a new location.
Tabernacle Baptist Church in Decatur agreed to house the event, and Priority moved ahead as planned. “God is having us deliver this year’s conference in a different wineskin, but the content hasn’t changed, and we’re excited to see what he is doing,” Halsey-Menghini said. Previously she had said how excited the planning group was to bring an all-Illinois teaching team to the platform this year, evidence of the growing discipleship and competence of the women leaders in our state.
Tabernacle has hosted Priority before, and previous attenders will have fond memories of food trucks on the
NATE ADAMS
4 key questions For future-ready leaders P. 2
ERIC REED Church in space Reporter’s Notebook P. 6
CP GIVING Report card For your church Section B Salvation & Grace P. 16
PLUS: Two churches join forces in central Illinois P 10
Daniel Kim P. 13
HALSEY-MENGHINI
Total giving by IBSA churches as of 3/31/25 $1,298,072
2025 Budget Goal to date: $1,683,573 2025 Goal: $6.1 Million
give local
“A call to preach is a call to prepare,” the president of one SBC seminary said often. With their regular mission gifts through Cooperative Program, churches support theological education at six Southern Baptist seminaries. Matriculation is much less for SBC students, making it easier to respond to the call to ministry.
Future-ready churches
It wasn’t surprising to me that this year’s Illinois Leadership Summit was well-attended and well-received by about 200 pastors and leaders from IBSA churches. That has been the growing trend for several years now, thanks to guest speakers like Mac Lake, Mark Clifton, and Dave Rhodes, as well as practical breakouts from pacesetting church leaders here in Illinois.
What did surprise me this year was the unprecedented number of requests from churches for follow up consultations.
The Summit’s focus on “becoming a future ready church” clearly struck a chord, as many churches today struggle to effectively reach younger generations.
Whether you attended this year’s Summit or not, IBSA is ready to help your church investigate some next steps in reaching younger generations in your context. From personal experience, though, I would encourage each of us to begin by simply increasing our awareness of generational dynamics. For example, my notes from this year’s ILS remind me that at least five distinct generations are alive today:
● Those in the Builder generation, sometimes called Traditionals, were born in 1946 or earlier. Shaped by the World War II era, they value rules and respect authority. They expect a leadership style that is more formal or commanding. Print communications such as newspapers are preferred.
With total enrollment of 16,000 students and full-time equivalent of more that 8,300, these SBC schools are preparing the next wave of pastors and missionaries. This month, more than 1,000 students will graduate and head for the field—because you give.
The Illinois Baptist staff
Editor - Eric Reed
Contributing Editor - Lisa Misner
Production Manager - Nic Cook
Graphics Assistant - Makayla Proctor
Team Leader - Ben Jones Impact global
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 Boomer generation refers to those born between 1946 and 1966. With 10,000 Boomers now retiring every day, a key value for this generation is their legacy. Boomers value a thoughtful leadership style based on proven expertise, not just authority; one that is more directing than controlling. They often prefer broadcast communication to print.
● Gen X, born between 1966 and 1981, was the first generation to be heavily influenced by video games. A key value for them is to “level up” personally, rather than to compete. They prefer to be led more collaboratively than authoritatively, and to participate in decisions and direction. The more personal, customized communication first made possible by computers tends to connect best with this generation.
● The Millennials or Gen Y, born between 1981 and 2000, are now the largest generation on the planet and in the workforce. They are looking for ways to have a meaningful impact on the world, and they are looking for leadership that will guide and support rather than control or direct.
Key questions for tomorrow’s leaders
● Gen Z, born between 2000 and 2015, is still feeling the effects of the 2008 financial crisis as they enter the workplace and experience an uncertain economy. Yet they are digital natives who navigate technology and the worldwide web effortlessly, and they often find their own answers without looking to authority, traditions, or institutions. They prefer leadership that empowers their self-guided or group-guided collaboration.
James Choung, vice president of strategy and innovation for Intervarsity Christian Fellowship, has suggested that generations can be viewed through different spiritual lenses. For example, referring to four essential questions found in Greek philosophy, he suggests that Boomers are asking, “What is true?” and “What was the world meant to be?” while Gen Xers focus more on “What is real or authentic?” and “Why is the world so messed up?” Millennials are asking “What is good?” and “What will make the world right?” while Gen Z is asking “What is beautiful?” and “How can I be a part of making the world right?”
Choung believes that Christians may find unique open doors for the gospel when they understand generational questions or needs like these. If he is correct, then churches desiring to reach younger generations should start by seeking to understand them; and then prepare to meet them where they are.
Nate Adams is executive director of the Illinois Baptist State Association. Respond at IllinoisBaptist@IBSA.org.
NATE ADAMS
from the front: priority relocates
Continued from page 1
church’s parking lot and the gymnasium and wide hallways serving as exhibit space. Priority has attracted as many as 700 people in that location.
The one-day pre-conference event, which is a smaller discipleship intensive, was relocated to the IBSA Building, which can accommodate about 250 people.
Women were encouraged to continue to register and to invite their friends to attend. “Your presence and participation is vital,” Halsey-Menghini said. “We’re confident that God is up to something, and we will look back on this as a milestone moment.”
The Wyndham, formerly known as the Springfield Hilton, is the tallest building on the city skyline. The downtown facility has served as the site for the IBSA Annual Meeting on several occasions, prior to the more recent engagement of the Crowne
Plaza adjacent to I-55 and just a few blocks from the IBSA Building.
The Wyndham hotel has been subject to prolonged debates over redevelopment as a residential apartment or condo complex, with competing developers pitching plans to the City Council. City planners and some council members are concerned about the loss of hotel rooms and large meeting spaces downtown near its own BOS Convention Center.
At press time, IBSA staff and Priority leadership volunteers were ready to open the doors on a promising women’s event focusing on the theme “Together: Unity, not Uniformity.”
Look for coverage of Priority at IllinoisBaptist. org and in the next issue of the Illinois Baptist.
NAMB purchase completed
Chicago Association endowed by sale
Chicago | The North American Mission Board (NAMB) has purchased the building at 1356 N. Rockwell Street owned by the Chicagoland Baptist Association. The three-story brown brick structure will serve as a ministry center for NAMB and its Send Network operations in the city. The building, which is more than 100 years old, was first a school, with large rooms and dining space in the basement. A new school was built across the street, and this building eventually housed a Baptist church. That church later bequeathed the facility to the Chicago Metro Baptist Association, which operated there since 2012.
CMBA launched church plants in the building, and used the upper floors to house visiting mission teams who worked with local churches. Similar functions will continue under NAMB’s direction.
Funds from the $1 million sale will serve as a corpus to support the local association. CMBA, now operating as Chicagoland Baptists, has struggled since NAMB defunded missionary positions in local associations in frontier regions in 2011. CMBA, which had three staff members focusing on church health, growth, and evangelism, soon operated with mostly volunteer leadership led by Pastor Rick Dorsey of Beacon Hill Baptist Church in Chicago Heights.
In 2021, the association received a three-year grant from a legacy fund held by the Baptist Foundation of Illinois (BFI), and Nathan Carter began serving as part-time Associational Mission Strategist. Carter is pastor of Immanuel Baptist Church in downtown Chicago, which he planted 20 years ago.
The local association will continue to have an office in the Rockwell building.
—Eric Reed
education
Trinity becomes Canadian seminary
Deerfield | Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (TEDS) announced it is leaving the suburbs of Chicago to move to Canada where it will merge with that country’s largest Christian university, Trinity Western University (TWU).
A statement posted to the school’s website on April 8 reads, “TEDS has entered into a formal commitment to take steps moving under the auspices of TWU, a union that brings together two institutions with a common statement of faith and story of origin, as well as a shared commitment to training Christian leaders for the church and the world.”
maining steadfast in its mission ‘to train men and women to testify to the transformative power of the inerrant Word throughout the world while providing a critique of the competing ideologies that threaten the life of the church.’”
The seminary will remain at its present location through the end of the 2025-2026 academic year. The transition to TWU, based in Langley, British Columbia, will begin during the fall 2026 semester according to its website.
