September 2021
Chicagoland Baptists,
There are lots of events happening and chances to connect! See more below. But first…
Here’s someone to know about – Pastor Ron Gray. Ron was born and raised on the Southside of Chicago. Church in his family was mandatory; there was never a question of where he would be come Sunday morning. He remembers like yesterday walking the aisle of that old church to confess Jesus as his Lord and Savior for the first time. That foundation only grew as he attended undergrad at Illinois State University. At 19, as a hip-hop kid with a big blow-out afro, he felt the call to ministry. After a short time of wrestling with the call, he finally accepted. Then after attending New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, Ron served on two different church staffs… and was fired from both! Hurt and deeply wounded, he didn’t want much to do with church, so he dropped out. But in 2006 after being out of church leadership for nearly 4 years God called him back. He helped start The Connection Community Church in his basement. 15 years later God is still showing himself faithful. The plan is often unknown. The questioning of self and the temptation to quit is ever present. Ministry is often filled with pressure. But this one lesson has continued to refresh him – God is faithful! We can trust him.
Here are some events to know about –
Tomorrow (9/17) is the Equip Regional Training Event at Alpha Baptist in Bolingbrook. Dinner is provided at 6:00 and breakouts start at 6:45 and go until 8:30 PM. Register yourself and/or your team here!
Next Wednesday (9/22) is Leading Major Change with Jeff Iorg at Crossroads Community Church in Carol Stream. Register for this free lunch, book, and seminar here.
The Ignite Evangelism Conference is coming up 9/26-27 at Tabernacle Baptist Church in Decatur. More info here.
There’s a Refocus Retreat for Men 10/29-30 at Streator Baptist Camp. Gather some men from your church and get away for a while. Check it out here.
Check out Youth Encounter (a youth evangelism event on 10/10) and AWSOM (a discipleship conference for teen girls 11/5-6) here and here.
The CMBA Annual Meeting is on 10/16 and the IBSA Pastors’ Conference and Annual Meeting: THRIVE is 11/2-4. More info here.
Here’s something else to know about – The Illinois Baptist newspaper is an award-winning monthly publication that helps you stay up to date on what’s going on in our state and beyond. If you aren’t getting your free print copy, you can subscribe here. The IBSA communications team also puts out a magazine 3 times a year titled Resource. All free to us as a result of our Cooperative Program giving!
We finished having lunches with all the different geographical clusters of pastors, but if we missed you and you want to grab lunch sometime, let us know! We’re working on our next idea for continuing to build comradery and collaboration among us Chicagoland Baptists.
And the next discussion topic for our call on 10/6 is “Trauma 101,” lead by Dr. Kevin Rowell.
For His Glory,
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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First Wednesdays of the Month are discussions from 9:00 to 10:00 AM.