
Four Challenges for Illinois Baptist Churches
Go New Places
A church planting challenge
Engage New People
An evangelism challenge
Make New Sacrifices
A missions giving challenge
Develop New Leaders
A leadership development challenge
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.)
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.
What will it take for our churches to stake new territory for Christ?
Go New Places
200 or more places and people groups in Illinois have no evangelical church. IBSA is leading efforts to plant gospel-teaching, Baptist churches within easy reach of everyone in the state.
Will your church pray for, partner with, or plant at least one of the 200 new churches needed in Illinois, until it is established and affiliated with IBSA?
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.
Statewide goal:
200 or more new churches planted
Engage New People
Sharing the gospel across Illinois is our calling. More than 8 million of our 13 million neighbors have yet to profess faith in Jesus Christ and follow him in baptism.
Will your church seek to become a frequently baptizing church – setting annual baptism goals, and equipping members to engage intentionally in gospel conversations and participate in evangelistic events and mission trips?
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.
Statewide goal:
200 or more churches baptizing 12 or more, or baptizing more than the church’s previous three-year average.
Make New Sacrifices
Advancing the gospel demands the best we have to offer. Southern Baptists’ Cooperative Program remains the most effective channel for supporting missions and church planting throughout Illinois and around the globe.
Will your church commit a percentage of its annual budget to Cooperative Program missions, and seek to increase that percentage toward at least 10%?
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%.
Statewide goal:
200 or more churches committing to increase Cooperative Program missions giving (e.g. up to 1% a year), with a goal of reaching at least 10% of undesignated offerings.
Develop New Leaders
Today’s students and young adults are tomorrow’s pastors, church planters, and missionaries. The future is bright if local churches invest intentionally in their spiritual growth and development. And today’s church leaders need to keep growing as well, to remain fresh in ministry amidst the challenges of our changing culture.
Will your church provide intentional leadership development processes—for its pastor and current leaders, and for potential young leaders in your church?
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!
Statewide goal:
200 or more churches with intentional leadership development processes in place, for current and especially younger 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.)