The statement continued, “As this moves forward, TEDS will become TWU’s seminary, all the while re-
TEDS, which is affiliated with the Evangelical Free Church of America (EFCA), was founded in 1897 in a church basement and moved to Deerfield in 1963. TWU was established as a junior college in 1962. Discussions to establish a partnership between the two educational institutions began as far back as the 1980s but never came to fruition until now.
The school will maintain its relationship with the EFCA while continuing to develop its connection to the Evangelical Free Church of Canada.
TEDS is currently part of Trinity International University (TIU) in Deerfield.
—Lisa Misner
—IB staff
MOVING — Carmen Halsey-Menghini (left) and Tammy Butler shift gears for the Priority move to Decatur.
NEW MANAGEMENT — This old building on N. Rockwell in Chicago changed hands, but ministry will continue.
SWAG
Most counts dropped in Hunt’s lawsuit
Nashville, Tenn. | Only one count remains in Johnny Hunt’s defamation lawsuit against the Southern Baptist Convention. A federal judge in Tennessee dropped the remaining counts in the $75 million suit resulting from accusations in the SBC-commissioned Guidepost Solutions report on sexual abuse in the denomination.
Hunt, most recently a vice president for the North American Mission Board, was accused of kissing and groping another pastor’s wife at a beachside condo in 2010. Hunt was the pastor of First Baptist Church of Woodstock, Georgia at the time, and had just days before completed two years as SBC president. Hunt said his reputation was damaged and his earning power diminished.
The claim that remains in Hunt’s suit involves a tweet by previous SBC president Bart Barber about the viability of the charges. Barber was in office
at the time of the social media post on the platform now called X. Barber is a frequent poster with 21,000 followers.
“We are grateful for this decision and the forward progress in our legal process,” SBC Executive Committee President and CEO Jeff Iorg told Religion News Service.
Judge William Campbell of the U.S. District Court, Middle Tennessee District, issued a 74-page ruling dismantling Hunt’s claims that the SBC EC and Guidepost Solutions, the company it hired to investigate, had ignored evidence and information about the accuser’s reliability.
In the opinion, Campbell said Hunt had failed to prove the charges that accuser’s information was unreliable or that Guideposts had mishandled it. The judge also said Hunt’s claims of his own financial damage and emotional distress were not adequately substantiated.
Awbrey named to SBC’s Dallas Team
Victoria Awbrey returns to the Registration Committee for the 2025 Annual Meeting in June. She was one of 26 members appointed by SBC President Clint Pressley
The registration committee is called “to supervise the registration of messengers, to oversee the operations of the registration desk, and to rule upon any questions which may arise in registration concerning the credentials of messengers” per SBC Bylaw 8.
“I am confident that this committee, representative of Southern Baptists across our convention, will serve our messengers well in Dallas,” Pressley said.
Awbrey is the wife of IBSA Leadership Director Michael Awbrey. She is a member of Tremont Baptist Church, and she volunteered to work with the registration team in Indianapolis last year.
She said at the time, “(This meeting) is something I look forward to every year. In fact, my birthday often falls over convention. And I like to say I enjoy spending my birthday at a good Baptist business meeting!”
As for the tweet posted by Barber, the judge said a jury could conclude Barber was acting in his capacity as SBC president, but a related issue— whether Hunt could be considered a public figure when the comment was made—would have to be determined after further evidence is offered. Campbell’s summary judgment was issued March 31.
Hunt’s suit, now with only the one accusation, goes to court the week af-
‘To preserve unity’ S.C. megachurch withdraws
Newspring Church in South Carolina has chosen to leave the Southern Baptist Convention in the interest of “preserving unity in the Body of Christ” rather than face further scrutiny about a woman teaching pastor on its staff.
The megachurch with 13 locations across the state was interviewed by the SBC Credentials Committee for its inclusion of Meredith Knox as one of four teaching pastors. The church affirmed that it believes the lead pastor role is biblically reserved for men, in keeping with SBC doctrine. Six men in their organization hold the title “lead pastor,” each with a specialization. Knox is the only woman with the title “teaching pastor.”
The February decision by the Credentials Committee that the church was still in “friendly cooperation” with the denomination was criticized in some quarters of the SBC. Current President Clint Pressley was among those calling for another look at the decision.
“My understanding is that our Credentials Committee deemed a church in friendly cooperation that has a female teaching pastor,” he tweeted in February. “The committee needs to take another look at this one. Our statement of faith is clear about qualifications for a pastor.”
The discussion fueled renewed calls for passage of the Law Amendment to SBC Constitution, to strengthen the language about male-only pastors. A group of seven pastors wrote an open letter describing how the amendment, which failed to get a final super majority vote by messengers meeting in Indianapolis last year, could be brought for another vote on a fast track.
“It is apparent that the Credentials Committee needs the clarification that this Amendment would have provided. For that reason, we are supporting a renewed effort to amend the SBC Constitution,” the letter said.
Pressley and the parliamentarian are prepared to handle a motion to bring the Law Amendment
ter the SBC Annual Meeting in Dallas in June.
At that convention, SBC messengers will be asked to allocate $3 million in the 2025-26 budget for legal expenses. The EC has already spent $3.1 million on Hunt’s case and other legal proceedings. A second abuse-related case is expected to be heard in the fall.
After the March 31 ruling, the woman identified as “Jane Doe” in the court filings, issued a statement to RNS. She said she had not sought to be included in the Guidepost report or the subsequent actions, and that she had suffered a great burden because of the legal process.
This judgment had “helped lighten the burden she had carried for years,” she told RNS, but she understood why abused people are unlikely to come forward.
back to the table, SBC Executive Committee CEO Jeff Iorg told the Illinois Baptist in March.
Meanwhile, the church in question has made at least one part of the possible drama in Dallas moot. By withdrawing from association with the denomination, Newspring Church spares itself from another round of interviews and possible vote for dismissal at the convention.
“This decision is driven by a desire for unity and a commitment to Christ’s mission,” church leaders said in a statement at their website. “We believe it will help us focus on what matters most: preaching the gospel and seeing everyone everywhere in an everyday relationship with Jesus.”
--Eric Reed, with reporting by BP and Christian Post
—IB staff, with reporting by RNS, BP, and TAB media
Trump appoints pastors to key posts
Ambassador Huckabee confirmed, prayer group surrounds President Washington, DC | Former Arkansas governor, presidential candidate, talk show host, and Baptist pastor Mike Huckabee was confirmed as U. S. Ambassador to Israel April 9. He is one of several pastors named to high posts in the Trump Administration.
Former pastor and staff member of Prestonwood Baptist Church in the Dallas Metroplex, Scott Turner, is the head of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. He served as an entrepreneurial development director in the first Trump Administration. He is also a former NFL player.
The Veterans Administration is under the leadership of Doug Collins (see right). Collins is a Baptist pastor and lawyer who represented Georgia in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Former North Carolina congressman Mark Walker was appointed as head of the State Department’s Office of International Religious Freedom. “As a former minister, along with serving in Congressional leadership, I’m open-eyed to the bad actors and regions committing …atrocities against people of faith,” Walker posted. “Religious expression is the foundation of human rights and, whether it’s a college campus in New York or Sub-Saharan Africa, I’ll be relentless in fighting for those targeted
who dare to live out their faith.”
After his Senate confirmation, Huckabee was congratulated by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who called him “our dear friend.”
“This is a great day for the Israeli-American alliance,” Netanyahu posted “I look forward to working with you to make the unbreakable bond between our two nations even stronger.”
In his confirmation hearings, Huckabee was criticized for his previous statements about Palestinian-held territories. “The title deed was given by God to Abraham and to his heirs,” he said, as recently as March. While he denies that Israeli presence in Palestinian areas is “occupation,” Huckabee said in his official capacity, “it will be my duty to carry out the president’s policies, not mine.”
Huckabee presented his credentials to the President of Israel, Isaac Herzog, on April 20.
‘Faith office’ established
The influence of pastors has been welcomed by the Trump Administration with the establishment in February of the White House Faith Office (WHFO). Its purpose is to encourage faith-based initiatives involving churches and non-profit faith groups, and to discourage anti-Christian bias in the U.S.
