3 Nashville, Tenn. | Brent Leatherwood’s resignation as President of the SBC’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission in July leaves the Trustees with the unenviable task of finding a replacement and the looming question: Can anyone speak for Southern Baptists without making them mad?
Leatherwood resigned July 31, six weeks after 43% of messengers to the SBC Annual Meeting in Dallas voted to abolish the entity that represents the Convention among political leaders. This was the second consecutive vote to defund the public voice that failed to reach a required majority vote.
Leatherwood was left in an untenable position—he needed to rebuild trust with almost half the churches and pastors in the convention, while he himself had become the most visible symbol of widespread dissatisfaction with the entity. So he resigned.
Now the search begins for a new leader.
“We’re not going to let grass grow under our feet,” ERLC Trustee Chair Scott Foshie said. “We need that leader soon.”
The trustees elected a seven-member search team from among their number on August 14. The process of bringing a nominee to the full board for consideration
The Illinois Baptist staff
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Total giving by IBSA churches as of 7/30/25 $3,001,329
2025
WORD SEARCH: Cooperative Program
IA new posture
was a church planter for only about three years. Like many planters, I was co-vocational. I have said many times that those three years were among the most difficult, and yet most spiritually rewarding of my life. They forever changed my perspective, not just on how churches get started, but on how church should be. Let me explain. Before I was a church planter, I was a church member, a youth minister, a choir and worship leader, a Sunday School teacher, and a deacon. In each of those roles, my mindset had been to get ready for the next Sunday and weekly cycle of activities, because that’s when my church family needed and expected something.
As I grew into church planting, I still saw a weekly cycle of opportunity. But my primary motivation changed. It wasn’t that my church family needed something. It was that the lost people in our community needed something, something that our church already had.
In fact, we referred to our church planting family simply as our “core group.” The weekly cycle and schedule weren’t primarily about their needs, though we continued to worship, study God’s word, fellowship, and serve one another, perhaps more deeply than before. But that core group also had a unifying, missional purpose. Together, we committed to joining Jesus in his mission to “seek and save the lost.”
And that changed everything about the way we did church.
Our posture changed. We became an inviting church. We invited people personally to our new church at the local grade school. We mailed postcards, placed ads, and walked our neighborhoods distributing door hangers. Instead of church events, we hosted community events.
Our language changed. New people came every week, and we realized many of them didn’t know church language, or where to find things in the Bible, or how to use a hymnal, or where to find the event “at George’s house.” Like missionaries, we learned the language of the people we were trying to reach, and we translated the gospel and the Bible into that language.
Our direction changed. The direction of doing church for a church family is often like a circle, or maybe a spiral that moves gradually upward, or gradually downward. Each week, often each quarter or year, a church develops patterns of behavior, activities, and schedule that are comfortable and predictable. Pastors and leaders work hard to prepare for and deliver those patterns, and members participate in as many of them as their busy lives allow.
Our new church moved from
‘spiral’ to ‘stairway.’
The direction of a church plant is more like a stairway, where you are always planning a next step in a new direction, with the goal of reaching people. There are next steps for those who don’t know Jesus personally yet. There are clear, next steps for new believers. Static members are challenged to next steps of maturity and engagement that lead them to places of service or leadership. Leaders are continually and intentionally challenged to next steps of responsibility, creativity, and problem solving. And the entire, growing “core group” that knows Christ personally is continually being shown next steps to becoming more and more missionary in their mindsets, and in their lifestyles.
And so, we changed. That forward-leaning direction and purpose united us, transformed us, matured us, and motivated us. It was exhausting and exhilarating at the same time. But ever since I experienced that church plant, I have desired that each church I lead or attend demonstrate or learn that missionary mindset. I am forever changed. And the courageous journey from the spiral of church routine to the stairway of church movement is one I long for each church to experience.
Nate Adams is executive director of the Illinois Baptist State Association. Respond at IllinoisBaptist@IBSA.org.
NATE ADAMS
Step
up
for state missions
September is the time for prayer and giving
This month, every Illinois Baptist has an opportunity to take part in changing lives across our state. The Mission Illinois Offering and Week of Prayer provides vital resources and spiritual support for state missions. Most churches will observe this week Sept. 14-21. Your commitment to pray and give will help spread the gospel in communities throughout our home state, because Illinois is our mission.
More than 8 million Illinoisans do not have a personal relationship with Jesus. That’s not just a statistic—it’s our coworkers, classmates, neighbors, and friends.
God’s plan to reach them is not through distant voices or outside efforts—it’s through thriving churches who are uniquely positioned to share the hope of Jesus with neighbors just outside their doors.
2025 is a year
This is why the Mission Illinois Offering exists. It’s a way for churches and individuals to come together and fuel gospel work right here at home. Every dollar given to Mission Illinois is used directly to support Illinois Baptist ministry and missions across our state—100% stays in Illinois.
Your generosity helps plant new churches, train leaders, support college ministries, revitalize struggling congregations, provide summer camps for kids and teens, and offer disaster relief to hurting families.
Our statewide goal is $350,000. This goal can be exceeded with gifts and prayers from members of every church. This year, churches near Peoria and Mt. Vernon have a new way to support and experience state missions. Mission Illinois Day will take place on Saturday, Sept. 13. Churches
worth celebrating
will unite for one-day outreach projects in and around these two communities. These projects are free to join, family-friendly, and designed for all ages to serve together.
Whether you give, pray, or serve,
Planners for this year’s IBSA annual meeting to be held November 4-5 at the Crowne Plaza in Springfield, have given potential messengers plenty of motivation to attend.
Big Baptist birthdays
Southern Baptists are celebrating two centennials in 2025, with both the Cooperative Program (CP) and the Baptist Faith and Message (BF&M) achieving 100-year anniversaries.
This year’s theme, “Thrive 25: Unity and Cooperation,” references the doctrinal unity provided by the BF&M and the missional cooperation that is the backbone of CP. The theme will be unpacked through displays, moments in the program, and speakers. Additionally, each messenger in attendance will receive a special edition BF&M 100th anniversary study journal.
Connections, connections, connections
Pastors and ministry leaders will have more opportunities than ever to make helpful connections. Tuesday afternoon, the large exhibit hall will open hours before the first session begins. Messengers can meet representatives from many Baptist min-
you’re helping bring the hope of Jesus to Illinois. Let’s be the hands and feet of Christ in our own backyard. Let’s reach Illinois—together. Videos and resources are available at MissionIllinois.org.
istry partners and helpful parachurch ministries, as well as learn more about numerous IBSA ministry resources.
Wednesday morning will offer two timeslots filled with practical breakout offerings for pastors and ministry leaders. This was a new addition at the 2024 meeting that received positive feedback and saw packed conference sessions.
Throughout the two days, messengers will find planned meals and gathering opportunities intended to connect around ministry specialties and passions.
A fond farewell
Illinois Baptists will also offer special recognition to IBSA’s Nate Adams. This will be Adams’ last annual meeting as Executive Director. In February, he announced the timeline for his retirement. The Board is currently conducting a search for the next Executive Director. Adams will retire after nearly 20 years of service.
Information about the 2025 Annual Meeting, including church messenger registration and registration for individual opportunities can be found at IBSAannualmeeting.org.
FROM THE FRONT: ERLC SEARCH
Continued from page 1
will take months. Having a new president in place to lay out a new course prior to the 2026 convention in Orlando would be desirable in the effort to rebuild trust with the SBC grassroots. In the meantime, an interim president may be named by the trustees.
