May 30, 2016 Illinois Baptist

Illinois Baptist

The power of one

How Diana Davis grows VBS

the Way go

he should

Full-time heroes

Bivocational pastors lauded at annual meeting

BY RICHARD NATIONS Special to the WOODMAN

Hannibal, Mo. | “Bivocational pastors are my heroes,” said Frank Page, president and CEO of the SBC Executive Committee, as he addressed the annual session of the Bivocational and Small Church Leadership Network May 13-14 at Hannibal-LaGrange University.

“You are not alone,” Page told the 55 pastors and wives gathered in the university’s auditorium.

But bivocational ministry can feel lonely, and can come with its share of baggage, said Illinois pastor Cliff Woodman, president of the network.

“We used to think that if a man couldn’t afford to live on the salary of his ministry, he would have to get another job (and be bivocational),” said Woodman, who pastors Emmanuel Baptist Church in Carlinville. But the term “bivocational” is no longer a stigma, he said.

“Today there is more respect for the bivocational pastor. Men are intentionally going into bivocational ministry. Full-time ministry is not better than bivo. There is no ‘move up.’”

IBSA camps are prepped P. 7-9

The was named #1 Christian Newspaper by Evangelical Press Association & Baptist Communicators Association

CONVENTIONAL WISDOM

Snapshots from the world of Illinois Baptists

“Pastors believe church leaders should be held to high standards. They also want to protect themselves against allegations that could be false.”

– Ed Stetzer, LifeWay Research

Pastors: Practice disciplined discipline

LifeWay asked Protestant pastors: If allegations of pastoral misconduct are brought to church leaders, should they…

Disagreement on stepping down

Should a pastor remain in the pulpit while church leaders investigate allegations? Percent of pastors who said yes:

churches as of 05/20/16

$2,311,442

Budget Goal: $2,423,077

Received to date in 2015: $2,351,348

2016 Goal: $6.3 Million

The Illinois Baptist staff

Editor - Eric Reed

Graphic Designer - Kris Kell

Contributing Editor - Lisa Sergent

Editorial Contributor - Meredith Flynn

For questions about subscriptions, articles, or upcoming events, contact the Illinois Baptist at (217) 391-3119 or IllinoisBaptist@IBSA.org

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POSTMASTER: The Illinois Baptist is owned and published every three weeks by the Illinois Baptist State Association, 3085 Stevenson Drive, Springfield, Illinois 62703-4440. Subscriptions are free to Illinois Baptists. Subscribe online at IBSA.org

NATE ADAMS

Headline prayers

Today’s headlines are driving me frequently to deeper and more desperate prayer. Many of us probably whisper something like “God help them” when we see a tragedy reported on the news. But I’m not primarily referring to headlines about a natural disaster, or a rare, heinous crime by an isolated, evil person. The headlines driving me to deeper prayer are those that reveal a declining morality in our culture that seems more and more widely accepted.

My main dose of these daily headlines usually comes in the early morning while I’m exercising in front of the TV. As I flip from one news channel to another, I more and more regularly see behaviors and lifestyles and decisions that would have been considered shameful or scandalous a generation ago. Now they are reported as progressive, or even normal. And the proud spokespeople for many of these decadent trends are interviewed by often adoring news anchors, as if they were the civil rights voices of today.

Unrestricted freedom of individual choice, preference, and expression seem to have become idols in American culture today. Just this past week, a story and its follow up interview so shocked and deflated me that I moaned out loud, “Oh God, help them!”

“Help them to see the deception they have bought into, and the damage they are doing, and the long-term consequences of the sinful lifestyle they are advocating, both to themselves and to others. Convict them of sin, God, and show them the same mercy and grace that you show me when you convict me of my sin.”

But as the disturbing interview went on, I also found my prayer deepening. “Yes, God, help them, but also help us! Your gospel had no voice in that headline, and your church had no spokesperson in that panel discussion. Interviewer and interviewee alike just presented that issue totally void of biblical perspective or truth. God, don’t let that happen! Don’t let millions of viewers gradually learn to accept that position as true and normative. Give your truth a voice through your people!”

The story passed, and I don’t know what was on the screen next, because my prayer was driven even deeper. “Yes God, help them, and help us. But oh God, help me too! My voice is so silent. My life is so impotent. My efforts to carry the truth of your word and the power of your gospel are so weak. I’m going to go to the office in a few minutes to answer some e-mails, sit in some meetings, and move some projects along. But what will I have personally done to make any difference in the cultural decline I have just witnessed?”

My feeling of powerlessness was frustrating. And that frustration made me angry. I found myself wanting to pray for God’s righteous judgment to simply fall upon these people, and upon our land if necessary, and make it all right again.

But I’ve learned to be careful, even fearful, about calling for God’s judgment. I am too often deserving of it myself. And when I was most deserving of it, when I was still a sinner by lifestyle and choice, when I was just as far from God as the frustrating people in the headlines, that’s when God in Christ reached out to me in mercy, and with conviction and grace and forgiveness. And he still does that today.

So I am meeting the morning headlines these days with these three prayers: God, help them. Help us. Help me. I invite you to join me in these prayers.

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

I often find myself asking “Help them, help us, help me.”

Continued

Woodman said many “bivos” are highly educated and they intend to serve a church and have another job most of their lives. Still, bivocational pastors need encouragement. Page told conference attendees of a letter he once received from a frustrated pastor. “I am alone,” the pastor wrote. He went on to describe his bleak ministry situation and said, “I doubt you will even read this letter because you probably have a secretary to read your mail.”

The letter writer even pointed out that he was penning the letter by hand because he didn’t have an assistant or a computer. He closed with his phone number but said he didn’t expect a return call.

Page said he picked up the phone and called the surprised pastor to encourage him and let him know he was not alone. He listened to his hurts and he arranged for the pastor’s state convention executive director and associational director of missions to also reach out to him.

“In bivocational ministry you will walk through valleys,” Page said in Hannibal. “There will be times when God will wrap his loving arms around you and he will give you rest.” In I Samuel 3, Page preached, God called the young prophet Samuel by name. “God calls and he knows your name. Learn to rest in that call.”

The Walmart pastor Ray Gilder, national coordinator of the BSCLN, agreed the term “bivocational pastor” has been a “chokehold” for many. But, “most people are no longer averse to the term,” he said.

With church attendance declining, having a part-time pastor is the only reality for many congregations running 75 or less. Bivocational ministry is becoming more the norm for Southern Baptist churches. Some estimates say bivocational pastors lead 50-60% of SBC churches, and in rural associations, it may be as high as 70-80%.

Ken Barlow, a Decatur native and pastor of Bethany Baptist Church, Keokuk, Iowa, has worked at Walmart during much of his pastoral ministry. He thinks it added value to his service to the kingdom of God.

