October 2020
Chicagoland Baptists,
We are especially praying for you during this month of pastor appreciation. If you have specific prayer requests, you can let us know here.
Bryan and I are curious if there are any churches out there that would like to be meeting in person but don’t have a place? And might there be any churches that own buildings that could be open to safely sharing your space with another church in need? Let us know! Maybe God wants us to help form some creative partnerships during this time.
Here’s someone to know about – Pastor Matt Woodford. January 2, 2021, will be Matt’s 17th Anniversary at Springbrook Community Church in Plainfield. 15 years ago, Matt, the staff, and key church leaders led Springbrook to become a place where disconnected and unchurched people would love to attend. This vision would challenge and change the paradigm of everything they had ever thought about how the local church should be and live out its mission. The seismic shift included leaving what was familiar to take huge steps in risky faith that resulted in point leadership, relocating, abandoning old programming models and intentionally targeting those whom Jesus loved, but didn’t yet love Jesus. Each week Springbrook creates environments where people can find Christ and grow in their faith. Currently Springbrook is working with NAMB and IBSA to sponsor two new church plants in the Chicagoland area and through its 5-year Missions Campaign called “Impact” they are influencing their local communities through compassionate serving, supporting a work for children in Rwanda, partnering with a missionary couple in Greece, and serving those who are refugees to the United States. Matt and his wife Rachel will be married 33 years in November and have two sons, Caleb and Zachary, who are both married.
Here are some events to know about –
· There’s still time to register for an Edge online course. “Leading Self” and “Introduction to Mobilization” start October 19. More info here.
· Our virtual Kids’ Ministry Conference is on October 24 with sessions on safely re-opening children’s ministry, among other things. Check it out here.
· The shortened IBSA Annual Meeting is at Tabernacle Baptist in Decatur on November 4. More info here.
· AWSOM – an online conference for teen girls is focused on Apologetics this year and it’s coming up November 6-7. Look into it here!
Here’s something else to know about – Does your church have its own 501(c)(3) non-profit status? If a donor asked to see proof that you are an IRS approved charitable organization, what would you show them? If you are a cooperating church, you can qualify for that status under the umbrella of IBSA. Contact jeffdeasy@ibsa.org for more details. NOTE: this is different from IL sales tax exemption or property tax exemption (see here for more info on that).
Besides giving something to the Cooperative Program, one of the other key ways your church remains a ‘cooperating church’ is by filling out an Annual Church Profile (ACP) every year. They are due now! We’re here to help you with the paperwork if you need it. Just let us know.
But mostly we just want to see cooperation happening relationally and organically and have been encouraged to see that growing!
Together on Christ’s Mission with You,
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)
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