“We need a bridge builder and unifier,” Foshie said of the next permanent leader. “We need someone with a pastoral posture, who is going to help Southern Baptists realize that we agree on more issues than we might think we do.”
Foshie is an IBSA employee who began serving as an ERLC trustee while he was pastor of Steeleville Baptist Church. Foshie said he has heard from rank-and-file Baptists who said they voted to abolish the ERLC only because “they didn’t know any other way to get our attention. We’ve been listening, and they continue to have our attention.”
Learning how to speak for people with strong views on some issues, such as religious freedom and prolife while holding a broader range of opinions on others will mean walking a tightrope.
Leatherwood tried to refocus on pro-life issues, and ERLC recently had success lobbying Congress to defund Planned Parenthood. But Leatherwood ran afoul of Baptist opinion makers when he supported Tennessee gun legislation after his children’s school was attacked by 28-year-old former student with an automatic weapon, killing three children and
three adults, and when he saluted President Biden for “doing the right thing” by withdrawing from the 2024 Presidential race.
The next ERLC president must stick to issues closer to the Baptist heartbeat. “Early on in his tenure, he will have to spend a lot of time in churches and with pastors,” Foshie said, “and learn which issues we have a supermajority consensus about, and which we don’t.”
Searching for a Statesman Foshie uses the term “statesman” to describe the kind of representative he hopes to see in the role. Leatherwood had experience in the Tennessee Republican Party and served as chief of staff under former ERLC President Russell Moore. He built teams.
Moore fashioned his role as a theologian and later assumed a “resident theologian” position with publisher Christianity Today when he resigned the ERLC under duress in 2021.
Moore’s predecessor, Richard
Central celebrates 75 years
Decatur | Mark Croston and Nate Adams are the special guests at Central Baptist Association’s 75th anniversary celebration. The event, scheduled on November 1 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., will be held at Tabernacle Baptist Church in Decatur.
Central Association was founded in 1950 as a partnership of churches in Macon County. Highlights from the seven-decade ministry will be featured, along with an association-wide choir and orchestra and a catered lunch.
Adams will present a plaque as IBSA Executive Director. Croston will bring a message. He is Director of Black Church Ministries for the North American Mission Board.
RSVP is requested for the luncheon. Contact Chris Granda at 217-521-2420.
Sept. 16 affiliation deadline
Churches wishing to apply for friendly cooperation with the Illinois Baptist State Association must apply by Sept. 16. For information regarding affiliation, visit IBSA.org/about/how-to-partner/. For more information, contact BarbTroeger@IBSA.org, or call (217) 391-3107.
Land, took on a more statesman-like stance during his 25 years in the post, ending in 2014. Land said the search committee’s choice is “critical.” He told The Baptist Paper that the ERLC has the greatest opportunity “it has ever had” to represent the SBC in Washington D.C. Many leaders there are “very sympathetic” to Southern Baptist causes.
“That’s why I thought it would be so tragic if we would have voted to defund the ERLC precisely at the moment where it’s got the opportunity to have more impact than it’s ever had,” he said.
The challenge now is that the SBC entity is “still suffering from policy decisions of former ERLC administrations,” Land said. “I thought Brent did an excellent job under difficult circumstances.”
Foshie points to the ERLC-organized visits to the Capitol by groups of pastors as evidence of open doors for Baptists—and as evidence of recent redirection under Leatherwood.
New helpline
Nashville, Tenn. | The SBC’s Office for Abuse Prevention and Response has launched a revamped helpline for matters related to sexual abuse.
The partnership with the Evangelical Council for Abuse Prevention (ECAP) delivers “gospel-focused” support for survivors, ministry leaders, and others needing advice on preventing sexual abuse or responding to abuse allegations.
The new helpline will provide competent assistance to those seeking guidance—for survivors as well as services for ministry leaders who are responding on these issues, SBC EC President Jeff Iorg said. “We are putting in place long-term strategies for confronting this pernicious evil because even one instance of sexual abuse is too many.”
The establishment of the helpline begins the transition away from a hotline hosted by Guidepost Solutions since May 2022. The former helpline received 15-20 calls per week.
There are currently three call takers and four coaches, director Jeff Dalrymple said. “Christian experts lent their expertise to create the training from scratch,” he said. “It didn’t exist before.”
Call takers will receive calls and walk through each unique situation with the caller, then refer a caller to a coach as needed. Contact 833-611-HELP or sbcabuseprevention.com/helpline.
— excerpted from Baptist Press
HALLS OF POWER— 16 SBC
pastors met with U.S. Senators Ted Cruz (pictured) and James Lankford, and House Speaker Mike Johnson March 25. The meetings arranged by ERLC were to deliver 10,000 signatures supporting defunding Planned Parenthood.
“Politicians appreciate hearing from pastors,” Foshie said, “because they represent constituents. ERLC has a team representing Southern Baptists on Capitol Hill and at the Supreme Court who are well respected. They will continue to work there, but we need pastors to be engaged too. That gets more attention from politicians.”
Rebuilding trust
The main issue in the meantime is rebuilding trust within the denomination. More than 4-in-10 messengers voted twice to pull the plug on the ERLC. The social media discussion continues among leaders who advocated against it. But Foshie is optimistic for a new chapter. “Southern Baptists are a forgiving people,” he said. “They want to give ERLC another opportunity to give representation they can trust, but they expect results.”
Foshie said the trustees are listening, as will the search committee. The best conduit for church members’ input is to talk with their state’s ERLC trustees. “As we’re waiting for these resumes to come in, we’re going to be doing a lot of listening. Then we will be continuing to listen to God and relying on feedback we receive to show us what God wants in the next season for the ERLC.”
—Eric Reed
Montgomery charged
Du Quoin | Illinois State Police have arrested Jon W. Montgomery of Du Quoin on charges of possession and dissemination of child pornography. Montgomery, 70, is former middle school band director who taught 26 years with Du Quoin Unit District #300. He is also former church staff member with connections to Baptist life in Illinois, including the Illinois Baptist State Association (IBSA).
According to local news reports, a search warrant was served at Montgomery’s home on June 11, where electronic evidence of child pornography was collected. He was taken into custody at the Perry County jail on July 23.
Montgomery was arraigned on eleven charges: four Class X Felony charges, which include 10 counts of reproduction/dissemination of child pornography, and seven Class 2 Felony charges, which include 56 counts of possession of child pornography. Montgomery retired from his teaching position in 2011. He served First Baptist Church of Du Quoin as Minister of Music from 1997-1999 and served volunteer terms on two IBSA Committees from 2021-2025.
CROSTON
Focus founder dies HLGU hosts SBC veep
The Christian psychologist whose bestsellers prevented multitudes from throttling their “strong-willed child” died August 21 at age 89. Dr. James Dobson was founder of Focus on the Family in 1977, and host of its ubiquitous radio program for more than 30 years.
His ministry advocated for Christian values, and Dobson was often welcomed to political discussions on pro-life and family issues beginning with the Reagan Administration. He served on a key panel that investigated child sexual abuse and pornography. He was a founding partner in Alliance Defending Freedom.
He was widely respected in Southern Baptist circles. “James Dobson had a profound impact in my life through his books and other media,”
SBC Executive Committee CEO Jeff
Iorg said. “He shaped my understanding of marriage and parenting in practical ways I did not learn growing up in a secular family. His legacy lives on in countless families made stronger by his influence.”
SBC President
Clint Pressley said, “James Dobson’s impact for God’s kingdom will be felt for many years. His work to support God’s design for the family has impacted Southern Baptists for decades. We are grateful for his long and faithful ministry.”