“I kind of became the Walmart pastor,” he said. He did some funerals and a couple of weddings for employees at the Burlington, Iowa, store. One wedding was for a military couple who were being deployed to Iraq during the Gulf War. They held the ceremony in the Walmart garden center with Barlow officiating.

TABLE TALK – Executive Committee President Frank Page (left) shared pictures of his grandkids with Woodman and Arkansas bivocational ministry specialist Lynn Riley during a conference meal.

“Getting outside the walls of the church building was one of the best aspects of being bivocational,” Barlow said.

That goes for church members too, said Dale Noe, former pastor of Victory Rock Fellowship Church in Marengo, Ill. In a breakout session co-led with Woodman, Noe spoke of the need for smaller membership churches to be focused outwardly instead of inside the walls of their church. Both Noe and Woodman agreed an effective pastor needs to be a leader and not just a manager. Find a niche ministry and do it well.

Illinois pastor John Shelton said he sees the benefit of bivocational ministry in that he has been able to “see some smaller churches experience a real turnaound in ministry.”

Shelton currently serves as interim pastor of Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Piasa. He is also parts manager for a tractor dealership in Jerseyville. Shelton has ministered in the Jerseyville area since he returned after college 30 years ago.

“When I go into a job interview, I let them know that I am a pastor and there will be times I’ll have to take off and go do a funeral,” Shelton said. “I say, ‘If that doesn’t work you should hire someone else.’” Shelton said most of his employers are supportive of him being a part-time pastor in addition to their employment.

“Being bivocational has allowed me some freedom to minister and yet have a place in the community as well.”

For more information about the Bivocational and Small Church Leadership Network, go to BSCLN.net.

Richard Nations is director of missions for Thousand Hills Baptist Association in Kirksville, Mo.

SBC Meeting in St. Louis

Pre-registration urged

Messengers, exhibitors and guests to the Southern Baptist Convention in St. Louis must be registered and properly badged for entrance into the general sessions June 14-15. Messengers can register online by clicking on the Messengers/Guest tab at sbcannualmeeting.net.

The SBC constitution and bylaws were amended last year to broaden messenger representation. Each cooperating church that contributes to convention causes during the preceding fiscal year now automatically qualifies for two messengers; previous rules allowed for one messenger.

Additionally, the convention will recognize 10 additional messengers from a cooperating church under one of the following options:

One additional messenger for each full percent of the church’s undesignated receipts contributed during the fiscal year preceding through the Cooperative Program, and/or through the Executive Committee for convention causes, and/or to any convention entity.

One additional messenger for each $6,000 the church contributes in the preceding year through the normative combination of the Cooperative Program, designated gifts through the Executive Committee for convention causes, or to any SBC entity.

Conference race

Two pastors have announced they will run for the presidency of the 2017 SBC Pastors’ Conference.

John Avant, pastor of First Baptist Church Concord in Knoxville, Tenn., and Dave Miller, pastor of Southern Hills Baptist Church in Sioux City, Iowa, will be nominated to lead the Pastors’ Conference that convenes next summer in Phoenix.

Avant, a former vice president for evangelization at the North American Mission Board, has pastored seven churches in Georgia, Louisiana, Tennessee and Texas. He has pastored First Baptist Concord since 2013, leading the congregation in plans to launch a second campus in August.

AVANT MILLER

1st VP nominee urges CP support

Editor’s note: Doug Munton, pastor of First Baptist Church in O’Fallon, will be nominated for First Vice President of the Southern Baptist Convention when the SBC’s annual meeting convenes in St. Louis next month. His wife, Vickie, is president of the Ministers’ Wives’ Luncheon this year.

Illinois Baptist: What lessons from your ministry in the Midwest do you think Southern Baptist pastors would benefit from, especially in transforming the prevailing culture?

Doug Munton: The power of the Holy Spirit is not limited geographically. We have found that loving God and loving people really matters. A church that is true to the Bible and that teaches that truth clearly, powerfully, and relevantly can impact the culture.

We have found that God can do things that some say can’t be done—“You can’t grow a church in the Midwest. You can’t reach old and young people. You can’t cross racial barriers.” These things are not too great for God and he is at work doing those things in churches across the Midwest.

IB: It appears that the SBC is fragmenting along lines of theology and philosophy of missions. Are you concerned about that?

Doug: I am concerned about our fragmentation. We can overcome differing views of soteriology, worship styles and other issues through love and respect. Unity in our fellowship can be a powerful tool for our mission.

I do hope we will be careful not to throw away the Cooperative Program and our cooperative mission approach. We can find ways to be more effective in our mission. But the Cooperative Program can be a great blessing to our mission work together. I want to encourage that cooperation.

IB: Are you concerned about the future of the Cooperative Program?

Doug: The effectiveness of the CP should not be taken lightly. It is why we have been able to send so many to the mission field in days gone by. It is a blessing to our seminarians. And, in Illinois, it has allowed us to cooperate together to do so much more than we could do separately here, nationally, and internationally.

IB: What about being a Southern Baptist in today’s culture challenges you and excites you?

Doug: These are the best of times, these are the worst of times. (I should use that line as the opening of a novel!) We are weaker in evangelism than ever in my lifetime. We have sent missionaries home from the IMB for lack of funds for the first time ever. But we also have young people who will sacrifice all for the cause of Christ. We are making strides in racial unity that give me encouragement for our future. And, our call for spiritual awakening is exactly what is needed at this time.

Perhaps we will see God move in our day as never before. May it be so and may our fellowship of churches seek God and his direction more fully than ever.

Munton is presently unopposed for First Vice President. The election will be held on Tuesday afternoon, June 14.

Wives’ luncheon focuses on hope

Illinois Baptist: It’s an honor for someone from Illinois to serve as host of this St. Louis meeting, isn’t it?

Vickie Munton: Let me just say that when I agreed to be the president of this event, my first reaction was to say no, but when I remembered back to what this luncheon meant to me as a young pastor’s wife in a small church, I decided that this privilege of serving ministers’ wives was one that comes along far too seldom.

IB: What can women expect at the luncheon June 14?

Vickie: Our theme is “Be.Encouraged,” with an emphasis on HOPE. The theme verse is: “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe in Him so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13). This year, our special guest speaker is comedienne and author Anita Renfroe. A former pastor’s wife herself, she will obviously bless us with her humor and wit, but the camaraderie that we share will add a little something special to our time together.

IB: Why is it important for ministers’ wives to meet together?

Vickie: Every year, this event is carefully planned to give ministers’ wives a chance to connect or reconnect and fellowship with each other around the table. Many ministers’ wives seldom get the opportunity to be around other wives in ministry. This luncheon, which started over 60 years ago, was born of a vision that would allow the wives of our SBC ministers to do just that.