Rather than the usual ecumenical group, WHFO is led by prominent Christians who have appeared frequently in Trump events. Among Southern Baptists, First Baptist Dallas Pastor Robert Jeffress has been photographed at two White House prayer gatherings in the Oval Office. “Honored to lead a prayer today for our great President!” he posted after a March 20 meeting.
William Wolfe, Founder for Center Baptist Leadership, is engaged with the WHFO. The prayer team is led by Paula White-Cain, former pastor of a charismatic church in Florida.
President Trump issued a statement at Easter pledging “to defend the Christian faith in our schools, military, workplaces, hospitals, and halls of government” and seeking “an outpouring of the Holy Spirit on our Beloved nation.”
the briefing
VA head reverses policy
Sermons by VA chaplains can be explicitly Christian after all, according to a new ruling by the Department of Veterans Affairs. “VA reiterates again its commitment to upholding and enforcing the constitutional and statutory protections afforded to Chaplains when providing spiritual guidance in the performance of their duties and responsibilities,” wrote VA Secretary Doug Collins, a Trump appointee. Collins is himself a former chaplain, Southern Baptist pastor, and member of Congress.
In November 2024, the VA had reprimanded Chaplain Russell Truby for a sermon from Romans 1 that he delivered at a VA hospital in Pennsylvania. His supervisor had told Truby that Romans is a “very charged and divisive text” and there were complaints about the sermon.
“Secretary Collins made it clear that the government has no business censoring anyone’s sermon, including military chaplains,” stated Erin Smith, counsel for the First Liberty Institute, which represented Truby. Smith called Collins’ policy a victory for religious freedom.
Offer of help rejected
In an unusual move, the U.S. State Department recommended to authorities in the United Kingdom that charges against a woman offering to counsel those considering abortion be dropped. The woman was convicted anyway and fined about $25,000.
Dr. Livia Tossici-Bold silently held up a sign outside an abortion clinic in Bournemouth. “I was not protesting and did not harass or obstruct anyone,” she said. “All I did was offer consensual conversation in a public place, as is my basic right, and yet the court found me guilty.”
She called the conviction “a dark day for Britian.”
“The U.S. State Department was right to be concerned by this case as it has serious implications for the entire Western world,” she said. The woman was represented by Alliance Defending Freedom UK.
—First Liberty Institute, Christian Post, ADF International
COLLINS
DAY ONE — Ambassador Huckabee and his wife, Janet, started his new job with a visit to the Garden tomb on Easter.
PRAYER CIRCLE — In the Oval Office in March, pastors on the White House prayer team prayed for President Trump. Among them were First Baptist Dallas Pastor Robert Jeffress (pink tie) and prominent charismatic leader Paula White-Cain (right).
An astronaut’s lesson in church attendance
hat does an astronaut do immediately after nine months in space? Go to church, of course.
Butch Wilmore and his Space-X crewmate Suni Williams returned to earth after their epic and unplanned hermitage on the International Space Station March 18, and on March 23 Wilmore was back in church—giving thanks to God for his reunion with his family, no doubt, but also inspiring the people who know the astronaut as elder Butch. And the rest of us, too.
“There was a bit of excitement after he came, but he doesn’t want to be the focus,” said his pastor Tommy Dohn, “although we are all kind of starstruck.”
Wilmore and his family have been active members of Providence Baptist Church in Pasadena, Texas for 17 years. (It’s one of ours.) Located near the Johnson Space Center in Houston, the church has had NASA-connected people through the years, but the man who inadvertently saw his 8-day trip to the ISS turned into a 286-day record clearly stands out.
If not for that achievement, then for his humility. And his faith.
Wilmore says connections to the church got him through the uncertainties of being stranded with seven astronauts from several countries. “It was part of what I need as a believer in Jesus Christ to continue that focus,” Wilmore told KPRC TV. “It
assisted me day in and day out because I need that fellowship, even though it’s fellowship from afar.”
His testimony in a satellite news conference shortly before the flight home was remarkable. The video showed his willingness to witness to reporters about his relationship with his Savior. But what some of us wanted to know was how often he spoke about Jesus to his shipmates? And did he pray over those freeze-dried dinners? More of the story is coming out.
Yes, Wilmore led devotions on the space station. He joined the crew in singing “Amazing Grace,” he told CBN. And in a NASA press briefing April 1, the Baptist elder-astronaut said he live streamed
worship services from his Texas home church and from Grace Baptist Church in Mount Juliet, Tennessee, which is pastored by a friend. He said staying connected to the church was “vital.”
“The Word of God continually infilling me, I need it,” Wilmore said. “My pastors are the finest pastors on—or off, in this case—the planet. And to tie in and to worship with my church family was vital. I mean, it’s part of what makes me go.”
As for the extended stay in space, Jesus “teaches us when he says in his word about being content in all situations because he’s working out his plan and his purposes for his glory and our good, and I believe that because the Bible says that.
“It doesn’t mean always happy, it doesn’t mean there’s no pain, but content and knowing that God’s in control; a sovereign God’s in control, working out his plan and his purpose,” Wilmore said.
Back on earth with his family and his church family, the astronaut is applying the lessons learned in space. “Who’s lived a life without sorrow? Who’s lived a life without challenges?” he said. “It grows us, we learn from it, and that’s the focus that I try to take from it: What’s the Lord trying to show me?”
—by Eric Reed, with interviews from KPRC, CBN, and Christian Post
MISSION
Resurrection
The birth of a new church with renewed purpose
BY BEN JONES
The drizzle coming down couldn’t dampen the excitement inside the newly remodeled sanctuary Easter morning as Gospelife Church in Washington celebrated their grand opening. Over 150 people gathered to worship. They celebrated the resurrection of Jesus and of this body that was previously known as First Baptist Church.
After reading about the resurrection from 1 Corinthians 15:1-4, new pastor Justin Schwarzentraub told the crowd to “embrace the chaos” of the birth of something new. The slim, red-headed pastor pointed out that there were some finishing touches in the facility still to be done, ministries yet to be fully functioning, but he urged them to come back because more good things were to come.
This resurrection-inspired hope-filled chaos and work-in-progress message could describe more than just Gospelife Washington’s grand opening. It’s their backstory, too.
The church is a replant. A new congregation
that exists because another congregation willingly made the difficult decision to lay down their church so a new one could rise in its place. This is a process filled with months of prayer, careful listening and conversations, and the extension of lots of trust.
Long winding road
In 2021, First Baptist Church found themselves in a difficult situation. After almost 74 years of ministry to Washington, a town of about 16,000 less than 10 miles northeast of Peoria, they were struggling. Their numbers had dwindled. The twenty or so remaining members were dedicated, but with no younger families and no pastor, they weren’t sure of the right path forward.
During that particularly difficult season, they reached out to their local Metro Peoria Baptist Association (MPBA) and the Illinois State Baptist Association (IBSA) for help. Joe Gardner, the now retired MBPA Associational Mission
Vision realized
The pastor and core team at Gospelife in Washington believed God had impressed on them to pray for 150 on Easter Sunday. With three late arrivals (and two expectant mothers) the multi-generational crowd exceeded that vision.
Continued from page 7
Strategist, and Noah Lee, pastor of nearby Tremont Baptist Church, helped tremendously, said IBSA Health Team Leader, Scott Foshie
“They were a listening ear. They prayed with them a lot, and then they used some of our Refocus assessments to help them see what the challenges at hand were, and the opportunities in the community,” Foshie said.
For months they prayed, discussed, and met with IBSA revitalization leaders. What was the right path forward for them?
“IBSA doesn’t have the answer for anyone about these things,” said Foshie, “but the Lord does. The privilege is getting to be with them in the moment when the Lord speaks to them. We try to help get them in front of the Lord with the good questions, with the good assessments.”
Eventually the church believed the Lord was calling them to consider replanting, rather than revitalization.
“So I drove up one weekend and talked to them about both revitalization and replanting, to help them clearly understand the differences,” Kevin Jones said. Jones is IBSA’s Director of Church Planting. He works to catalyze both new church plants and also replants. Closing a season of one church’s legacy in order to pass the torch of ministry, as well as assets such as property, to an entirely new leadership group from outside the original church is both complicated and emotional.
“It’s a beautiful yet difficult moment when you realize that the way to be most kingdom-focused is to let go of the history, but also pay it forward into a new season of outreach,” Foshie said. “It was exciting for them to get to do that. However, I know it was a difficult decision.”