At its height, Dobson’s ministry reached more than 200 million people worldwide and was broadcast on 4,000 stations. After Dobson retired from Focus, he went on to found a new organization and hosted its radio show, Family Talk, for ten years. with info from RNS
The SBC first vice president whose story of overcoming extreme adversity inspires and challenges audiences everywhere will speak at Hannibal-LaGrange University (HLGU) September 2-3.
Daniel Ritchie was born without arms. His mother reported the doctors said they should let the newborn die, but his parents refused. Ritchie’s book, “My Affliction for His Glory,” shares his life story of struggling with a sense of value and worth while growing up.
“God has shaped my perspective to pursue a full life because I am defined by him and his grace, rather than the critical opinions of the world,” Ritchie said. “If God has brought me to a place of contentment and joy in my visible difference, then he is most able to do the same for anyone else.”
Darden retires after 23 years
After nearly 23 years of service, Growth Team ministry assistant Linda Darden retired at the end of July. Darden joined IBSA full-time in September 2002 after six weeks as a temp in the mailroom. She first worked in the areas of pastor relationships and collegiate ministries, however, over the years she served in other ministry areas.
In May, Growth Team Leader Mark Maestas announced her retirement in an email to the IBSA staff calling it “bittersweet news.” He wrote, “Linda has been a cornerstone of this organization.” She brought “not only her deep expertise and unwaver-
ing commitment, but also a spirit of kindness, generosity, and grace that has touched every one of us.”
In her time with IBSA, she took part in multiple facets of the Illinois Baptist experience. Darden, the wife of a retired pastor, served in missions, Illinois Baptist Disaster Relief, church health, men’s ministry, assisted zone consultants, and worked with about 15 supervisors. According to Darden, she moved offices “at least 10 times” and had desks in the basement, and first and third floors of the IBSA Building.
WMU Executive Director Sandy Wisdom-Martin sent a video that was shown at a farewell luncheon. Maestas said Darden’s presence will be missed. “Her impact can be seen not just in the work she’s done, but in the people she’s inspired along the way.” And in her humor.
Ritchie, an itinerant preacher and
motivational speaker for 20 years, resides in Raleigh, N.C., with his wife, Heather, and their two children. He says the family enjoys movie nights, traveling, football, and spending time outdoors.
The Ritchies are members of Summit Church, which is pastored by former SBC President J. D. Greear. Ritchie was elected to national SBC office at the convention in Dallas in June. He preached at the SBC Pastors Conference last year.
Ritchie will speak at HLGU’s 11 a.m. chapel services both days as part of a campus spiritual growth emphasis called “Grow Week.” On Wednesday, he will lead Night of Worship featuring the HLGU Chapel Band. The public is invited to attend the 6:30 p. m. event.
Exec. Director resumes due soon
The IBSA Executive Director Search Committee is receiving resumes until Sept. 15. The eleven-member panel is seeking a successor to Nate Adams, who has served in the role 19 years. He plans to continue into early 2026, offering a transition period for the new leader to get settled.
He will lead the Springfield-based staff in service to nearly 900 cooperating churches. More information is available at IBSA.org/executive-search.
GOODIES— Linda Darden was treated to lunch and gifts by the IBSA staff. Her supervisor Mark Maestas helped deliver the presents. Linda’s husband, Jerry, is seated next to her in this photo.
PARTNERS— At the Associational Roundtable in August, several Associational Mission Strategists prayed over Nate Adams ahead of his retirement in early 2026. Standing (l-r) are Brent Cloyd (Greater Wabash), Chris Nolin (Sinnissippi), David Hendrick (Gateway), and Bob Burton (Salem South).
Rooftop pastor to walk across America
Southside’s Corey Brooks departs from NYC on September 1
Chicago | The Southside pastor who lived 343 days on the roof of a building he wanted to convert into a community center to reach his troubled neighborhood is taking on a new project. Starting with his campout, Corey Brooks raised $37 million dollars from corporations and private donors, many of them viewers of Fox News where his story was regularly featured.
Now the Southern Baptist pastor will take his challenge across the nation, starting in New York City September 1.
“This isn’t just a walk—it’s a rebellion against the soul-crushing grip of government dependency and the overall decline in our culture that’s hollowed out America,” Brooks said in a promotional video posted by Fox.
Along the way, the pastor of New Beginnings Church and head of Project HOOD plans to raise funds to finish a 90,000 square foot center for leadership and economic development that is currently under construction.
Brooks plans to walk 3,000 miles through 50 key cities and return to Chicago June 1, 2026. He will point out moral and social decline affecting all Americans, he said, and uphold the value of merit, where people earn their rightful place in this nation.
“This journey is a declaration: we don’t need more bloated bureaucracy or Washington’s pity,” Brooks said. “We need grit, accountability, and
the God-given vision to see ourselves as more than social security numbers or skin colors. We’re Americans, built for opportunity, self-reliance, and faith not lowered standards or endless welfare checks.”
Brooks expects to establish a foundation to promote reclamation of values in cities across the nation. Brooks also said he expects to return home a bit thinner than when he left.
— with info from Fox News and McHenry County Blog
BROOKS
GROUNDBREAKING— Pastor Corey Brooks led a construction dedication ceremony for the new center on the notorious “O-Block” in Chicago. Once completed the center, adjacent to the motel where Brooks lived on the roof for a year, will cost $40 million. It will include a private school for neighborhood children.
— Photo by Project HOOD
Meet the new kids IN FOCUS
Gen Z’s successors are hitting their teens and changing the scene
BY DANIEL KIM
“Man, you have to stop calling your students Gen Z. You have no idea, it’s Gen Alpha who’s taking over.”
I paused, confused, as my fellow pastor interrupted my thoughts during a conversation about next-generation ministry. I had just referenced Gen Z in my sermon planning, but now I was second-guessing everything.
Who exactly is Gen Alpha? And more importantly, how should the older generations approach them?
Generation Alpha is the name given to people born between 2010 and approximately 2025. The oldest of them is entering high school now. And there are more people in this generation than we’ve known in many years—a new boom. They are the children of Millennials and the previous Gen Z. The name Gen Alpha is replacing earlier attempts to name them “Centennials” or “Prime.” More than the usual characteristics
attributed to age, this generation is different in significant ways because of the world in which they are growing up.
Gen Alpha has no knowledge of a world without smartphones, social media, and pervasive global communication. Gen Alpha is coming of age with significant world events, climate activism around global warming, the Covid pandemic, social justice protests, and increased political polarization—all of which shape their emerging worldview.
This generation will be the most diverse generation in history, with the majority living in multicultural families and neighborhoods and schools. They will also be the most educated generation in history, with information and learning resources available to them that other generations could only imagine.
Let’s consider their chief characteristics and adjustments required in our ministry with Gen Alpha.
Continued on P. 8
Besties everywhere
The four girls pictured here attended IBSA Camp together this summer. Don’t be fooled by their laid-back appearance. These tween dynamos are global citizens. They are the up-and-coming Alpha Generation who are leading us into the future.
Continued from P. 8
Global, borderless worldview
Gen Alpha’s cosmology extends far beyond their immediate geographic community. Through social hubs like TikTok, YouTube, and gaming platforms, they continuously interact with peers across continents, cultures, and religious systems. This creates a world orientation in which local and global concerns are of equal relevance.