Our prayer for the 2016 luncheon is that these women would experience joy, laughter, and renewed hope! To register for the Ministers’ Wives Luncheon June 14 in St. Louis, go to lifeway.com/Event/womensevent-sbc-ministers-wives-luncheon-2016.

Southern Baptist Convention

Vickie and Doug Munton of FBC O’Fallon

Politics 2016

Wooing skeptical evangelicals

Will Christians fall in line with either party?

More than 400 evangelical leaders are expected to meet with likely Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump June 21 in what could prompt a shift among devout Christians who are wrestling with distasteful choices in the November general election.

Two presidential candidates with the highest unfavorable ratings in modern history also have significant moral and ethical strikes against them, causing many evangelical believers to question whether than can support either candidate, or if they should abstain from voting in the presidential race.

The choice between Trump and his probable rival Hillary Clinton is what trailing Democratic hopeful Bernie Sanders called “the lesser of two evils.” Christians ask, Why should I have to vote for evil?

“Evangelicals cannot sit this out,” Southern Baptist Convention President Ronnie Floyd said, after the upcoming meeting with Trump was announced. “I think we have a biblical responsibility and I think we have a responsibility as citizens of the United States to participate and be a part of the political processes of this country.”

Floyd is among a dozen Southern Baptists expected to attend the New York meeting with Trump, which is being organized by a hodgepodge of Christian groups called United in Purpose. “We are looking for a way forward,” Family Research Council President Tony Perkins, one of the organizers, told Time magazine. “The main thing here is this is [the time] to have a conversation.”

It would appear both candidates are looking for a way forward. With polls about dead even, neither side can ignore evangelicals as many candidates did during the primaries. Trump will speak to the “Road to Majority” conference led by former Christian Coalition head Ralph Reed on June 10, according to the Christian Broadcasting Network’s David Brody. “This will be an opportunity for Trump to try and convince skeptical evangelicals to get on board the ‘Trump Train.’ He still has work to do…”

On May 22 both Trump and Clinton addressed Latino evangelical leaders by video, Clinton from the campaign trail and Trump from his private jet. Sacramento, California, pastor Samuel Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, told Fox News Clinton’s language and level of engagement on immigration and other issues of concern to Hispanics was better received than Trump’s promises that Hispanics were going to “love a Trump presidency.”

Trump has turned the conversation a bit toward topics of concern to evangelicals, specifically right-to-life and U.S. Supreme Court appointments which will affect religious liberty. Trump has some supporters among Southern Baptist leaders, including former pastor and Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee. FBC Dallas pastor Robert Jeffress

has introduced Trump at several events, although he has been careful not to publically endorse the thrice-married billionaire and reality TV star.

“None of us have endorsed Mr. Trump, nor have we condemned Mr. Trump,” Floyd told Fox News. “This is about the possibility of being able to appoint the next four Supreme Court justices. This is about the dignity of human life from the womb to the tomb. This is about religious freedom. I’m not about to sit at home and not express something.

I’m accountable to God and I believe I’m accountable to my fellow Americans.”

A few Southern Baptists have publically taken on Trump for poorly worded jests and unChristlike comments, in particular Russell Moore, head of the SBC’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, who criticized Trump’s positions in a New York Times op-ed piece online. Trump responded on Twitter, calling Moore a “terrible representative of Evangelicals” and “a truly nasty guy with no heart.”

Moore later agreed with Trump, telling MSNBC, “I am a nasty guy with no heart, which is why I need forgiveness of sins and redemption through the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”

Meanwhile, the question remains, and evangelicals have five months to come up with an answer: Who do we vote for, or do we sit this one out? Ronnie Floyd has his answer: “Southern Baptists need to go to the polls. Southern Baptists need to be leading the way in being a part of this process. We cannot be seen as not interested or so mad we’re not going to be engaged. I just don’t think that’s healthy.”

– With info from Baptist Press,

Politico, and Time

Stetzer joins Wheaton

Ed Stetzer, executive director of LifeWay Research, is leaving the Southern Baptist publishing house to go to Wheaton College’s Billy Graham Center for Evangelism, the school announced May 16. Stetzer, 49, will be the Center’s executive director and join Wheaton’s faculty, publish its Evangelical Missions Quarterly, and chair the graduate evangelism and leadership program.

Stetzer will “help raise up a new generation of passionate, generous-hearted evangelists who make a difference in the world for Jesus Christ,” said Wheaton President Philip Ryken, and “help Wheaton build stronger networks with churches across America and around the world.”

New gaming opposed

While some members of the Illinois General Assembly hope to create additional revenue for the state through proposed casinos in Chicago, Rockford, Lake County, and Danville, and by installing slot machines at horse racing tracks, opposition has come from a surprising place.

“We think any more expansion with video gaming is ridiculous,” said Illinois Casino Gaming Association executive director Tom Swoik “We’re totally saturated.”

Swoik told Springfield’s State-Journal Register the nearly 24,000 video gaming terminals in Illinois amount to about 20 additional casinos based on individual spots available for players.

“Our revenues are going down,” he told the newspaper. “We’re not creating any new gamblers. All you do is shift the money around, move it from one venue to another.”

Illinois lawmakers may call out MS, NC bans

The Illinois Senate could vote on a resolution to ask two states to repeal their laws on public restroom use, if the resolution makes it out of committee before the Senate adjourns its spring session.

SR 1752 urges North Carolina and Mississippi to repeal state laws that require individuals to use facilities that correspond to their biological gender. The resolution is currently with the Senate Human Services Committee. If approved, it could face a full Senate vote.

– Baptist Press, State-Journal Register, llinois Family Institute

MOORE

RNS,

NEW OUTREACH – In the first of three appeals to evangelical voters, presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump speaks to Latino Christian leaders in a video recorded aboard his private jet.

Presidential plaudits

“I cannot remember my impressions and opinions about a man changing as dramatically and quickly as they have with our president. (Ronnie Floyd) has done a good job. The 2015 Columbus convention was the best I’ve been to in many ways. The night of prayer was one of the best evenings of convention life I’ve ever experienced.”

– Iowa pastor and blogger Dave Miller, who supported another candidate at the time of Floyd’s election in 2014

“We are grateful for his leadership in challenging us to see and pray for people who need to meet Jesus as Savior. His passion for spiritual awakening has moved more people than in any recent generation to extraordinary prayer in visible union for a movement of God.”

– Arkansas Baptist State Convention

“Thank you, Ronnie Floyd for representing not only the Southern Baptist Convention well, but also for representing the Kingdom of God well. Your emphasis on prayer, revival, and racial reconciliation has truly made an impact among many of our churches and messengers across America.”