The church had made the hard decision to sacrifice the past for a new future. But that was a decision of faith, because they still did not know which church would sponsor the new replanted church or who would be the pastor.
‘Meant for More’
In the western suburbs of Chicago, Gospelife Church was praying about where they might start another church. They already had experience replanting another church in nearby Carol Stream, just north of Wheaton. Additionally, the original Gospelife location in Wheaton was also a replant, of First Baptist Lombard. Lead Pastor Scott Nichols, who planted Gospelife, also serves as the Send City Missionary for Chicago, overseeing North American Mission Board (NAMB) church planting in Chicagoland.
“We launched a spiritual growth campaign in
2023 called Meant for More,” Nichols said, explaining that the church was meant for more than they were currently doing. In addition to more investment in missions, “one element to that campaign was to plant an additional church.” So their leadership began praying and fasting that God would provide the right opportunity and person to pastor.
Jones believed that despite the distance from Wheaton to Washington, Gospelife might be the right partner, so he made the introduction. After more discussions and more prayer, the two churches agreed that this was right. An advisory committee was formed of representatives from the former church, Gospelife church, and IBSA to oversee the details of the transition.
All that time, God was preparing a pastor for the future church.
Schwarzentraub grew up in nearby Peoria, but had spent more than a decade in Colorado. He and his wife, Kira, moved there in 2011 to help with a church plant. That allowed him to experience start-up ministry in a variety of roles, first as a volunteer, then later as a worship pastor.
Yet as the years passed, God began doing something new in him. “God placed on my heart I needed to do four things in the next season: to preach, to teach, to lead, and to build. I didn’t know what that was going to look like, so I started praying,” he said.
Schwarzentraub was encouraged to take the step of faith of listing his Colorado home with a realtor, even though he didn’t know where he was moving for the new ministry. In fact, he hadn’t even sent out a resume. But exactly three weeks to the day after his house listing went public, he saw his step of faith realized. He accepted an offer on his home and an offer to join Gospelife as a church planter to pastor their replant in Washington.
In November 2024, First Baptist Washington held a legacy service to honor 74 years of ministry. To bridge the past to the future, Schwarzentraub led that service. They closed that season of minis-
UNDER CONSTRUCTION — For months contractors, along with volunteers from other churches joined church members, including the pastor’s kids (left) and Pastor Schwarzentraub (below), to renovate the church facilities in anticipation of the new start.
try in celebration, with the baptism of a young man who had grown up in the church, a foreshadowing of their hopes for more to come.
Real resurrection Sunday
Over the next six months, a core group comprised of those faithful 20 original members alongside other new additions, began meeting for prayer, worship, Bible study, and planning. Kenny Woodward, a lifelong member and the former song leader, described how the small band sat in circles and prayed in groups of four or five, in ways they had never prayed before. “We prayed and prayed, and we became a praying church in the matter of a few weeks,” Woodward said.
By December, the church interior had become a construction zone as volunteers from Gospelife’s Wheaton and Carol Stream campuses, and from MPBA and Springfield churches, rotated through to help with de- and re-construction of the sanctuary. By grand opening day, much had changed. New drywall, new lighting, new paint, new chairs, a new platform, and a new sound system all had been completed, with more to come.
But the biggest change is the new life that was on display Easter Sunday. Three young musicians led a packed house in passionate worship to begin. And to end, three brand new believers in Jesus shared their testimonies through tears before being baptized.
That new life was evident to everyone that morning, but none were more joyful than the original members, like Kenny Woodward, who made the difficult decision to believe that the path forward was to lay down the church that had been, so a new one could live.
“God’s doing something, and he’s bringing people, and he brought the pieces together,” Woodward said. “God is able to make it explode it, but he may also require us to be people of endurance. And that remains to be seen, but I’m there for either one.”
(Top) Three new believers shared their testimonies through tears before being baptized during the Easter service. One of them, Brandon, simply walked into the building during a Sunday morning prayer meeting, broken, unbelieving, but searching for hope. He found it.
Suppose
a place without a church
When Don Hannel and his wife, Lisa, felt called to leave thriving church in Pleasant Hill after 19 years and move to the town where she had recently taken a new job as a school principal, they may not have been aware what God was up to. As God planted in their hearts the need for a new church in their new town of Mt. Sterling, he also was addressing a need felt in 9 Illinois counties.
An IBSA church in a county where there is no IBSA church.
Certainly, there are believers in all of Illinois’ 102 counties. And there are evangelical churches and Bible teaching churches across the state. But in 9 counties, there is no IBSA-connected church, and thus, no Southern Baptist presence to speak of.
This became apparent when IBSA first published a map produced by the North American Mission Board ten years ago. Using the color chart to depict the percentage of the local population that identifies as Southern Baptist, the dark blue counties had the highest percentage of at least one SBC church for every 3,000 people. But 10 counties were colored white. They had no IBSA/SBC church at all.
A few of those counties once had an SBC church. Boone county is one example where the local SBC church did not survive. It’s not unusual for churches to close. As painful as it is to say this, about 7,000 churches close their doors every year in America, and only 4,000 open. It is estimated that 2,000 churches need to be planted per year to keep up with national population growth.
And some places, like Brown County where the Hannels relocated, need someone to plant their first IBSA/ SBC church.
Consider this list: Boone, Calhoun, Carroll, Henderson, Jo Daviess, Livingston, Marshall, Putnam, Stark. These are the Illinois counties with no IBSA church. The population of these 9 counties is 159,697.
no IBSA church
1 per > 30,000
1 per > 10,000 - 20,000
1 per > 3,000 - 10,000
1 per < 3,000
Much has been reported about Illinois population shifts, away from rural areas and to the metro areas. Keeping up with the growth, wherever it occurs, is a challenge for church planters. Scores of new churches are needed to reach our major metro areas, but in these counties in particular, the population is increasing. As recently as the 2022-2023 census data, these 15 counties were gains. That includes the Chicagoland counties and the I-80 corridor, but there’s also growth among downstate counties with college campuses and strong manufacturing centers.
The growth is especially Latino and Asian people. The state overall is aging. Between 2000 and 2022, people over age 50 grew by 38% (from 3.3 million to 4.5 million), while all demographics under aged 50 shrank.
But ethnic congregations have membership younger than the average church. About 72% of those attending Hispanic congregations are under age 50. Younger congregations tend to have more children. This adds life, vibrancy, and dynamism to their churches.
And that is growth opportunity.
If the county names don’t ring a bell, what about their county seat towns? Belvidere, Hardin, Mt. Carroll, Oquakwa, Galena, Pontiac, Lacon, Hennepin, Toulon.
Have you driven through any of those places? Do you know anyone who lives there?
While there is great need in the cities and college towns and counties with growing ethnic populations, it may be that the gospel need is most felt by the church’s absence in these 9 counties and their many communities.
Or maybe the lost people there don’t know what they’re missing.
Winnebago
Together again
Merger produces Unity in Gillespie
Gillespie | The newest church in Macoupin County is about two months old. It’s also 117 years old. That’s because this new-old church is the merger of two churches that split about 50 years ago. You couldn’t tell there had been a split when the congregations met February 2 to confirm their reunion as Unity Baptist Church. The story goes like this:
The original church, First Baptist, had relocated from their facility on Macoupin St. to a new property on Broadway St. in 1969. About this time the pastor began to lead them to leave the Southern Baptist Convention. Eventually they disassociated from Macoupin Baptist Association and the state convention as well. FBC Gillespie became known as an Independent-Fundamental Baptist congregation. Not every member agreed with the changes. About half the congregation obtained the former property on Macoupin St. and began ministry there as Trinity Baptist Church.
So, two Baptist churches ministered to their community which has a current population of 3,112. The churches co-existed fairly well, but were not in sync on their denominational affiliation. But over time, the split was mostly forgotten and each church went its own way.
Fifty years passed. The current pastors of these two churches began talking about the possibility of bringing them back together. Jared DePoppe of FBC and Dane Solari of Trinity envisioned one stronger Baptist church serving Gillespie. That was in 2019. Then the pandemic and slowed things down.