Their identity transcends traditional boundaries. They see climate change as their problem, global inequality as their problem, and global conflicts as their problem. This borderless thinking has benefits and drawbacks for faith communities traditionally rooted in local congregational forms.
Collaborative learning
Perhaps nowhere is the uniqueness of Gen Alpha more evident than in their learning and problemsolving. They work naturally together, even on traditionally individual pursuits like mathematics. This is evidence of their comfort with collective intelligence and cooperative systems of knowledge. They also struggle at school with strictly individualistic means of evaluation, preferring group work where they can leverage diverse strengths and perspectives. This group-oriented bias extends to their approach to complex issues: They’re more likely to crowdsource solutions and elicit many opinions before making conclusions.
Communication styles and tech integration
Gen Alpha communicates across many channels at once. They may be texting, watching video, and gaming while conversing. This isn’t always attention deficit—it’s their native communication environment.
Their communication pattern is highly visual and symbolic, and they employ emoji, memes, and brief video content to decide how to communicate. They can process information quickly, but might find it hard to maintain focus on one-source, text-only content for an extended period. They anticipate interactivity and rapid feedback in their learning environments.
This constant connectivity is not without issues. Many lack face-to-face conversation skills. They are uneasy in open social spaces. They may be unable to locate content which does not offer instant gratification or visual stimulation.
Spirituality in a pluralistic age
Gen Alpha is open on matters of spirituality. They have had exposure to various religious traditions via the internet and cross-ethnic peer networks,
SAY HELLO TO SARAH*
She’s 12, a soccer fanatic, and can make a latte better than some baristas.
She stays up late watching YouTube tutorials on crafts, texts three friends overseas, and is passionate about putting an end to human trafficking.
Her absolute best friend lives two houses down, but there’s another “bestie” living in Japan, someone she met from an online art forum.
Sarah tracks Bible verses on her phone, prays regularly, and seeks ways to care for friends in her church’s student ministry.
She could be Zoe or Chloe or Liam or Oliver.
Sarah* is Gen Alpha.
and they are pluralistic but wary of assertions of exclusive truth.
As they begin coming of age, these young people are drawn to authentic spiritual experience and extremely sensitive to pretentiousness. They prefer spiritual practice consistent with their global concerns—justice, stewardship of the earth, and human dignity. Rational and traditional methodsbased apologetics could give way to experience and relationship-based faith formation.
Their theological issues generally center on meaning-making in a world that is insecure, the integration of faith and science, and the ways in which religious faith could resolve the kinds of global dilemmas that they feel called to solve.
Reaching out on faith issues
When we approach Gen Alpha about faith, one of the first questions they ask is “Why does it have to be that way?”
This generation values thinking outside the box. While media largely defines their world, they do not wish to be spoon-fed a single solution or viewpoint. Instead of being preached to, they need to be challenged. They want to seek out, question, and arrive at truth independent of authoritative positions.
Rather than beginning with exclusivity, start with invitation. In my student ministry, I aim to have them feel first the unmatched peace, purpose, and belonging in Christ before addressing theological boundaries. We frame exclusionary truth claims in relational terms rather than rejection—not “other ways are wrong” but “this way has something uniquely transformative.”
Gen Alpha needs to exercise their communal sense by working through these questions in community. Teachers should leave space for them to wrestle with difficult theological concepts together, rather than expecting individual assent to creedal propositions.
Try these educational approaches
Successful Gen Alpha religious education is experiential, collaborative, and networked globally. Substitute lecture instruction with participative workshops, service projects, and multimedia presentations. Harness their innate inclination toward group problem-solving by framing real-world issues through a faith lens.
Connect local congregations with global Christian movements that are seeking to solve Gen Alpha’s problems—creation care, social justice, and human dignity. Help them see their faith as part of an international fellowship dedicated to making a positive impact. The language of missions should
resonate with this generation.
Use technology as a tool and not as a rival. Create digital faith formation experiences, connect them with Christian content creators who speak their language, and empower them to provide healthy digital discipleship habits.
In my own teaching, I have intentionally shifted my sermon form and illustration. My sermons were biblically accurate, theologically rich, and gospel-saturated. But when I began engaging the Gen Alpha culture, I started carving my messages differently. I was more aware of the art of the sermon. I use more descriptive illustrations, compelling stories, and artistic flair here and there, wanting to reach their hearts as well as their minds.
Ministry to Gen Alpha requires patience, honesty, and openness, conversing with their questions rather than shooting them down. They learn best in community due to their communal nature and due to their requirement for processing together. Their global perspective requires that they see how their local faith community relates to God’s work internationally.
Most importantly, they want genuine relationships with believers who live out faith and life integration. They are drawn less to perfect doctrine than to real transformation, less persuaded by the reasons of doctrine than by lives that demonstrate God’s love in action.
NEVER HAVE THEY EVER…
Gen Alpha never bought a camera. They always had a camera on their phone.
Social distancing was the standard before they knew what “normal” personal space was.
Church always had a coffee bar.
They may not have used a hymnal, but their worship music never missed a beat on Spotify.
Why shouldn’t cars drive themselves?
They could FaceTime Grandma at age 3—without help.
Daniel Kim is associate pastor for student ministry at GospeLife Church in Wheaton.
Illinois teams bring the gospel to Chicagoland
Teens worked with church planters
Metropolis is a long way from Chicago. It’s 365 miles in distance—from the southern tip of Illinois to the north end, about six hours, not counting pit stops. But it’s also a long way in terms of population and culture—from small town to big city, from middle class midwestern to multi-ethnic communities at every socioeconomic level.
It’s a long way.
But the youth group from First Baptist Church of Metropolis has made the journey many times.
“I take kids to Chicago because I want to spread a passion for Jesus and his mission to the next generation,” Cliff Easter said. “Jesus told us to ‘Go!’ The church must take his command more seriously!”
This year 85 students from seven churches traveled to the city for Go Chicago week. They stayed at Ashburn Baptist Church, and they got up every morning and journeyed to the 18 sites helping church planters engage with communities.
“Watching the posture of the next generation toward missions is contagious,” IBSA’s Kevin Jones said. Go Chicago is a joint project with Jones’ Church Planting team and Shannon Ford and the IBSA Missions team.
For more than a decade, Cliff Easter, Associate Pastor for Families and Youth, has brought his students from FBC Metropolis. This year they served on the far west side with Pastor Maurice Gaiter and Empowerment Church in his Austin neighborhood.
“The first day we worked with Pastor Maurice, he took us to lunch at his family friend’s restaurant. He has worked there his entire life and loves the place.
“On the way back to where we were staying, we stopped in a park to hand out flyers about the event at the church on Saturday. One of my guys, Carson, and I stopped to talk to a couple of men we passed. They shared with us that they stayed in the park in tents. They asked for food, but we didn’t have any.
“As we walked away, Carson remembered that we had packed our lunches for the day, but because Pastor Maurice had taken us to lunch, we didn’t need them. The sandwiches we had made for 16 people would have gone to waste, but instead, Carson got to take them to these men.
“The thankfulness on these guys’ faces was a real blessing. We shared about Jesus with our new friends and left them food for days,” Easter said. When they rejoined the group that afternoon, “Carson shared the story with everyone else. I don’t think it was an experience he will soon forget.”
Like many who have served on Chicagoland mission trips, Pastor Easter can tell stories of painting buildings and cleaning overgrown grounds, surveying neighbors and hosting block parties. One year his group helped a church planter who was just getting started in Dekalb. Another year they assisted Pastor John Yi in his Maywood neighborhood.