Thank you, Ronnie Floyd

When Ronnie Floyd was elected president of the Southern Baptist Convention, the denomination was coming to grips with the truth. After several years of describing many churches as “plateaued or declining,” leaders started speaking in frank terms about why, year after year, key measures like church membership, worship attendance, and baptisms were down denomination-wide.

“We are clearly losing our evangelistic effectiveness,” one Baptist leader said in 2014, the year Floyd was elected to his first term. Things looked bleak, and for the first time in a while, the pressure wasn’t coming from outside opposition or controversy. Rather, the SBC seemed to be at an impasse.

Before his presidency, Floyd was already established as someone who could provide direction. As the pastor of a Southern megachurch, he led his congregation to a regional, multi-campus strategy and a new name— from First Baptist, Springdale, to Cross Church of Northwest Arkansas.

As chairman of the Great Commission Resurgence Task Force, Floyd helped lead Baptists to renewed commitment to a unified purpose—albeit with some difficult adjustments and plenty of debate over proposed funding changes between national agencies and state conventions.

But when Floyd was elected as SBC president, he looked not to drastic measures or

sweeping changes—but to prayer. Unified, solidified, corporate prayer. Prayer that asked Baptists of all stripes to set aside differences for something greater than themselves: pleading with God for a great spiritual awakening.

Putting greater emphasis on the SBC annual meeting, Floyd called Baptists to Columbus, Ohio, in June of 2015 for a special prayer meeting to together confess sin—like racism and evangelism apathy—and to move forward as a humbled Convention that prioritized the work and mission of God.

In advance of the prayer meeting, which will happen again this summer in St. Louis, Floyd kept everyone in the loop through regular blog posts and columns distributed via Baptist Press and state Baptist newspapers. Throughout his presidency, he hasn’t hesitated to use the power of the pen (and keyboard) to inform, encourage, and challenge Baptists about the state of the SBC and our desperate need for spiritual awakening.

At the Southern Baptist Convention next month in St. Louis, the Tuesday evening session of the meeting will again be devoted to prayer. That is perhaps Floyd’s greatest legacy: He has reminded us that revival starts with prayer, and prayer starts with humility. For calling us together for that purpose, he deserves our thanks.

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Summer shape-up

Improvements prep IBSA camps for peak season

BY MEREDITH FLYNN

June signals the start of camp season when kids, teens, and their leaders will travel to IBSA’s campgrounds in northern and southern Illinois to run “an amazing race.” What they will find there is a spiritual challenge, updated and improved facilities, and opportunity for lots of fun.

“Many of those who will participate in camp this year haven’t started their ‘race of faith,’ or have recently started this race,” said IBSA’s Mark Emerson, explaining the theme for the 2016 summer camps. “Our Amazing Race” is based on Hebrews 12:1: “Let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.”

Camps kick off June 17-18 with Father/Son Camps at Streator and Lake Sallateeska, followed by four separate

weeks of camps for children and teens. (See page 9 for dates and locations.) This year’s camps continue a strategy Emerson’s Church Resources Team began last year, recruiting individual camp directors and associational leaders to manage each week of camp.

“I’m excited about the quality camp directors that we have for each of the weeks and the work that is being completed in both facilities in order to minister to IBSA churches more effectively,” Emerson said.

Continued on page 8

Volunteer workers repaired the dining hall exterior at Lake Sallateeska Baptist Camp. First they removed two trees that fell and damaged the roofline, then they installed log siding on the new addition.

PHOTO: LOG OFF, LOG ON

EMERSON

SALLATEESKA SPRUCE UP

When campers arrive, they’ll find spruced up buildings and new landscaping at both camp facilities. Some familiar sites may even be hard to recognize after the camps got facelifts from volunteer groups this spring.

At Lake Sallateeska, located in Pinckneyville in southern Illinois, Camp Manager Philip Hall continued an improvement campaign to update many of the camp’s buildings. In February, two trees fell onto the newly expanded dining hall. But Illinois Campers on Mission, a volunteer force that spends much of their time helping Illinois churches and ministries, spent their annual work week at Sallateeska repairing the damage. The Campers also completed log siding on the dining hall addition and hung cedar trim inside the building and in the camp’s game room.

Hall said major projects will be on hold during the summer, when the camp expects to host 2,000 kids. In the fall, he and volunteer work groups will tackle the camp’s chapel, including adding a log façade to the building.

NEW VISION FOR STREATOR

In northern Illinois, Streator Baptist Camp has a new director in Mike Young, who moved to the area with his family in March after serving as an International Mission Board missionary in Czech Republic. Due to a scheduling mix-up once they arrived, the Youngs thought they had a month or so to prepare for their first guests. Instead, they had just a few days to get ready. It was “baptism by fire,” Young said, and in the months since then, he has worked with volunteer teams on several clean-up projects in camp buildings and on the grounds:

• First Baptist Church of Waterloo came to help at the camp and brought a new sign to install at the entrance. Volunteers from the church also cleaned out several key spaces at the camp.

Continued P. 9

3 -

4 - A GOOD NIGHT’S SLEEP – Fresh bedding is just one of the improvements at Streator’s cabins. In the dorms, bunkbeds got new matresses.

5 - MR. CLEAN – The kitchen at Streator is freshly scrubbed and ready for service. IBSA’s Mark Emerson reports after a recent meal cooked by volunteers there, “That was the best camp food I’ve ever had.”

6

BABBLING

June 17-18

Lake Sallateeska and Streator

For dads & lads of all ages

A WEEK

THAT w ILL CHANGE YOU.

1,2 - FELLOWSHIP HAUL – Campers on Mission enjoy a meal in the updated dining room at Lake Sallateeska. COM volunteers repaired damage from two trees that fell on the new addition during a February storm.

RIGHT THIS WAY – FBC Waterloo donated and installed a new sign at the Streator Camp entrance during a work weekend.

-

BROOK – The Vermillion River runs along one edge of the Streator campground, offering a refreshing respite in nature.

• Volunteers have given 100 hours or more to get the kitchen up and running, Young said.

• Erven Avenue Baptist Church in Streator sent a team of teens to plant flowers and help with landscaping.

• Volunteers from Crosswinds Church and Friendship Baptist, both in Plainfield, cleared several trails on the grounds.

Help from IBSA churches has at least two benefits: the camp is ready for the summer, and more people become aware of what Streator has to offer. “Getting volunteers in just gets people excited about the camp,” Young said.

There are 400 IBSA churches within a 2-hour drive of the camp, he said, and one of the state’s most popular natural attractions, Starved Rock State Park, is about 15 miles away. The camp’s location gives it opportunity to be well-utilized, said Young, who plans to visit IBSA churches to share about how Streator can serve them.

