August 2020
Fellow Chicagoland Baptist Pastors,
We have started turning our weekly prayer calls into a longer discussion of some issue on the first Wednesdays of the month.
To follow up on this month’s topic, here are Nathan’s top 3 reasons for why he leads his church to affiliate with the SBC/IBSA:
(1) I’m a Baptist, theologically. That is, (a) I don’t believe the Bible teaches that infants should be ‘baptized’, and (b) I believe in local church autonomy.
(2) I think it’s still good to cooperate with other like-minded churches and be part of something bigger than just my local church. Partnering with the SBC and its various entities has helped us send international missionaries, plant churches, train leaders, finance our building, have retreats… just to name a few.
(3) Any group of sinners you work with is going to have problems (especially one with 15 million members!). There’s no way around it. Join a different denomination or try to form your own new network and pretty soon you’ll have frustration, scandal, divisions, politics, people that embarrass you there too. The SBC isn’t perfect, but it’s solid on the essentials (i.e. Scriptural authority, the gospel, etc…) and your involvement can help make it better.
These monthly newsletters are designed to increase cooperation among Chicagoland Baptists. We hope you find them helpful.
Here’s someone to know about – Pastor Dom Martin. Dom is the lead Pastor of Freedom Hope Church, a recent church plant in the Albany Park neighborhood of Chicago. He also serves as a dean at Wells High School. He and his wife Tiffani moved here almost three years ago and in that time the Lord has blessed them with their son Magnus. Their family loves their neighborhood and serving their community in a variety of ways. They are looking forward to spending time with their church soon!
Here are some events to know about –
· Could your worship ministry use some practical help? We’re offing an Online Worship Conference on August 27th at 6:00 PM. More info and registration can be found here.
· If you are new to Illinois Baptist life or wanting to get re-connected, there is an online IConnect event coming up on September 3rd. Save the date. More details coming soon…
· Interested in some training to sharpen up? Edge courses are launching September 7th and registration is now open. This semester there are 3 eight-week online courses designed to deliver challenging, relevant training with a focus on practical application for your ministry: “Leading Self,” “Introduction to Mobilization,” and “Preaching at the Next Level.” You can find out more here.
Here’s something else to know about – The Baptist Foundation of Illinois is a great asset to our churches. They offer resources like church loans, investment options, scholarships, and estate planning. For example, while a CD at the bank right now could get you around 1% rate of return, BFI’s investment portfolio has a current yield of 4-5%. They would love to provide your church with a free stewardship consultation. To schedule an appointment, call 217-391-3116 or email doug.morrow@baptistfoundationil.org.
For the Church,
Bryan R. Price
Zone 1 Church Consultant
Leadership Development Team
Illinois Baptist State Association – Chicago
630-908-0853 (Cell)
Nathan Carter
Zone 1 Church Consultant
Leadership Development Team
Illinois Baptist State Association – Chicago
312-493-3726 (Cell)