“Practically speaking, Chicago is a great place to teach my students,” he said. “Church planters and pastors across the city need all the help they can get. It’s a context that’s completely different from the small town where we live. It opens the eyes of my students to a whole new world out there that Jesus loves and wants to redeem.”
Pastor Easter helps train his students and others for a variety of ministries—always with a gospel point. “When we went back to help with special community event on Saturday, the church was celebrating baptisms. Since there were a number of people being baptized, Pastor Gaiter asked if I would help.
“He even asked me to share on the gospel and the meaning
YOUNG AMBASSADORS— (1) Student teams served in the city’s ethnic neighborhoods with outreach events including (2) community block parties and (3) distribution of 590 back-packs. Clayton Hazelrigg and a group from Chickamauga, Ga. joined the project. More than 1,100 people were served with 891 meals and 1,200 snacks. (4) Pastors Gaiter and Easter baptized new believers in Austin neighborhood. With 197 Bibles distributed, 152 gospel conversations resulted in 17 salvations. Pastor Easter (5) trained teams as they hit the streets.
LOVE IN ACTION— IBSA church planters partnered with Chicagoland Baptists and SEND Network for an outreach called “Love Your Park Day.” GO Teams served food and games were offered at
From P. 9
of baptism,” Easter said. “Two of his granddaughters were among those that got baptized that day. It was a highlight of our week to take part for sure!
Easter has served at FBC Metropolis 23 years. He has found that seeing ministry at work in other places ignites students’ passion for lost people in their own town.
“Before we came home, our students began to talk about strategic ways we could take the lessons learned in Chicago and serve in similar ways back home in Metropolis. Our church has a back-to-school outreach event every year. Some of our students took flyers and went to neighborhoods in Metropolis to invite people and share with them.” he said. “They are also praying for and inviting unchurched friends to church and to youth group.
“Putting kids on mission elsewhere helps them get on God’s mission at home!”
—Eric Reed
SHAPING LIVES THAT SHAPE THE WORLD!
reporter’s
notebook
Our next mission-ready generation
The Cambridge Dictionary released a list of 6,200 new words it has added to the official English vocabulary. Many come from social media. On the list is “Gen Alpha,” referring to those born after 2010. They are the originators of some of the new words. They have given us “skibidi” (meaning bad or good, depending on context) and “delulu” (from delusional, unable to accept the truth.) Preachers should be alert to the rising phrase “put the fries in the bag.” (It means stop talking, finish the transaction.)
With their inclination to collaborative processing, willingness to consider a variety of ideas, and ability to live beyond borders because of the technology they hold in their hands, today’s tweens and early teens are a “mission-ready generation.” (I think I’m coining a phrase here.)
Young people who have a truly global worldview, ongoing international friendships, and openness to engagement with others vastly different from themselves are mission ready.
But is the church preparing them for this vital kingdom role?
If we had mission-ready generations before now, they would have included the 1806 Haystack Prayer Meeting crowd who took cover during a rainstorm for discussion and prayer that launched the modern missions movement. After the Haystack movement came Adoniram Judson, Hudson Taylor, the Bagbys of Brazil, and our own Lottie Moon.
More recently, we have witnessed evidence of a mission-ready generation among Gen X. Illinois’ very own Sandy Wisdom-Martin is a prime example of this, as she leads an international organization that encourages missions education and support, the Woman’s Missionary Union.
We heard again from Gay Williams in August, as she gave a second anniversary update about mission work on Maui following the annihilation of wildfires. With her husband, John, they lead Hawaii Baptist Disaster Relief.
Both Williams and Wisdom-Martin credited Evelyn Tully for making multitudes mission ready in the 1970’s and 80s. As frequent participants in Tully’s mission camps at IBSA’s Lake Sallateeska, they learned about the need for mission service. They heard the call of God to advance the gospel worldwide. They identified themselves as “Tully’s girls” at a WMU Foundation ceremony honoring her pioneering work in June.
But who is making the next gen mission ready?
Since the days of Sandy, Gay, and Evelyn, many of our churches have surrendered most of the hours for age-graded ministries, including discipleship, music, and missions education. Gen X called it irrelevant, Gen Y quit attending, and Gen Z never heard of it. Sunday school is just
about all we do now—with modest success. Before you relegate my argument to the moldering heap of antiquities, consider this: How can a generation with more potential to advance Christ’s kingdom in their lifetimes than any who came before them do so without the faith-focused apologetics and compassion that are developed through missions education.
Gen Alpha may know how, but they don’t know what. Yet.
If a church can’t muster weekly training, can we create a monthly missions club experience? Can we offer an annual missions project, perhaps on the VBS model? Can we do more hands-on local service and on-site mission trips as we once did with choir tours? Mission events such as GO Chicago and AWSOM turn virtual internet concepts into real-life relationships. They give young people their own personal Baptist Christian missionary identity.
Gen Alpha is mission ready in terms of their ability to form a worldview. But they need faithbased skills and love for people to give it gospel intent. Don’t be delulu: the church can prepare the best mission force ever to take the field starting in about five years. That’s skibidi.
And if we don’t prepare them, that’s also skibidi. There—the fries are in the bag.
— Eric Reed is IBSA media editor.
Mission ILLINOIS
Chicago: Blessings from everywhere
Qusai Mahmud has saved them all, every single one of the handwritten notes he received when Southern Baptists across the country sent boxes of ministry supplies through the Woman’s Missionary Union’s (WMU) Christmas in August project. Fishing one out of his stack, he finds a note written in red and green markers and the squiggly letters of an elementary schooler. “Dear Qusai,” the note reads, “Keep up the good work.”
“I was once a church planter, so I understand the loneliness of ministry,” he said. Qusai, known in Chicagoland as Q, now serves as director for Send Relief’s Chicago Ministry Center. “To receive these notes and know there are people that we haven’t met, but they believe in the mission, and they’re praying for us, it’s heartbreaking, in a good way.”
The Ministry Center serves one of the city’s lowest-income areas, so when the team received word that WMU had chosen to feature them, they put together a list of items like diapers, hygiene products, socks, and school supplies they could use to bless their community. Then, churches responded.
a half dozen schools where we dropped off supplies and got to meet teachers and just start that process of building a relationship.
“There’s a low-income daycare right across the street from our ministry center, and we were able to bless them with probably 50 boxes of diapers—I’m talking cases.”
Q won’t forget making the delivery. “They just couldn’t believe it... why someone would even consider giving this to them.”
—NAMB Send Relief
“The boxes started coming, and it was never-ending. There were times when I was bringing in 20, 30 boxes of stuff,” Q said. “We were just blown away at how generous everyone was.”
These supplies fueled the center’s work for months, caring for single moms, at-risk children, and schools in underserved areas. “When ministry teams visited, we would have them go and take hygiene kits, and we would go to the areas where the unhoused were, and we would hand them out. It led to developing relationships that allow for a meaningful gospel conversation,” Q said.
“I had teachers that would reach out and say, we have zero budget for paper, folders, pens, and none of these kids are going to bring them in,” he continued. “So, we had relationships with probably about
Logan Street Baptist Church broke ground on a 12,800 square-foot building expansion which will include a full gymnasium and expanded classroom space in June. According to information from the church, “In addition to ministry growth, the expansion will enhance the church’s ability to o er quality, Christ-centered daycare and increase its outreach to young families seeking spiritual and relational support.”
Pastor Steve Lyles said, “This project is a step of faith to create more room for our church to live out its mission: to reach more people with the gospel of Jesus Christ and help believers grow in a deeper relationship with him.” The church launched a Kingdom Investment Giving Campaign to help fund the expansion.