With the help of volunteer groups from around the state, Young has more improvements in the works for Streator, including re-vamping the

bunkhouse, converting part of the game room to a full kitchen for smaller groups, and creating an apartment for a future summer intern. His time overseas showed him how camping ministry can reach people who might not be as receptive to hearing the gospel in another setting. But when they took people to Christian camps, Young said, “They would often consider things they wouldn’t consider otherwise.”

At Streator and at Lake Sallateeska this summer, Emerson and his team are praying children and teens will consider the gospel in a way they may never have before. “We are praying that over 250 children and students will have the opportunity to enter the ‘race of faith’ by giving their lives to Jesus,” he said, “while those who are Christians can be discipled to go farther in their race.”

For more information about IBSA summer camps, go to IBSA.org/kids. Follow the progress at Streator at Facebook.com/StreatorBaptist Camp. Follow Lake Sallateeska news by visiting lakesallateeskabaptistcamp.com.

Summer Camps for Kids and Students

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IN FOCUS

Valuing families

Churches play key role in helping parents make disciples of their children

Successful ministry to families is a worthy goal for any church. But creating a family ministry strategy can raise lots of questions. Should a church eliminate its children’s classes and youth groups and bring everyone into the sanctuary together? Or maybe it shouldn’t remove individualized classes, but instead add more intergenerational services to the church’s already full calendar.

Timothy Paul Jones, professor and associate vice president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (SBTS) in Louisville, Kentucky, said neither one of these choices is the best option for most churches.

“The most effective family ministries involve refocusing every church process to engage parents in the discipling process and draw family members together instead of pulling them apart,” he said at the SBTS Alumni Academy Ministry to Families Conference held April 29-30 at The Journey Church in St. Louis.

“To do that, use the things you’re doing now inside the church and transform them so that you multiply the impact you are making inter-generationally.”

Jones calls it family-equipping ministry, a model he says takes the age-organized structures already present in most churches and changes the activities and events so that they train parents, involve the entire body of Christ, and equip the congregation with resources to disciple the next generation.

Building up both sides

At the Ministry to Families Conference, Jones spoke in depth about the importance of developing a church culture that strives to equip families in the discipleship of their children.

“Imagine the two banks of a river,” he said. “In discipleship you can’t have gorgeous edifices on the church side and nothing on the home side. If you are building on one side, you need to build on the other side. Familyequipping ministry is being intentional to equip parents on what we’re already doing. It is building on both sides of the river.”

Continued on page 12

TRAIN UP A CHILD… AND HIS PARENTS

Churches must model disciplemaking for the family context, said seminary professor Timothy Paul Jones at a Ministry to Families Conference in St. Louis.

ABOUT THE ART

Todd and Hannah Anhalt are raising their four children (baby Hattie was born in October 2015) at Delta Church in Springfield. Photographer Emily Barnett, also a member at Delta, captured these family photos.

When Nathan Stuller, pastor of Sojourn Church in Belleville, heard Jones was coming to St. Louis, he jumped at the chance to attend. “I believe family ministry is essential for the health of the church, and the family is our most immediate mission field,” Stuller said. “I think historically Southern Baptists have not done a great job from either the church or family sides of bringing up our children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.”

As an alumnus of SBTS, Stuller said he has benefitted many times from hearing Jones lecture and preach and was looking forward to receiving help in equipping and serving alongside parents in faithfully raising their children.

“We are going to put a lot of thought and effort into coordinating all of our ministries to make sure they complement each other, rather than ignore or even compete against each other,” Stuller said.

During his lecture, Jones said one way to start to shift the church culture to family-equipping is to introduce the importance of family discipleship to people in the middle of important life transitions: new marriage, new parents, and new church members.

“It can be part of a husband and wife’s premarital counseling, a class just before a baby dedication, and as part of a new members class,” he said. “The point is to find flexible times when people are already there and use them to equip, train, and prepare them to fulfill their purpose at home and in the community.”

Jones shared the results of a survey he took of churched parents in regard to family discipleship. Though he said 96% of them agreed that they have a responsibility to engage in the discipleship process with their children, only about a third of them are actively doing so. The reason? Parents said they don’t know how and they don’t have the time.

“The reality is that most Christian parents don’t have the foggiest idea about how to lead their families in discipleship because they’ve never seen it,” Jones said. “Never underestimate the power of role playing. Walking them through what a family devotion time looks like will show parents that it’s much less daunting than they think.”

Jones also said it’s impossible for family devotions to run perfectly every time because imperfect people are coming together to do them. Jones encouraged church leaders to be authentic to parents about how difficult it can be, but also about how important it is to be consistent.

“Be honest with parents,” he said. “I teach people to do this stuff every day and my family only gets it right about half the time…and that’s OK. Discipleship ultimately occurs by God’s grace. Parents are not called to earn it for their kids, but they are called to effort.”

A whole church approach

To move away from segmented, programmatic ministry and toward comprehensive family ministry, Jones said to encourage the parents of children and youth to get involved in their activities and special events.

Other church groups can also plan activities that support intergenerational connectivity. For example, senior adults and seniors in high school can combine each year for a mission trip. A men’s group can include middle school boys to help with their next service project. The options are limitless. Another advantage to initiating a family-equipping culture is that many new relationships are formed, which is particularly important for the spiritual orphans in the church.

Healthy churches can make healthy families

The best discipleship strategy for children?

It starts with parents, says Timothy Paul Jones. Churches are key in equipping them to see their homes as mission fields. Jones shared four ways churches can encourage parents in their role as disciple-makers:

1. Tell the whole story. “Encourage parents to express God’s greatness and the mighty things God’s done by sharing the narrative of both the Bible and how God redeemed their own lives,” Jones said. He explained four basic truths that will help parents keep a holistic view of both the purpose and value of their family.

“In light of creation, every child is a gift from God,” Jones said. “In light of the fall, every child is a sinner. In light of redemption, every child needs a savior. And in light of restoration, every child is forever.”

2. Stand firm in God-given roles. There are three basic roles in parenthood: Authority, Interpreter and Guide. Jones said as a child grows, these roles shift in dominance, but none of them go away completely until they are launched into adulthood.

3. Adopt intentional discipleship practices. There are many ways families can incorporate Bible reading and discussion times. The point is they need to do it—now. “Model it for them and encourage them to start wherever they’re at,” Jones told church leaders. “If all they have time for is 15 minutes once a week, cheer them on in that.”

4. Remember that the gospel changes everything. Parenting is a tough calling and it’s difficult not to lapse into a rule-based parenting style just to stay afloat. But the good news is, the gospel reshapes parenting.

“The way to save this church and the community is to establish religion in the homes of the people, and to build the family altar.”

