Growing opportunity, growing need

35,000 people lived in Illinois when the territory achieved statehood in 1818. Pioneers moving westward from the Ohio Valley and northward from Kentucky found fertile soil and good homesteads in the rich river regions. Grassy prairie lands proved a greater challenge, but strong willed farmers braved the winters and broke the sod. Soon they established homes and cities in the north too.

Across 200 years, the growth trend has continued. Pioneering people built population centers of industry, education, and commerce from the muddy confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers to the Chicago River at Lake Michigan.

13 million strong, Illinois today is the fifth most populous state in the nation. But in this mighty, bustling land, there’s a problem. At least 8 million people have no relationship with Jesus Christ.

Southern Baptist Population

The “blue map” tells the story of Baptist faith in Illinois. Baptists are strong in the south, fair in the middle region, and challenged in the open range and major hubs of northern Illinois. The light-shaded areas show a gospel void.

Of 102 counties, 12 have no Southern Baptist church and virtually no gospel witness. Illinois has 30 cities with 50,000 or more residents, but two-thirds or more of the people do not know Jesus. These population centers are in need of modern-day pioneers of the faith to break hard spiritual soil and plant the seeds of the gospel.

This is a church planting challenge.

Pray

Commit to regular, intercessory prayer for a church plant in Illinois, or for a place or people unreached with the gospel, or for a church planter and his family.

Partner

Join with church planters in their missionary work, on site or from your home church. Send volunteers, equipment, supplies, or financial support.

Plant

Take responsibility for a church planting project as a sponsoring church. Educate and directly involve your church, and help enlist additional partners.

This is an evangelism challenge

Believe

Set an annual baptism goal based on your church’s recent history and future desire to reach the lost.

Prepare

Train church members in evangelism. Plan new evangelistic groups, Vacation Bible School, and community outreach events. Build major portions of your church calendar around evangelism plans.

Share

Make sharing Christ part of your weekly church culture. Celebrate those who come to Christ through regular, frequent baptisms.

This is a missions giving challenge.

Prioritize

Ask God to show you what it would take to place his worldwide mission as a first priority percentage in your church’s budget.

Plan

Create an annual budget that increases the church’s percentage commitment to Cooperative Program missions. Challenge members to tithe and give generously through the church, so the church can give generously to take the gospel to the world.

Give

As your church practices biblical, proportional sacrifice in giving, watch God provide and bless. Faithfully increase your church’s missions giving percentage each year, to at least 10%.

This is a leadership development challenge.

Identify

Ask God to raise up leaders in your church. As he does, invite them into mentoring relationships to develop their skills.

Train

Offer intentional leadership training and development processes in your church. Partner with IBSA and others to train your leaders through  conferences, camps, coaching, and other growth opportunities.

Send

Commission and ordain leaders from your church. Send them to serve  as pastor, planter, missionary, or lay leader. Repeat with other leaders!

The Pioneering Spirit Response

Will your church prayerfully accept one or more of the following challenges?

(We hope to celebrate 200 or more churches doing so by the time of the 2018 IBSA Annual Meeting.)