Both pastors agreed they could work together. They had been holding joint Good Friday services and monthly youth gatherings for some time. Each church had about 50 attenders. So talks about a merger continued for a few years. The Macoupin Association offered assistance along with the Illinois Baptist State Association. Cliff Woodman, who is also a zone consultant for IBSA, gave
WHERE IT HAPPENED — First Baptist Church of Gillespie (top right) and Trinity Baptist Church (top left) were once one church. They are again. After five years of discussion, the congregations merged as Unity Baptist Church in a Feb. 2 ceremony. Co-pastor Dane Solari looks on as Co-pastor Jared DePoppe signs the new charter. The congregation is meeting at the former Trinity location.
For more information on the work of IBSA Zone Consultants, and to find your zone, visit our website IBSA.org/about/zones-and-consultants
encouragement, advice, and coaching.
The merger movement picked up speed, and on February 2 both churches held business sessions. Each congregation voted to move forward with the merger. Then they had a joint session where 99 members signed a charter agreement for the new Unity Baptist Church. They have been meeting together a little over a month now.
Solari is a full-time pastor and DePoppe is bivocational, also serving as police chief for the city. They are now considered co-pastors. They share the preaching and pastoral care responsibilities.
Litmus test
“There is a lot of excitement around (the merger),” Solari said. “We have talked about this and we feel it is a good testimony to the community.”
Solari said he appreciated that there is reconciliation of two churches who had disagreed decades ago. He thinks this is a great story which is being embraced by newer generations of people who had not thought much about the 1969 debate.
DePoppe said he thought the merger is unique. Two fairly healthy churches joined together, rather than a strong church taking over a weaker church. “We have a lot of excitement going as we are combining,” he said. There are “fears of what will happen in the future….how well will this work?” But the pastors like the idea of being co-pastors
and working together.
“We complement each other’s strengths and weaknesses,” Solari said. “IBSA has been saying this past year ‘Don’t pastor alone.’”
From two churches of 50, to one church with 99 charter members, Unity Baptist Church is now averaging 120 in worship attendance. The pastors speak of a healthy marriage, and they said it is like Revelation 7:9 with “a vast multitude from every nation, tribe, people, and language, which no one could number, standing before the throne and before the Lamb.”
Richard Hill is a deacon in the new merged church. He is also former director of missions in Macoupin Association and previously served as pastor of Trinity Baptist Church for 25 years. So his perspective on the merger is valuable.
Hill said the key question is “Are we working together to do the right thing?” Hill thought it was great that they are mending a relationship that was broken over fifty years ago. “I want God’s will to be done,” he said.
Working together long term
When churches merge, two streams come together. Sometimes there is unity. Sometimes there are simply two congregations occupying the same space. The question is how to make a merger of two churches be healthy?
IBSA Health Team Leader Scott Foshie addressed the pros and cons of a church merger. On the positive side, “they come together in a church multiplication effect instead of just addition. There is a new vision that God gives, and it is exciting.”
But “two detailed legacies and cultures are also coming together. They need a consultant to help them with their self-awareness as they unpack who they are now,” Foshie said. “There are assumptions about who and what each other are, and they need to work though those things.”
Woodman helped with this process as Solari talked through the merger in weekly pastors’ meetings in Macoupin Association. Along with IBSA Executive Director Nate Adams, Woodman answered questions about the vision of the state network, participation with the SBC, yet maintaining the autonomy of local congregations. Woodman said he feels there is good alignment of the congregations.
“It has been good to see them excited as this has developed; even as they have much work though, there is positive energy,” Woodman said. They are growing enthusiastic about what God may do in Gillespie.”
In the meantime, the surrounding community watches as the church lives into a new season with a new name, Unity Baptist Church.
Richard Nations is Associational Mission Strategist for Sandy Creek Baptist Association.
3 years on IN FOCUS
Is there hope for churches in war-torn Ukraine?
BY ERIC REED
Palm Sunday worship service in this church looks like most any evangelical congregation. The people stand to sing and the pastor leads from the pulpit. Until shelling begins. There are some gasps and yelps as glass shatters. Some people drop to the floor, while a couple look out the window to the street where the sounds of another attack emanate. “Stay calm, brothers and sisters,” the pastor says. “Stay calm.”
FORD
Easier said than done—in a war zone. But in Ukraine, they’ve gotten used to it.
Russian troops were mostly forced from the region where this particular church is located. But the northeastern city of Sumy saw renewed missile attacks April 13 that killed 36 people. Even with a short Easter cease fire and the possibility of peace talks, the war is not over.
Half a world away
Shannon Ford lives on the other side of the globe. As IBSA Missions Director, he works with Illinois Baptists to develop an array of missions through their local congregations. He works with Disaster Relief teams in their response to callouts after storms and floods. He helps churches with missions education, encouraging and equipping them for mission trips and outreach to a variety of peoples and needs.
Ford also keeps in touch with colleagues and Christian friends in Ukraine. Ford and his wife, Katie, served as International Mission Board (IMB) missionaries for 23 years. They were in Ukraine 18 years, then assigned to the Czech Republic, before returning to the U.S. in 2022. Ford started working with IBSA on the day of Russia’s full-on invasion of Ukraine.
“I’m beyond the point where I would say I worry about my friends there, because worry doesn’t change anything. But I care deeply.” And he prays a lot.
Sunflower surrender
The brilliant symbol of Ukraine, so popular in early expressions of support for the nation, turns brown at the end of its life cycle. Now they are ready for the harvest of seeds, and the cycle begins again.
A pastor in Ukraine called the spiritual impact of the war their “harvest time.”
Continued from page 11
The Fords’ IMB colleagues in Ukraine were moved to the surrounding countries of, Poland, Romania, and Hungary. They began ministering to refugees outside Ukraine and planning ministry for people displaced within the country. Many moved from battle zones in the east to safer places in the west. IMB reports 14 million people fled their homes.
Now three years after the invasion, stories about networks of Christians at work outside and inside the country are heartening for Ford—even as the war continues.
“The existing church and the members who stayed in country have rallied well, to assist those who have been displaced from one area of the country to another. That’s very positive,” he said. “And I have friends who are regularly taking vans and loading them with supplies to move from west to east where the need is so great.”
With internet contact, he keeps in touch with churches and colleagues. Tense moments come when a team delivering supplies disappears from internet contact. “That’s when the prayer requests go around. ‘We haven’t heard from this brother in three hours; please pray!’ We do, and all have returned.”
$2 will buy a Bible and $100 will train 33 believers in trauma care in Ukraine.
IMB has collected half of its $1 million goal for ministry there.
One of Ford’s friends in central Ukraine posted daily. Her blog shows a regular stream of photos about life in war time. Sometimes she posted on military actions and new bombings and hope for peace. Other times she posted photos that look like life anywhere, such as a 5K run in April resembling the starting line of the Chicago marathon.
“They’re trying to do life,” Ford said. “Living with sustained stress—three years of that, and with earlier incursions into Crimea—you’re talking about a decade. They’re exhausted, both the ones who left and the ones who stayed.
“They’re trying to do life, like we are.”
Ford described the heartfelt questions he receives from those who know about his work as an IMB missionary. “When people in our Illinois network of churches ask ‘How safe are your friends over there?’ that’s really good. That’s encouraging.”
Even though internet connections function, developing a reliable wide-angle picture of the total damage to infrastructure, relationships, and ministry seems less certain. Eyewitness accounts from ministry teams on the ground help.
The scope of war
Daniel Darling was in Ukraine and Poland in December. Darling is a former Illinois pastor who works as a strategist for the SBC’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) in addition to his leadership of the Land Center for Cultural Engagement at Southwestern Baptist Seminary. With a group of evangelicals, Darling met with the Ukraine Parliament. They toured Kyiv and talked with leaders from the Ukraine Baptist Union. There were 2,300 Baptist churches prior to the invasion. Some 400 church buildings were destroyed immediately, and many congregations
struggled to survive.
“Many Baptist pastors face significant persecution in Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine,” Darling wrote after his return. “We heard many stories of pastors who have been arrested, imprisoned, and even killed as the advancing Russian armies shut down evangelical and Baptist work and demand worship that conforms to the Russian state-aligned Russian Orthodox church.”