“We must all fulfill our call to care for spiritual orphans,” Jones said. “These children and youth do not have guidance at home. They require church members who become their faith family, people who are willing to pour into them and teach them what it means to walk with Christ.”

Pastor Stuller said he hopes SBTS continues to host Alumni Academy events in the St. Louis area in the future. He said events like the Ministry to Families Conference are essential for pastors to take a step back from the day-to-day work of the church and consider the what, why, and how of their ministries.

“I was greatly encouraged with a strong hope for a better future in family ministry, where the youth are not isolated from the rest of the church and the children are not simply handed over to Sunday school teachers, but where parents and church members labor together to teach and show their children the glory of God in the gospel.”

Kayla Rinker is a freelance journalist living in Missouri.

Remind parents that parenthood is too difficult to do alone. “As Christians we are called into Christ and into community,” Jones said. “Jesus did not isolate individuals to him. He gathered a crowd. We’ve privatized the family unit and it wasn’t meant to be that way. People should feel comfortable coming to church and honestly be able to say, ‘We need help.’”

More on Jones’s instruction on family ministry will be featured in the Fall issue of IBSA’s Resource magazine. This publication for church leaders is available free of charge. Write to Communications@IBSA.org.

– Richard Baxter, English Puritan, d. 1691

JONES

Send me to Chicago

I grew up in a small town. I knew a majority of the people there, where everything was located, and what to expect. So when I attended a university outside of Chicago, that all changed. I got to see the world through a different lens and meet people that were very different from me.

During those college years, my views on ministry expanded as I served in local churches that represented people from all around the world. My heart expanded for the needs of others and I saw how God had brought the nations to my back door. I became passionate about the city of Chicago and wanted to see the gospel go forth and for Christ to be made known.

This summer, 26 college-aged students from Louisiana, Texas, and Illinois will have the same opportunity. As participants in the Generation Send program sponsored by the North American Mission Board, they will live and do life with the people of Chicago. Currently, I serve as the City Coach for these short-term missionaries who are learning how to live missionally in an urban context.

When the first Generation Send class served in Chicago three years ago, I had just gone through the program in New York City. It was a life-changing experience for me and I wanted other students to feel the impact it had on me. Now, three years later, students have come to Chicago, fallen in love with the city, invested their hearts in the people there, and are taking their experiences back to their college campuses. Recently, a former participant told me that since her summer in Chicago, the college ministry in her church has doubled in size because of the impact Generation Send had on their congregation.

When people step outside of their comfort zones that they have always known and invest their hearts in a new land, the gospel goes forth. Throughout Scrip-

ture, we see God taking people out of what is comfortable for his purposes. In Genesis 12, he calls Abram to seek a foreign land. The great patriarch goes out on a limb, believing that God would not only provide for him and his family, but that God was sovereign and knew what he was doing. Abram left behind the familiarity of home, family, and culture to embrace the unknown.

In the New Testament we meet a group of 12 men whom Jesus calls his disciples. They leave behind their simple lives of fishing to became some of the major figures in our faith today. God is still calling us to do these things, to leave the comfortable for the unknown.

Even with all of the excitement and work that God is doing in Chicago, many times the city can chew you up and spit you out. Relationships do not come

easily sometimes and people are extremely guarded. During the first few weeks of the Generation Send experience, students can feel as though they made a mistake by coming. They know that they have been called by God but when they don’t see immediate progress from the work they have put in, it can be incredibly difficult to want to stay. Sometimes people ignore you or walk away from you when you are trying to converse with them. Sometimes people simply say “no” to the gospel message. A passage we go back to time and time again during the summer is Ephesians 2. Verse four states the two most powerful words in the chapter: “But God.” No matter what discouragement the students face during the summer, they are reminded that God, being rich in mercy, loved them and saved them from their sins. In turn, the students know that they need to extend that same mercy to others and know that God is sovereign and over all things.

Statistics show that roughly 10% of the people in the city consider themselves evangelical Christians. Our Generation Send students are standing in front of God saying, “Send me.” Pray that God will use them in incredible ways this summer in Chicago, and send them back home with a renewed passion for more people to hear and respond to the gospel.

Carrie Campbell is a teacher living in Beardstown. This summer she is coordinating Gen Send missions in Chicago for the North American Mission Board.

fresh ideas

I invited one

Vacation Bible School—it’s not just for church kids! VBS can be a fantastic evangelism event. Catch a vision for how your VBS could impact eternity.

Here is a simple plan to involve every member of your church or small group to engage unchurched children in lifechanging VBS. It’s called “I Invited 1.”

“It’s the VBS people...wanting to know if we received our Undersea Adventure kit.”

1. Issue a challenge. The goal is for every individual in your church to personally invite one unchurched boy or girl to VBS. Specifically call out every child, senior adult, youth, single adult, couple, and college student to take the challenge. Ask church members to bring the first name of that child next Sunday.

DIANA DAVIS

2. Make it easy. As you issue the challenge, give each person a VBS invitation for the child they’ll invite. It can be a business-card size invite or a card. Include the church website for details and online registration. Pray over the invitations, and ask God to direct each person to a child who needs him.

3. Make it visual. Create a huge “Jesus loves the little children” wall display in a visible area of the church. A couple of Sundays before VBS, give each church attender a colorful diecut paper doll. Ask them to write the first name of the child they’re inviting and add it to the big wall display as a prayer reminder.

Print well-designed, round stickers with large letters that read “I invited 1” for every person to wear proudly. Purchase and print sheets of circle stickers, or order stickers from a print company. Picture this: grannies and 4-year-olds, teens and newcomers—all wearing “I Invited 1” stickers. Wouldn’t it be terrific if some needed a dozen stickers?

4. Create excitement. Strive for 100% involvement. Though many are already fully engaged in VBS planning, the majority of members probably can’t offer hands-on help because of work, schedule, or health conflicts. Every person of every age and circumstance can invite one child. So wear your “I Invited 1” sticker with pride and prayers.

And VBS staffers—hold on to your hats! God’s at work, his church is excited about inviting, and this may be the most thrilling VBS in history.

© Diana Davis’s new book, “Across the Street and Around the World,” will be released this fall.

When God’s people invest their hearts in a new land, the gospel goes forth.

meet the team

Meet: Jorge Melendez Church Planting Strategist Fox Valley, Lake County

Panther Fork celebrates 150

people

Welcome

Family: I am married to Ana and we have three boys: Jorge (26), Isaac (24) and Melvin (20). Jorge is the oldest and he is living in Chicago. Isaac is studying his pre-medical program at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. Melvin is studying graphic design at the University of Illinois.

Ana and I are both from Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras. We met in our local church, in our youth group. My wife leads women’s conferences across the nation among the Hispanic community. She is an IBSA WMU consultant for Latina women in our state and has been serving as a LifeWay Hispanic consultant. Ana is also a very dedicated mother and wife.