Dahlgren: 11 baptized
August 3 was a historic day at Dahlgren Baptist Church. Eleven new believers were baptized; its Pastor Brad Sloan celebrated 11 years as pastor; and it was the 175th anniversary of the church’s organization.
Three of those baptized were members of the same family—father, mother, and daughter. Another three were among 15 saved in July at Goshen Trail Youth Camp, and three more accepted Christ at VBS.
“We received the fruits of our prayers,” an excited Sloan said. “We’re very thankful.”
INSIGHT
When retreat is not an option
(Editor’s note: Lyman Beecher was a pastor who had 18 famous children, among them abolitionist Harriet Beecher Stowe, author of “Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” and Edward Beecher, the first president of Illinois College in Jacksonville. This excerpt is from a new book, “The Beechers: America’s Most Influential Family.”)
When Edward [Beecher] first met Elijah Lovejoy at the commencement ceremony at Illinois College in September 1834, the two became friends. Originally from New England, Lovejoy was also an orthodox Presbyterian minister.
Whereas Beecher was “decidedly hostile to the doctrines of immediate emancipation,” Lovejoy was the editor of the abolitionist newspaper in St. Louis, called the Observer However, just a few months later, Edward changed his mind on emancipation. Eventually, he “became satisfied, from a careful examination of the history of experiments on this subject, that the doctrine of gradual emancipation was fallacious, and that of immediate emancipation was philosophical and safe.”
As abolitionists often preached, there was a significant gap between believing and doing. Edward was not yet ready to act upon his beliefs.
When Lovejoy asked him to call a convention for the Illinois Anti-Slavery Society, Beecher replied that it was not a conciliatory organization and therefore not accepting of all antislavery positions. “On the whole I decidedly preferred to stand on my own ground,” he recalled, “to join no
society—and to speak as an individual, if I spoke at all.” Indeed, he did not speak much.
In 1836, Lovejoy’s Observer press was burned to the ground by an anti-abolitionist mob. To distance himself from rioters, he moved the press across the river to Alton in Illinois, a free state.
When he came to nearby Jacksonville, he spent time with Beecher’s family and again asked Beecher to convene the Anti-Slavery Society. But this time Edward had a counterproposal. If the meeting could be opened to “friends of free inquiry,” uncommitted to abolitionism but convinced that slavery is a sin and must be ended, he would allow Lovejoy to use his name to call the meeting. Lovejoy accepted these terms. In the months that followed, Edward Beecher slowly became an abolitionist and Lovejoy’s “closest associate.”
Robert Merideth’s description of Edward’s stance during this period as a “reticent radicalism” is oxymoronic, but apt. After all, to be publicly branded as a radical abolitionist was a dangerous gamble. Just a month after returning from the General Assembly, a mob destroyed the second Observer press in August 1837. According to Merideth, this event “changed the complexion of things for Beecher.” While he was still cautious in public, there was no turning back in his mind.
At the commencement at Illinois College in September, Edward proposed to alter the “character of the convention” so that “friends of
free discussion” could attend the Anti-Slavery Society in good conscience.
Wielding the hammer of free discussion to drive in the nail of emancipation, Edward was employing a familiar Beecher tool.
The area was filled with proSouthern sympathizers. This was typical of the so-called “Butternut region,” or the southern portions of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. Understandably, Edward was hesitant to stand unabashed with radical extremists. But he had already gone too far to claim neutrality.
When the Anti-Slavery Society was convened, anti-abolitionists… disrupted the proceedings. To make matters worse, the third Observer press was destroyed prior to the convention.
In his first public act of defiance against the proslavery agenda, Edward managed to draw up a “Declaration of Sentiments,” asserting that slavery is in all cases sinful and denouncing any instance when an individual was regarded as property. Edward was also on a three-person committee to prepare an address
to the citizens of Illinois, and he comprised a committee of one to propose topics for discussion at the next annual convention.
By November, the next Observer press was on its way to Alton, inspired by the success of the Philanthropist in Cincinnati after the riot of 1836. However, a town hall meeting was called to reach a “compromise” between Lovejoy and his opponents. Local politicians and businessmen called for Lovejoy to resign, but the editor refused to accept any terms which silenced his right to free speech.
Edward recorded Lovejoy’s response: “...by the help of God, I will stand. I know I am but one and you are many. My strength would avail but little against you all. You can crush me if you will; but I shall die at my post, for I cannot and will not forsake it.”
If these were not the exact words of Elijah Lovejoy to the officials at Alton, they were certainly Edward Beecher’s to America. Lovejoy’s harrowing experience was the final confirmation for Beecher that there could be no middle ground with anti-abolitionists. Retreat was not an option.
[Lovejoy was killed during an attack by a mob on November 7, 1834. Beecher told his story to the nation.]
Obbie Tyler Todd is a teaching pastor in South Carolina. He was previously pastor of Third Baptist Church in Marion and served on the 2025 SBC Resolutions Committee.
The Beechers: America’s Most Influential Family by Obbie Tyler Todd
Todd argues that earlier scholars tended to overstate the gulf between the Calvinist revivalism of Lyman and the liberalizing views of his children and grandchildren. Instead, Todd proposes we see the Beechers as a reformist whole, whatever the later generations’ dalliances with progressive thought or heterodoxy.
The Beechers seem to represent a kind of moralistic, religiously themed activism that remains with us today, one especially common in the recent age of “wokeness.” Though the causes and enemies change over time, Beecherism shows that Christian activism can become so central to a person’s faith that we might wonder how “Christian” it really is.
—Thomas S. Kidd for The Gospel Coalition
Regular members understood that sitting next to Howard meant participating in the Passover.
TABLE TALK
illinois voices
Believing or doing: what defines us?
Ihit $1 on my first spin of the Showcase Showdown wheel. It was at the exhibit hall of the SBC Annual Meeting in Dallas in June a slightly smaller replica of the big wheel on The Price is Right. I didn’t win $1,000 like they do on TV, but I won a $20 gift card. Frankly, it was one of those moments that makes me ask, Is this what we’re all about?
I have been asked that question many times, usually when reports are coming out about the issues we’ll be voting on at the convention. Church members have asked. Non-Christians have asked. I have asked myself. Is this what the Southern Baptist Convention is all about? And if so, why am I one of them?
In 2024, I attended my first annual meeting. I’m a lifelong Southern Baptist, mind you, but that was my first convention. I’d thought about going several times, but there was always some excuse. Some reason. Some deflection.
This year, I spent a week in Dallas with about ten thousand fellow Southern Baptists at my second annual meeting. There was time to catch up with friends, to connect with ministries of all kinds, and, of course, to engage in healthy debate.
But the highlight, as always, was the International Mission Board sending ceremony. This year we sent 58 new workers out into the field. About one-third were presented in silhouette because they have put their lives in the Lord’s hands to go serve in areas where there is risk, sometimes significant risk, for the sake of the gospel.
We Southern Baptists made this possible through the Cooperative Program by way of the IMB, that less than 15 years ago was in serious financial trouble.
I say all that to say this: We are weird in a lot of ways. We are not perfect. But we are a force for gospel good. And that helps to answer my question.
I picked up a phrase from my new friend Jay Adkins, pastor of First Baptist Church in Westwego, Louisiana, who was one of my housemates at our AirBnB in Dallas. I have been repeating it
over and over: “I am a Baptist because of what we believe. I am a Southern Baptist because of what we do.” That resonated with me.