Soon after the invasion, Send Relief, the SBC compassion ministry operated jointly by IMB and the North American Mission Board (NAMB), sent teams to nearby countries to assist refugees. In the first two years of its work, Send Relief provided more than 1.3 million food boxes and 1.9 million hot meals, most of which were distributed through local churches. Send Relief has funded more than 100 projects impacting 2 million people and resulting in more than 10,000 new believers, IMB reported in 2024.
One ministry Darling saw is the Ukraine Baptist Theological Seminary in Lviv. The school, with an enrollment of 2,000, set up care centers for displaced people starting in 2022. Today there are 14 centers. Through their ministry, students have planted 54 new churches in Ukraine.
“The church-planting DNA taught before the war took root and grew,” IMB missionary Michael Domke wrote last year. “Local pastors and believers shared the good news of Jesus Christ with thousands of people. We saw baptism after baptism.
“One church that was about to shut its doors now has over 300 worshiping and has planted another church,” he said. “There are countless new small groups meeting as well as many new churches.
As another positive sign, Ford points to the emergence of a chaplain corps to serve the Ukraine military. He is in regular contact with a Baptist believer who was endorsed for chaplaincy. “They’re allowed to come alongside and provide compassion care to soldiers and their families,” Ford said. “That’s phenomenal.”
Bring them home
The ERLC joined with other Christian groups demanding the return of nearly 20,000 Ukrainian children taken by Russian troops and forced to assimilate into Russian culture. The April call came as a prerequisite to peace talks which the Trump Administration was pushing for right after Easter.
“Christians are compelled to speak out on behalf of the vulnerable, here and abroad, and that includes calling out the grave injustice facing Ukraine’s children,” ERLC President Brent Leatherwood told Baptist Press. He and others urged the White House to bring repatriation of children to the diplomatic table.
Deportation and abuse “is evil and a violation of their inherent dignity and rights. We must not allow these children to be used as pawns.” Leatherwood said.
Russia has returned about 6% of the children they took, 1,256 according to a group called Save Ukraine. The remainder, ages 4 months to 17 years, have been moved to Russia and Russia-controlled areas, adopted into Russian families in many cases, and had their Ukrainian identities erased. They’re speaking Russian. They have Russian names. And their parents in Ukraine have no idea where they are. Russia has refused to provide a list, in violation of international rules of warfare.
“Ukraine’s children must not be used as bargaining chips in geopolitical negotiations,” stated the letter signed by 40 evangelical leaders.
“Their safety, dignity, and right to be reunited with their families must be non-negotiable.”
While the hope for peace talks is not yet realized, the church in Ukraine ministers, and grows, despite the odds.
An unlikely harvest
“Pastors on the ground tell me that people in this war-torn country are hungry for the gospel,” Darling reported. “One told me, ‘It’s harvest time.’
IMB told the story of Nelya, a 75-year-old widow, whose experience was typical of many displaced people. In 2022, Nelya found herself running from war—again. Her home in Donetsk was bombed seven years earlier in another Russian incursion, and she had fled that town for another city.
This time, Nelya turned to a local church when she did not have money to buy food. “Since then, I have connected my life with God, believed, and was baptized,” she says. “Thank God for the kind people who help us to survive!”
Stories from countries where evangelical Christians are persecuted often demonstrate that the church grows when it is forced underground. But one takeaway from Ukraine is that the church there is not underground. It is still meeting in the open, despite shelling and persecution, like the Gospel Light Baptist Church in Sumy. And local churches survive through a steady stream of supplies and prayer from ministry partners outside the war zone.
Here in Illinois, Shannon Ford is one of those staying in touch, and praying.
“It’s going to be a challenge when there’s peace. How are those who stayed, whether they are church leaders or missionaries, going to relate to those who moved to a safer zone when they come back home?” Ford said. “That’s one of my greatest concerns, for the unity of the church. I’ve already been praying about that… that there will be a welcome home and an embrace.”
And he wants to share some hugs himself. “I’m ready for peace so I can go back, to see friends, to hug them, to tell them I’m proud of them.”
GROWING
MEET THE TEAM
Melissa Gerard Operations Team Ministry Assistant
Home: Athens
Family: 3 sons and 1 daughter, ages 20 to 11
Education: Williamsville High, Millikin University with BS in Int’l Business and Spanish
Journey: I re-entered the work force after 13 years, and this position is an answer to prayer. God provides!
Verse: As a beekeeper, I am fascinated that bees are mentioned over 60 times in the Bible! “Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body” (Proverbs 16:24).
Favorite Bible person: Noah. My family currently has a dog, a chinchilla, a bearded dragon, a leopard gecko, and honeybees. I get to thinking about how Noah managed to have so many under one roof.
Illinois discovery: The Pony Shoe. Who doesn’t like a sandwich topped with fries topped with cheese sauce?
Hobby: Beekeeping, fifth year, which I love doing with my kids. I enjoy taking my observation hive to church, school, and community events to share the gospel.
Site: The bike trail near my house, pedaling beside the Sangamon River.
Favorite fair food: Mini doughnuts and Jalapeno Cheese on a stick. That’s a well-balanced meal in my book.
Desert island download: Desert Song by Hillsong Worship!
A quote I say often: “Do your best, God will do the rest.”
IMaking the ask
Turning volunteers’ no’s into enthusiastic yes’s
n the third week of my internship, I was assigned to tear down chairs and tables after an event in our gym. Coming from a smaller church, I assumed I could handle it on my own—until I saw eight tables and 150 chairs that needed to be cleared. After three grueling hours, one thought kept running through my mind: I need to build a team.
Ministry is never meant to be done alone. Whether it’s kids or students, hospitality, or worship, every ministry depends on teams working together. Paul reminds us in Ephesians 4:11-12, “And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ.”
Our calling is not just to serve but to equip others. But how can we effectively recruit and prepare volunteers for ministry?
1. Cast a compelling vision. It’s easy to recruit volunteers based on immediate needs, whether it’s setting up chairs or filling a nursery rotation. However, assigning tasks without a clear vision often leads to burnout and disengagement.
My pastor reminds our ministry leaders: Cast vision before recruiting volunteers. When people see how their service impacts the Kingdom, they don’t just fill a role, they embrace a calling. As a wise pastor once said, “Volunteers want to be part of something bigger than themselves. Cast the vision, and they will run with it.”
2. Anticipate objections.
When I ask other ministry leaders why they struggle to recruit volunteers, the most common response is their fear of rejection. Hearing “no” can be discouraging. I went through a season where I felt timid about inviting people to serve, afraid they might turn me down. My campus pastor gave me a powerful reminder: “Don’t say their ‘no’ for them.” His words challenged me to stop assuming people’s responses and instead give them the opportunity to step into God’s calling for their lives.
Throughout his ministry, Jesus constantly faced rejection, yet he never let it deter him from his mission. Though he knew people would object to his message, Jesus pressed forward. In the same way, we should expect rejection, but we must not let the fear of it hold us back.
3. Lower the barrier to entry with clear next steps.
As a student pastor, I realized asking volunteers to commit two hours of their weekend—especially those who were married, in college, or parents—was a big ask. To make serving more accessible, I implemented a structured onboarding process that eased volunteers into their roles.
● Shadowing period (two weeks): Every new volunteer started with a trial run shadowing an experienced leader.
● Hands-on experience (two weeks): Next, they were paired with a seasoned leader and actively participated in leading a
“Then, why do you call it, Vacation Bible School?”
small group.
● Final conversation: After four weeks, I sat down with each volunteer for a one-hour conversation to hear their testimony and discern if they were a good fit for the ministry.
4. Make it personal and relational.
I’ve seen leaders wait in their offices, expecting volunteers to come to them, or rely on social media posts to fill ministry roles. But the most effective way to recruit volunteers isn’t through announcements, it’s through relationships.
As a student pastor, I didn’t have many responsibilities during the Sunday morning worship service, yet I made it a priority to be present for both services. Why? Because the atrium was the best place to meet people, build connections, and personally invite them to serve alongside me. In fact, half of my volunteers were recruited simply through those conversations.
As a student pastor, I was passionate about raising up the next generation of worship leaders.