Favorite thing about church as a kid: I enjoyed as a teenager attending Sunday school, youth camps, and being part of a worship band playing the guitar and singing too. It was a blessing to be involved with Campus Crusade for Christ in Honduras.

Favorite thing about church now: I enjoy seeing our young Hispanic leaders and planters doing ministry. And I hope to see them multiplying themselves as they develop the next generation of young leaders.

Memorable IBSA moment: One of the things I love is our Spiritual Focus Days. During these days, I can see IBSA staff as a team concentrating on how we can serve our local congregations, helping them to be engaged in the mission of God—making disciples.

Favorite book: Divine Conspiracy by Dallas

Willard

Favorite Scriptures: Romans 8:18, Philippians 1:6, 4:6-7

NeTworkiNg

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

Send NetworkiNg items to IllinoisBaptist@IBSA.org

Texico | The anniversary of an historic IBSA church was recognized near and far—at least as far away as Ohio. Someone there found one of the balloons released to mark Panther Fork Baptist Church’s 150th birthday. The balloon release was part of the church’s anniversary celebration April 24, which included former members and friends, and preaching by IBSA Executive Director Nate Adams.

Pastor John Ashby, who in August will have served 21 years at the Mt. Vernon-area church,

said members brought in photos and memorabilia from years past and also answered a questionnaire about their memories of Panther Fork, which will be compiled in a book.

The rural church is working to reach out to new people moving into the area, Ashby said. The church is ministering to multiple generations, building a youth ministry and also sending a van to a local home for seniors to bring them to Sunday evening worship.

Midwest Summit awarded

Franklin Baptist Association seeks a bivocational director of missions Send resume and letter concerning your desire for this position to Franklin Baptist Association Office, Re: DOM Search Committee, 105 S. McLeansboro St., Benton, IL 62812, or fbamc@frontier.com.

Bautista Primera Iglesia la Villita is seeking a 15-passenger van. Contact Pastor Vicente Garcia at (708) 6240042 or vinmgarciajr@yahoo.com.

Crossroads Church, Carol Stream, seeks an executive pastor who will work under the leadership of the senior pastor to ensure the church’s mission to make, baptize, and teach disciples is pursued with clarity, the church family is cared for with excellence, and the church’s resources are managed well. He will execute the vision, values, and strategies of the church through staff and volunteers according to plan and

Josh Parsons is the new pastor of Western Oaks Baptist Church. He and his wife, Ashley, came to the Springfield church in May after 7 years at Meherrin Baptist Church in Murfreesboro, North Carolina. Parsons is a graduate of Old Dominion University and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He has completed course work for a doctoral degree from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. The Parsons have two boys, ages 2 and 4.

Graduates

Joshua Wredberg, senior pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Normal, graduated from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Ft. Worth in May, earning the Doctor of Ministry degree.

Bryan Coble graduated from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary with a Master of Divinity degree. Coble and his wife, Marci, who grew up at Chatham Baptist Church, moved to Chicago this spring to start the church planting process.

Four students with Illinois ties graduated from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky.:

- Jonathan Davis, pastor of Delta Church, Springfield, earned a Master of Divinity.

- Brandon Leach of FBC Mt. Carmel earned a Master of Divinity.

- Eric Ngum of Victory Baptist Church in Dekalb earned a Doctorate of Educational Ministry.

- David Smith, pastor of Bankston Fork Baptist Church, Harrisburg, earned a Master of Divinity.

budget. For more information, go to crossroadschurch.us. Send resumes to XP@crossroadschurch.us.

Crosspoint Church in Edwardsville seeks an interim pastor. Resumes and references will be accepted until June 1. Send to Crosspoint Church, Attn: Search Committee, 4539 Wanda Rd., Edwardsville, IL 62025.

Springfield | IBSA Executive Director Nate Adams recently received a “Celebrity Citizen” award from Abraham Lincoln (and the Springfield Convention & Visitors Bureau). The award, given at the Bureau’s Legends of Tourism event in May, was accepted by Adams on behalf of IBSA and the 2018 Midwest Leadership Summit, which will be held in Springfield in January.

EVENTS

June 28-July 2

Super Summer

What: Leadership training and discipleship for Christian students who have completed grades 6-12

Where: Greenville College, Greenville, Ill. Register: IBSA.org/students

July 11-15

Summer Worship University

What: Training in church worship, art, and discipleship for students in grades 6-12

Where: Hannibal-LaGrange University, Hannibal, Mo. Register: IBSA.org/students

July 24-29

ChicaGO Week

What: Students in junior high through college serve alongside church planters in Chicagoland

Where: Judson University, Elgin, Ill. Register: IBSA.org/students

July 27-30

Faith Community Nursing Certification Training

What: Training for registered nurses seeking to make a difference in their communities

Where: IBSA Building, Springfield

Cost: $100 course deposit; additional $80 due at the door Register: IBSA.org/women

August 4, 11, 18

Regional Leadership Training: Children’s Missions Education

What: Development and fellowship for missions leaders

Where: Aug. 4: IBSA, Springfield; Aug. 11: Friendship, Plainfield; Aug. 18: Marion, Church location TBD

Cost: $5, includes lunch and materials Register: IBSA.org/kids

dave says

Choosing an executor

QI’ve always heard that you shouldn’t ask a family member to be the executor of your will. What are your feelings about this?

AI don’t necessarily agree with this line of thinking. In my mind, a family member who is competent and has integrity can definitely be the executor. “Executor” just means they execute, thus the name. They’re going to execute the wishes of the will. If the family member has the business acumen and trustworthiness to execute the wishes and directives in a will, then that’s perfectly fine.

Just remember to use some common sense, too, when choosing an executor. If you have an extremely complicated estate, say 80 pieces of real estate with investments and everything, you probably don’t want your 22-year-old niece, nephew, or grandchild who just graduated college in charge of things. I would advise choosing someone with a little more life experience, and maybe some success in the real world.

Saturday, June 11

Crossover

Missional outreach at locations across metro St. Louis partners thousands of Southern Baptist visitors with local churches and church plants MEBA.org/ crossover-st-louis-2016 has a list of Illinois projects.

Sunday, June 12 – Monday, June 13

Pastors’ Conference

Two-day gathering at America’s Center will feature 8 preachers and one passage: 2 Timothy 4:5-6. Plus the Passion Band leading worship. SBCPC.net

Monday, June 13

Pastors’ Wives Conference

9 – 11:30 a.m. at the Marriot Majestic Ballroom, featuring comedian Anita Renfroe (right), Anne Graham Lotz and others. No charge.