I hold deeply our Baptist theological convictions and distinctives such as the inerrancy and sufficiency of Scripture, the priesthood of the believer, and church autonomy, among others. I am convinced of the exclusivity of the gospel of Jesus Christ, his finished atoning work on the cross, his victory at the empty tomb, and the necessity of a personal response of repentance in faith to him for salvation. This is what we believe.
At the big wheel, I asked myself, Is this why I’m a Southern Baptist?
But more than ever, I also believe in and am committed to our collective effort to share the gospel with the world through missions and the local church. I believe in our effort to feed the hungry around the world, to respond to disaster quickly and with gospel love, and to defend faith, family, and freedom.
I am deeply committed to our collective mission to plant new churches, help to revitalize existing churches, and to continually mobilize men and women to get the gospel to places it has yet to reach. This is what we do.
So, yes. A thousand times, yes. I am a Baptist because of what we believe. I am a Southern Baptist because of what we do. And I’m grateful for both.
David Higgs is associate pastor for worship at Lincoln Avenue Baptist Church in Jacksonville.
Unflinching leadership BRIGHTER DAY
There is one part of Judges 4-5 that sets the tone for the entire account of Deborah, the only female judge of Israel chronicled in the Bible. Ironically, this snippet doesn’t include Deborah herself, although she does foreshadow wicked Sisera’s death at the hands of a woman. What she doesn’t say is that the woman, named Jael, will drive a tent stake into Sisera’s temple, killing him and ultimately delivering Israel from his oppression. Deborah didn’t do the driving, but Sisera’s violent end isn’t surprising when set against the no-frills, hard-charging tone of her whole story. She was a hero to Sunday-school me, sitting in rapt attention as my teacher told the story of this strong woman in Israel’s leadership canon. Now, though, I recognize Deborah is not a friend you meet for coffee. She speaks sharply and pulls no punches.
Listen as she summons Barak with a lessthan-gentle call to action: Hasn’t the Lord commanded you to go to battle with Sisera? When Barak says he’ll go if she does, she agrees, but warns him he won’t get any of the glory. The Israelites go to battle and are victorious, and Sisera meets his gory death. Does Deborah relax her tone a little after the battle? Judges 5 indicates she does not, as she and Barak sing a song that praises the Lord and calls out the tribes of Israel that didn’t participate.
This is a woman who is not messing around. And as such, she doesn’t fit into the gentle, accommodating leadership model with which I am most comfortable. We all have known strong leaders who are not warm and fuzzy. They can seem harsh or brash. And certainly, leadership can be abused. Just like every other gift we are tempted to twist it for our own purposes. Say what you will about Deborah, but she didn’t do that. She consistently leaned on God for her next move and how she counseled others. And she gave him glory for the victory.
Hear her plainspoken proclamation from Judges 5:1. “When the leaders lead in Israel, when the people volunteer, blessed be the Lord.” Cause and effect, says Deborah. When people do what they’re supposed to do, the Lord is blessed.
The next time I’m tempted to wince at someone’s leadership style, I’ll think of Deborah, and ask God to make me more receptive to the unflinching judges he puts in my path.
Meredith Flynn is a writer living in Springfield. She and her family are active members of Delta Church.
EVENTS
All Church Training
9/11 – Wayne City Church
9/16 – Friendship Church, Plainfield
9/18 – FBC Metropolis
When: 6-8 p.m.
What: A tune-up for core ministries. Training for pastors, ministry leaders, and workers on foundations and best practices for a healthy, growing church.
Cost: Free Info: IBSA.org/events
Contact: TammyButler@IBSA.org
September 5-6
For the Pastor Retreat
9/5-6 Lake Sallateeska Camp
9/19-20 Streator Camp
What: Rustic retreat will focus on prayer, reflection, spiritual refreshment, and encouragement.
Cost: Free Info: IBSA.org/events
Contact: Email ScottFoshie@IBSA.org or JoshBledsoe@IBSA.org
September 13
Mission Illinois Serve Day
What: Ready-made, half-day outreach and service projects for the whole family.
Where: Mt. Vernon, Peoria, or your church
Cost: Free Info: MissionIllinois.org
September 14-21
Mission Illinois Offering
What: Your church’s MIO giving stays 100% here, and supports work in and through Illinois churches.
Where: Your Church Info: MissionIllinois.org
September 19-20
Priority Retreat for Pastors’ Wives
What: A weekend with Jesus and other pastor’s wives enjoying a time of rest, fellowship, renewal, worship, and encouragement.
Where: IBSA Building, Springfield
Cost: Free including double occupancy hotel room. Private rooms are $70 ea. Info: IBSA.org/events
Contact: TammyButler@IBSA.org
Ignite Evangelism Conference
9/21-22 Chicagoland, Ashburn Church, Orland Park
10/5-6 Chatham Church
10/19-20 FBC Marion
What: A regional two-day event helping you lead your church to encourage, inspire, and instruct people to effectively share their faith.
Format: Rally on Sunday 6-8 p.m. Training on Monday 8 a.m.-noon, lunch provided
Cost: Free
Info: IBSA.org/events
Contact: JanetSheley@IBSA.org
All Church Tech Training
9/25 First Congregational Church (SBC), Kewanee
10/9 FBC Morton
When: 6-8:30 p.m.
What: Pastors, ministry leaders, and workers are trained to leverage the best tools to disciple your church and reach the community.
Cost: Free Info: IBSA.org/events
Contact: TammyButler@IBSA.org
October 10-11
Youth Evangelism
Conference
What: A weekend event to reach Jr/Sr
High students with the gospel, deepen their relationship with Christ, send them out to do Kingdom work in their communities.
Where: FBC Marion
When: Friday 6-10 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m.-4
p.m.
Cost: $40 (meals, lodging, & T-shirts are extra), $50 after October 1.
What: An extended Sabbath rest for ladies, with fellowship, fun, and to grow in their walk with the Lord.
Where: Streator Baptist Camp
When: Friday 5 p.m. – Saturday 5 p.m.
Cost: $50 for Friday and Saturday, $35 for Saturday only Info: IBSA.org/events
Contact: JacobKimbrough@IBSA.org or CarmenHalsey-Menghini@IBSA.org
October 11
Ignite Hispanic Training Event
What: Help your church reach lost friends, family members, and people in your community for Christ.
Where: Iglesia Misionera Bautista North Avenue, Chicago
When: 9 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Cost: Free, includes dinner and resources Info: IBSA.org/events
Contact: JanetSheley@IBSA.org
see the IBSA calendar for more events. www.ibsa.org/calendar/
October 18
Kids Ministry Conference
What: Training for children’s ministry, with breakouts and a sneak peek at Lifeway’s VBS 2026
Who: Keynote speaker is Brian Dembowczyk, Associate Publisher with Thomas Nelson and author of Gospel-Centered Kids Ministry and Family Ministry that Works
What: From Send Network, inspire and equip planters, pastors, and Jesus followers to expand God’s Kingdom through church planting. Where: Cityline Church, Niles When: 9:25 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.
What: Messengers and guests from the nearly 900 churches that comprise IBSA meet for business, reports on SBC work in Illinois and worldwide, and inspiration.
Where: Crowne Plaza, Springfield
Cost: Free Info: IBSAannualmeeting.org
Contact: BarbTroeger@IBSA.org
November 7-8
Forged Young Men’s Overnight
What: A retreat to ignite a fire in young men (grades 6-12) and their leaders to become the man God is calling you to be.