A Wheaton College freshman studying international relations, Daniel had an interest in worship. I drove to his campus, sat with him, and made a bold ask: Would he be willing to invest 5-10 hours a week to help build our student worship team?
Daniel started by shadowing for a few weeks, shared his testimony, and eventually joined as a committed volunteer. Over the next three years, we had hard conversations, shared countless meals, and walked through his personal and spiritual growth together. During that time, his team expanded to 30 student band members, he changed his major to Bible and Theology. We recently hired him as our Worship Arts Resident.
Investing in volunteers isn’t easy, and making the ask can feel intimidating. But when you see the fruit of that investment, it’s always worth it.
Daniel Kim is student pastor for Gospelife Church in Wheaton.
BRIGHTER
DAY
Ruth’s surrendered life
“D
on’t plead with me to abandon you or to return and not follow you. For wherever you go, I will go, and wherever you live, I will live; your people will be my people, and your God will be my God” (Ruth 1:16).
A few months after I moved to Illinois, I was assigned to write about a group of leaders in Chicagoland who were reaching very hardto-reach people. They had facilitated new churches that worshiped in several different languages and were doing the hard, sacrificial work of consistently sharing Jesus with people who didn’t know him yet.
And it was working. People who had never come to church were coming to church every week. People were coming to know Jesus as Savior.
In feast or famine, they understood he was the one doing the work. Any success they saw was because of his provision.
When I read the brief account of Ruth in the Old Testament, I can almost imagine her standing with similarly open hands in front of her mother-in-law, Naomi. Unlike those Chicago church planters, she was in a season of grief and not of prospering. But like them, her attitude was still one of surrender. This life is yours, Lord. My future is completely, totally wrapped up in what you have for me to do and where you would have me go.
Living with a loose grip on what we have seems even harder to do in Ruth’s position. She had lost so much. And yet still, God’s Word gives us such an inspiring example of complete surrender.
NETWORKING
As a journalist, I should have had a better question to ask than the very simple one I came up with: How? How, with all these logistics to manage on a weekly basis, is this working so well?
One leader’s answer has stuck with me for 15 years: We just try to keep an open-handed perspective, he said. We’re holding all of this very loosely.
It was an eloquently simple way to explain a much more complex concept: they were relying on the Lord to provide what they needed.
illinois voices
In just a few more chapters, we also get to see how he blessed her open-handed approach.
Her story—her open-handed life—is redeemed through God’s provision. Ultimately, ours will be too. In the meantime, Ruth’s story is an encouragement to live with a loose grip. This life is yours, Lord.
Meredith Flynn is a wife, mother of two, and writer living in Springfield. She and her family are active members of Delta Church.
We need more like them
hen Gerald and Betty Steffy came to Fairfield in August 1959, the couple were in their mid-twenties. Gerald had just completed his theological training, and he was called to serve North Side Baptist Church. Gerald and Betty served churches in Illinois well into their eighties. Gerald died in September 2022, and Betty just a few weeks ago.
When I learned of Betty’s passing, I texted some members of North Side who I knew would remember them. Immediately I got a response from one saying, “They are the reason I grew up in a Christian home.” Gerald went to visit Bob and Dorothy Jesop one evening. Bob was an insurance agent. “You are in the insurance business, but I have come to talk to you about assurance,” the new pastor said. That evening Gerald led Bob and Dorothy to Christ, and not long afterward they were baptized into the fellowship.
Bob and Dorothy spent their lives serving at North Side. Bob went to be with the Lord about eight years ago, but Dorothy is still there. Their two children, Brenda and Brad, are leaders. Their granddaughter, Lindsay, and her husband, Jonah, are raising their twin boys in the life of the church.
That is the power of a gospel witness. When Christ comes into a person’s life and saturates the home of that person, it changes the outcomes of their family. It creates goodness, generosity, well-being, and hope. It begins a righteous legacy that has the potential to move forward from one generation to the next.
Gerald and Betty were simple people who served without notoriety in places that most people have never heard of. They loved the Lord, and they loved people believing in God’s promise of help here and his promise of hope for eternity. I am grateful for people like Gerald and Betty who were obedient to God’s call on their lives.
Brent Cloyd is Associational Mission Strategist for Greater Wabash Baptist Association.
Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church in Medora seeks a full-time or bivocational pastor. The church is a multi-generational congregation located 40 miles north of the St. Louis Metro East area. The candidate would have a passion for community outreach, seminary or Bible college background, and agree with Baptist Faith and Message (2000) Submit resume to pastorsearch.mtpbc@gmail.com.
Golf Road Baptist Church is seeking to fill two positions: a full-time associate pastor to transition to a full-time pastor position by fall of 2026, and a part-time worship leader. Send resumes to golfroadbc@gmail.com or Golf Road Baptist Church, 501 W. Golf Road, Des Plaines, IL 60016.
Martinsville First Baptist Church is seeking a full-time Pastor. We are looking for a man with a shepherd’s heart. Must affirm and adhere to Baptist Faith and Message (2000) and meet biblical qualifications of 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:6-9. Send resume to MFBCpastorsearch@yahoo.com or Martinsville FBC, PO Box 357, Martinsville, IL 62442. Send NETWORKING items to IllinoisBaptist@IBSA.org
Search more church openings at IBSA.org/pastor-search or scan this code.
Joel Newton retired as pastor of Woodland Baptist Church in Peoria at the end of March. The church hosted a celebration for Newton and his wife, Cheryl, their children Emily and James, and their families were on hand for the event.
IBSA Executive Director Nate Adams had previously presented Newton a plaque during a worship service, expressing appreciation for his engagement with Baptist work in Illinois during his 23-year ministry at Woodland. Newton served several positions with the IBSA Board, and his church supported the Cooperative Program with 16% of its undesignated offerings.
Woodland developed a reputation for its commitment to missions. They supported the Midwest Food
Bank and multi-housing missions, partnered with a Congolese ministry to start a church to reach that people group, and taught English as a Second Language classes for more than two decades. Mission teams from the church visited West Africa multiple times, as missions was in their DNA.
“We need to be part of what God is doing around the world,” Newton said in an interview several years ago. And they are.
Newton retires from Woodland
MEREDITH FLYNN
EVENTS
May 2-3
Send Relief Serve Tour
Where: Evansville, Indiana
What: Imagine the impact of 500 Illinois Baptists joining Serve Tour Evansville, where they will serve local churches, low-income schools, and other organizations in need of assistance. Projects may include light construction, painting, hosting neighborhood grill walks, and block parties.
Cost: Free
Info: https://www.sendrelief.org/serve-tour/evansville-servetour-stop/
Contact: ShannonFord@IBSA.org
May 6
Ignite Night – Three Rivers
Where: Island City BC, Wilmington
When: 5:30-8:30 p.m.
What: A one-night event to help your church reach lost people.
Cost: Free (includes dinner)
Info: https://www.IBSA.org/events
Contact: JanetSheley@IBSA.org
June 24-28
Super Summer
Where: Hannibal-LaGrange University
When: Starts Tuesday at 6 p.m., concludes Saturday at noon.
What: A fresh learning experience for students who’ve completed grades 6-12 to develop their fullest potential as Christians
Cost: $250 per student, $270 after June 1
Info: IBSA.org/supersummer
Contact: TammyButler@IBSA.org
July 18-19
Level Up Guy Camp
Where: Streator Baptist Camp
When: Friday 3 p.m. - Saturday 5 p.m.
What: A one-night retreat to develop relationships with each other and the Lord. For dads and sons, grandads and grandsons, mentors and mentees, and men and their friends.
Cost: $75 for adults, free for 18 and under Info: IBSA.org/events
Contact: JacobKimbrough@IBSA.org
July 21-25
Go
Chicago
Where: Ashburn Baptist Church, Orland Park
When: Monday 2 p.m. - Sunday after church
What: Go Chicago is an immersive student mission experience where you will be involved in church planting, missions, and inner-city ministry. For students who’ve completed 5th grade through college.
Cost: $275 per student in IBSA churches, $350 per student in non-IBSA churches
Info: IBSA.org/gochicago
Contact: KevinJones@IBSA.org
August 22-23
Disaster Relief Training
Where: Lake Sallateeska Baptist Camp
When: Friday noon-8 p.m.; Saturday 8 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
What: Classes TBA
Cost: Current members are free. New members or those with expired badges cost $50.