Tuesday, June 14

Ministers’ Wives Luncheon Noon-1:30 p.m. at the Marriot Majestic Ballroom. $15 per person, reservations required. Contact Vickie Munton at DougMunton@gmail.com.

Tuesday, June 14 – Wednesday, June 15

Southern Baptist Convention

Starting at 8:15 a.m. each day at the America’s Center, the schedule includes a big prayer meeting on Tuesday night, convention sermon by Ted Traylor of Pensacola, Florida, and missionary commissioning on Wednesday afternoon. SBCannualmeeting.net

The people who say family shouldn’t do this are the same ones who say you shouldn’t have family in your business. You can have family in both. You just have to have good boundaries, clear roles, and honest, mature people. Make sure you give clear instructions and explanations for your decisions, too. Sit down with your family, explain who the executor’s going to be, and why, along with what the will says. It’s also not a bad idea to have an initial reading of the will while you’re still alive. This communicates your wishes personally and takes some of the pressure off the executor.

TEACHER.

DAVE RAMSEY

Mixing the money

QI’m getting married this summer, and I’m on Baby Step 4 of your plan while starting to invest for the first time. My fiancé is getting onboard with your advice, and he’s currently in the process of paying down his student loan. Should I put my emergency fund money, minus $1,000, toward his student loan debt?

ACongratulations on your upcoming wedding! I’m really proud of you guys, too, for your mature behavior where money is concerned.

First, don’t pay anything of his until after the wedding and you two are home from your honeymoon. At that point, “mine” and “his” become “ours,” and you can realign your money situation to reflect your total money makeover as a couple.

Make sure that “we” have an emergency fund of at least $1,000 in the bank at that point. Then, if you like, you can throw the rest of what you previously had in your emergency fund at the debt.

You can both also pile up cash between now and the big day, so that after you two are official you’ll have even more cash on hand. Who knows, you might be able to knock out that student loan completely and begin your life together debt-free. That would be awesome!

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

SHEPHERD. LEADER.

Sunday School Resource Conference

IBSA Building, Springfield

Saturday, August 27

Time: 8 a.m. Registration Event: 8:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.

Cost: $10 (lunch & materials)

For more information, call (217) 391-3124; CathyWaters@IBSA.org

Bible study leaders serve more than one role. Here’s fresh insight on teaching and growing your small groups.

Here are some highlights of the very busy Southern Baptist Convention schedule.

Meeting in St. Louis

i lead

The first step in conflict resolution

Nothing is more emotionally draining than walking through conflict. But in the church, conflict is a spiritual battle, and like all spiritual battles, it provides us with the possibility of spiritual growth.

In Philippians 2:3-4, Paul counsels those entangled in personal conflict, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourself. Each of us should look not only to your interest but also to the interest of others.”

His advice is appropriate and timely because individuals who find themselves enmeshed in conflict often consider only their interests.

Paul is teaching us that intentionally looking out for the benefit of others and doing what is right prepares the parties’ hearts for reconciliation.

Jesus gives similar advice in Matthew 5:41: If a man forces you to carry his bags one mile, offer to carry them another mile. Consider the comparison below in the struggle between our self-interests and the interests of others:

Self Others

Placing our attention on the interests of others creates an atmosphere where reconciliation and restoration are possible. If the other party does not respond, at least you have created a buffer that will prevent you from being consumed by resentment.

We glorify God by demonstrating the grace he expressed toward us in that while we were sinners, he sent his son to die for us (Romans 5:8). That passage encourages us to forgive others, and enables us to demonstrate to our foes the same forgiveness God granted us. In time, God’s spirit will soften the heart. It takes time for restoration of relationships; in the meantime, we are to, “As far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all” (Romans 12:18).

Sylvan Knobloch is IBSA’s director of church health and leadership.

devotional

Coming judgment

Prepare to meet your God! (Amos 4:12).

When Amos warned Israel to be prepared to meet their God, it was a message of judgment. Israel had been given over to their idolatry and desire for the pleasures of the world. Likewise, our world today suggests that we should eat, drink, and be merry because that is real living. However, this pursuit of pleasure and self-indulgence leads to a path of destruction as Israel later discovered. Recently, I spoke with a man about his mother’s memorial service. Without prompting, he shared his own faith in God and that he had talked often with his mother about the need for Jesus to be Savior and Lord of our lives. He asked me to share a simple but clear gospel message with the family and friends gathered to remember his mom. This was particularly refreshing to me, because he wanted others to be prepared to meet God with life, not judgment.

Prepare to meet your God! There is a sense of urgency with this plea. There is a day when we will all face the Lord. Certainly we need to prepare by repenting of our sins and trusting Jesus for our salvation, but we also need to share with others how to prepare to meet the Lord.

PRAYER PROMPT: Father God, thank you for the everlasting life you have given us. Give us a burden to help others come to faith in Christ.

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

Pastors, join the IBSA Pastors’ Prayer Room on Facebook. E-mail oweaver7307@ gmail.com.

Shrinking middle income

Mostly, the poor get poorer in this survey

Like the rest of the nation, Illinois is losing middle-income workers. In a Pew study comparing wages in 2000 and 2014, the middle-income bracket shrank an average of 4% in 229 metropolitan areas nationwide. In a few cities, that occurred more by an increase in upper-income households, but in the vast majority (203 metros), more workers fell into the lower-income bracket. Middle income is defined as between $48,803 and $144,251 annually for a household of four.

Here’s how the middle-income bracket fared across Illinois: Bloomington Champaign-Urbana Chicago metro

Louis metro

pinterest.com/illinoisBaptist

Celebrate Olympics!

Use the upcoming Olympics as a theme for promoting Sunday school or small groups all summer long.

Form several teams by age groups or small groups. You might name them the colors of the Olympic rings: Red Team, Green Team, etc.

Create a half-dozen categories for competition: Bible read daily, verses memorized, number people invited to church, mission projects completed, yards mowed, books read, tracts distributed, etc. Make the list fun and achievable.

Award points and medals. Recognize the winners in a special ceremony on Sunday, August 21, the same day as the closing ceremony for the Rio games.

Resource magazine has summer outreach ideas for “20 Great Weekends.” Read online at Resource.IBSA.org (pages 14-16) or get your free copy by e-mailing Communications@IBSA.org.

Church needed here...

Location: East Rogers Park

Focus: Unchurched young single adults and young families

Characteristics: This Chicago neighborhood has a high population density (27,000 people in one square mile), and is ethnically and socio-economically diverse. Here, 44% of people claim no faith involvement, and 29% of households are headed by single parents.

Prayer needs: Pray for God to call a church planter to Rogers Park, for wisdom and energy for single parents in the neighborhood, and that God will prepare people to receive and respond to the gospel.

KEVIN CARROTHERS

SYLVAN KNOBLOCH