First Baptist Church of Tinley Park seeks a bivocational pastor with a heart for service and passion for the gospel. This church in the Chicago suburbs wants leadership for growth and ministry. Apply to fbc.tpil@gmail. com.
Highland Ave. Baptist Church seeking a senior pastor. Visit the church website for more information: highlandavebaptist.com. Send resume and a cover letter to 400 W. Highland Ave. Robinson, IL 62454, or email maparker81@yahoo.com.
Woodland Baptist Church seeks a full-time pastor to carry out their mission to develop disciples of Jesus Christ who love God, love others, and live on mission. This established multi-generational congregation in Peoria has a strong foundation to build on. Check the Pastor Search Online Job Board at IBSA.org. Send resumes to searchteam@woodlandbaptistchurch.net.
New Hope Baptist Church in Waverly seeks a part-time pastor for a small congregation in the mostly farming community about 30 minutes, drive south of Springfield. Contact Bob_McNeely@Royell.com or send a resume to 157 E. Tremont Street, Waverly, IL 62692
Search more church openings at IBSA.org/pastor-search or scan this code.
You’re
175th Anniversary Celebration Eldorado First Baptist Church September 28, 10:00 AM
Guest speaker Nate Adams, Executive Director of IBSA, will bring a message of inspiration, complemented by encouraging words from former pastors and inspiring special music.
A fellowship meal will follow, enabling us to catch up with friends and establish new relationships.
Your presence would be a wonderful gift.
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.
Making it relevant:
3,072 people groups are unreached and unevangelized, according to the International Mission Board. That means 2% or less of people in the group have access to the gospel.
166,338 people enter eternity every day without saving faith in Jesus. IMB President Paul Chitwood updates that number each year in his report to the SBC Annual Meeting, a number that weighs heavily on his mind.
Let’s talk about Jesus
The first official SBC-sanctioned witnessing training I received was called “Lay Evangelism School.” A leader from the state convention came to our church and taught us how to use a “survey method” to share the gospel on a Saturday morning. Then we went out and did it. We knocked on doors in the neighborhood and asked the people who answered the doors a few questions about their faith.
When we reported the results in the afternoon, we were surprised how many people knew nothing about our church, though it was only a few blocks away on a main thoroughfare. We were more surprised how many people knew nothing about Jesus—nothing accurate, that is.
Mostly we were happy how many of our teams got to share their faith using the “4 Spiritual Laws” tract we had been schooled in that morning. Even more, we were thrilled that one team reported a couple had prayed to receive Christ.
I remembered all that recently as I challenged a congregation to share their faith. I named all the witnessing tools I had studied and used across the years. There were over a dozen of them, from Evangelism Explosion to Three Circles, tracts and marked New Testaments, wordless books and bracelets and “evangicubes,” and soccer balls with Bible verses printed all over. I was surprised how many people had not heard of these witnessing methods.
We soon bore down on four things:
1. learning The Romans Road,
2. writing the short “elevator speech” version of our personal testimonies,
3. praying for FRANs friends, relatives, associates, and neighbors
4. and initiating Gospel Conversations.
We marked Ping-Pong balls with the initials of people whose salvation we sought, put them in a big tank, and prayed over them often. We were inspired by the “Who’s your one?” campaign, which will be making a comeback in SBC life soon.
8 out of every 13 people in Illinois do not know Jesus. List 13 people you know, such as neighbors, caregivers, teachers, clerks, your plumber. Now cross off 8 of them. Odds are that’s how many of your acquaintances are lost without faith in Jesus Christ. Will they one day join Paul Chitwood’s very troublesome tally?
What I learned from my recollection of the many evangelism emphases our denomination has rolled out—a new one about one every 3-5 years—was the importance of a verbal witness. Evangelism is inviable without speaking about Jesus. Sharing our faith simply doesn’t happen unless we open our mouths.
Some people quote Francis of Assisi inappropriately, as if a famous statement attributed to him were an excuse for not speaking directly about the gospel. “Preach the gospel at all times; use words if necessary” means the Christian’s lifestyle should back up what he says, but it’s not justification for silence. Words are necessary.
That’s the main addition to the Baptist Faith and Message Article 11 in its 2000 revision: “verbal witness.”
As Southern Baptists, we are Great Commission People (see Matt 28:18-20). But in a time when the term “relational evangelism” seemed to excuse believers from saying anything, convention messengers adopted language to make it clear that Christians have to speak up. Even at the risk of offending someone, we must tell people how to be saved. We can’t just hope they will figure it out from our behavior.
The article also made explicit the extent of our verbal witness: “The Lord Jesus Christ has commanded the preaching of the gospel to all nations.” Not everyone has heard the gospel. Even where there is plenty of exposure. Even the neighbors near the church.
“And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard?” Paul asked. “And how are they to hear without someone preaching?” This is not a rhetorical question.
Closely related to the call to evangelism and missions is education. Baptists support education in many forms because all truth is God’s truth, but mostly because educated people have more tools to discover the truth about the Truth, Jesus himself.
—Eric Reed
XI. Evangelism and Missions
It is the duty and privilege of every follower of Christ and of every church of the Lord Jesus Christ to endeavor to make disciples of all nations. The new birth of man’s spirit by God’s Holy Spirit means the birth of love for others. Missionary effort on the part of all rests thus upon a spiritual necessity of the regenerate life, and is expressly and repeatedly commanded in the teachings of Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ has commanded the preaching of the gospel to all nations. It is the duty of every child of God to seek constantly to win the lost to Christ by verbal witness undergirded by a Christian lifestyle, and by other methods in harmony with the gospel of Christ.
Gen 12:1-3; Exod 19:5-6; Isa 6:1-8; Matt 9:3738; 10:5-15; 13:18-30, 37-43; 16:19; 22:9-10; 24:14; 28:18-20; Luke 10:1-18; 24:46-53; John 14:11-12; 15:7-8,16; 17:15; 20:21; Acts 1:8; 2; 8:26-40; 10:42-48; 13:2-3; Rom 10:13-15; Eph 3:1-11; 1 Thess 1:8; 2 Tim 4:5; Heb 2:1-3; 11:3912:2; 1 Peter 2:4-10; Rev 22:17.
XII. Education
Christianity is the faith of enlightenment and intelligence. In Jesus Christ abide all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. All sound learning is, therefore, a part of our Christian heritage. The new birth opens all human faculties and creates a thirst for knowledge. Moreover, the cause of education in the Kingdom of Christ is co-ordinate with the causes of missions and general benevolence, and should receive along with these the liberal support of the churches. An adequate system of Christian education is necessary to a complete spiritual program for Christ’s people.
In Christian education there should be a proper balance between academic freedom and academic responsibility. Freedom in any orderly relationship of human life is always limited and never absolute. The freedom of a teacher in a Christian school, college, or seminary is limited by the pre-eminence of Jesus Christ, by the authoritative nature of the Scriptures, and by the distinct purpose for which the school exists.
Deut 4:1,5,9,14; 6:1-10; 31:12-13; Neh 8:1-8; Job 28:28; Psalms 19:7ff.; 119:11; Prov 3:13ff.; 4:1-10; 8:1-7,11; 15:14; Eccl 7:19; Matt 5:2; 7:24ff.; 28:19-20; Luke 2:40; 1 Cor 1:18-31; Eph 4:11-16; Phil 4:8; Col 2:3,8-9; 1 Tim 1:3-7; 2 Tim 2:15; 3:14-17; Heb 5:12-6:3; James 1:5; 3:17.