Info: IBSA.org/dr
Contact: JanetSheley@IBSA.org
see the IBSA calendar for more events. www.ibsa.org/calendar/
All Church Training
September 11: Wayne City BC, Wayne City
September 16: Friendship BC, Plainfield
September 18: TBA, Metropolis
What: A tune-up for your core ministries. Pastors, ministry leaders, and volunteers will receive training to lead a healthy, growing church. 6-8 p.m.
Cost: Free Info: IBSA.org/events
Contact: TammyButler@IBSA.org
September 13
Illinois Mission Day
What: Join in showing the love of Jesus in Illinois communities. Participate in ready-made, half-day outreach and service projects for the whole family. Illinois, it’s OUR mission!
Where: Various locations
Cost: No Cost Info: MissionIllinois.org
September 14-21
Mission Illinois Offering
What: Week of prayer and giving for state missions. Your MIO giving stays 100% here, and supports work in Illinois.
Where: Your Church Info: MissionIllinois.org
September 19-20
Priority Pastors’ Wives Retreat
What: Enjoy a time of rest, fellowship, renewal, worship and encouragement.
Where: IBSA Building, Springfield
Cost: TBA
Info: IBSA.org/women
Contact: TammyButler@IBSA.org
Take Another Look
100 years of the Baptist Faith & Message
On the centennial of the SBC’s statement of faith, let’s explore what we believe and take time to reinforce a solid foundation.
It’s telling that the original 1925 Baptist Faith and Message addressed the important topic of salvation with not just one or two articles, but with six. These were titled: The Way of Salvation, Justification, The Freeness of Salvation, Regeneration, Repentance and Faith, and Sanctification. Two additional articles were titled God’s Purpose of Grace (or election), and Perseverance, which also relate to salvation. This extensive treatment of the biblical doctrine of salvation was and is certainly appropriate, given the Article I declaration that the Bible itself has “salvation for its end.”
The 1963 update tightened the language describing salvation significantly, while continuing to focus on the key biblical components of sin, conviction, repentance, faith, justification, regeneration, redemption, sanctification, and glorification. Each of these words carries significant weight in explaining the necessary journey from spiritual death to spiritual life.
The 2000 update simplified the article’s outline of the salvation journey into regeneration, justification, sanctification, and glorification. It also added the simple, yet bold biblical statement
IV. Salvation
Salvation involves the redemption of the whole man, and is offered freely to all who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, who by His own blood obtained eternal redemption for the believer. In its broadest sense salvation includes regeneration, justification, sanctification, and glorification. There is no salvation apart from personal faith in Jesus Christ as Lord.
A. Regeneration
72% God’s plan from the beginning
Regeneration, or the new birth, is a work of God’s grace whereby believers become new creatures in Christ Jesus. It is a change of heart wrought by the Holy Spirit through conviction of sin, to which the sinner responds in repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Repentance and faith are inseparable experiences of grace. Repentance is a genuine turning from sin toward God. Faith is the acceptance of Jesus Christ and commitment of the entire personality to Him as Lord and Savior.
B. Justification
Justification is God’s gracious and full acquittal upon principles of His righteousness of all sinners who repent and believe in Christ. Justification brings the believer unto a relationship of peace and favor with God.
that speaks directly to the pervasive relativism of modern culture: “There is no salvation apart from personal faith in Jesus Christ as Lord.”
Many people, even within churches today, can revert to the false assumption that they can earn God’s favor through good behavior. Article 4 underscores the necessity of divine grace and the impossibility of saving oneself. This biblical message is crucial in a society that so often depends on achievement or performance.
Through the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit working “in” us, we continue to “work out” our salvation with fear and trembling throughout our lives. Our eternity is secure in Christ, but it is “completed” only when Jesus returns.
Grace upon grace
A more explicit title for Article 5 might have simply been “Election,” though it’s easy to imagine why writers chose a less theologically debatable title. Article 5 makes clear the Baptist belief that election is indeed God’s gracious purpose in salvation, while at the same time being “consistent with the free agency of man,” and that
C. Sanctification
Sanctification is the experience, beginning in regeneration, by which the believer is set apart to God’s purposes, and is enabled to progress toward moral and spiritual maturity through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit dwelling in him. Growth in grace should continue throughout the regenerate person’s life.
D. Glorification
Glorification is the culmination of salvation and is the final blessed and abiding state of the redeemed.
Gen 3:15; Exod 3:14-17; 6:2-8; Matt 1:21; 4:17; 16:21-26; 27:2228:6; Luke 1:68-69; 2:28-32; John 1:11-14,29; 3:3-21,36; 5:24; 10:9,2829; 15:1-16; 17:17; Acts 2:21; 4:12; 15:11; 16:30-31; 17:30-31; 20:32; Rom 1:16-18; 2:4; 3:23-25; 4:3ff.; 5:8-10; 6:1-23; 8:1-18,29-39; 10:910,13; 13:11-14; 1 Cor 1:18,30; 6:1920; 15:10; 2 Cor 5:17-20; Gal 2:20; 3:13; 5:22-25; 6:15; Eph 1:7; 2:8-22; 4:11-16; Phil 2:12-13; Col 1:9-22; 3:1ff.; 1 Thess 5:23-24; 2 Tim 1:12; Titus 2:11-14; Heb 2:1-3; 5:8-9; 9:2428; 11:1-12:8,14; James 2:14-26; 1 Peter 1:2-23; 1 John 1:6-2:11; Rev 3:20; 21:1-22:5.
election “comprehends all the means in connection with the end.”
The simple statement that “all true believers endure to the end” does so much to address the tension between God’s sovereignty and human responsibility. Many have known professing Christians who appear to walk away from faith, or live contrary to it. While only God knows each heart, the Bible clearly teaches that a true believer’s eternal security and spiritual perseverance go hand in hand. God, unlimited by time or space, knows the beginning and the end of each human life, and of history itself. Yet humans created in God’s image, living within time and space, certainly bear responsibility for acceptance or non-acceptance of God’s gracious offer of salvation.
Both articles remind us our security does not rest on our own strength. God begins the work of salvation, and he is faithful to complete it. This reassures believers during seasons of struggle, temptation, or even failure. And because God is the one who saves, no person is beyond hope.
—Nate Adams
V. God’s Purpose of Grace
Election is the gracious purpose of God, according to which He regenerates, justifies, sanctifies, and glorifies sinners. It is consistent with the free agency of man, and comprehends all the means in connection with the end. It is the glorious display of God’s sovereign goodness, and is infinitely wise, holy, and unchangeable. It excludes boasting and promotes humility.
All true believers endure to the end. Those whom God has accepted in Christ, and sanctified by His Spirit, will never fall away from the state of grace, but shall persevere to the end. Believers may fall into sin through neglect and temptation, whereby they grieve the Spirit, impair their
Making it relevant:
of American Evangelicals say they made their profession of faith in Christ before age 18.
“Adult evangelism is far from futile. But by far, the biggest impact is among youth and children, especially between the ages of 5 and 12. Half of today’s evangelical adults came to their beliefs during these formative years.”
—Grey Matter Research
graces and comforts, and bring reproach on the cause of Christ and temporal judgments on themselves; yet they shall be kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation.
Gen 12:1-3; Exod 19:5-8; 1 Sam 8:4-7,19-22; Isa 5:1-7; Jer 31:31ff.; Matt 16:18-19; 21:28-45; 24:22,31; 25:34; Luke 1:68-79; 2:29-32; 19:4144; 24:44-48; John 1:12-14; 3:16; 5:24; 6:44-45,65; 10:27-29; 15:16; 17:6,12,17-18; Acts 20:32; Rom 5:9-10; 8:28-39; 10:12-15; 11:5-7, 26-36; 1 Cor 1:1-2; 15:24-28; Eph 1:4-23; 2:1-10; 3:1-11; Col 1:1214; 2 Thess 2:13-14; 2 Tim 1:12; 2:10,19; Heb 11:39–12:2; James 1:12; 1 Peter 1:2-5,13; 2:4-10; 1 John 1:7-9; 2:19; 3:2.
