Things to Know (February)

The monthly newsletter for Chicagoland Baptists

Feb 15, 2025

A couple weeks ago I went to Dallas for a day. I was there to visit Guidestone and hear how they can help pastors start well, stay well, and end well. For example, check out www.guidestone.org/pastor for all kinds of explainers, tools, and resources.

Guidestone is best known for handling retirement accounts for Southern Baptist pastors and ministry staff. They manage over $20 billion in assets, making them the largest faith-based financial company in the nation.

I think it’s a no-brainer that every SBC pastor should have a 403(b)(9) account with Guidestone. Here’s some of why:

Your church can contribute to it for you and it doesn’t show up as taxable income.
Simply by opening this account and contributing a minimum of $50/month, you are qualified for a free death benefit up to $100,000 and disability benefit of $500/month. See here for more info.
When you take money out of this 403(b)(9) after retirement, you can designate it as “Housing Allowance” and not have to pay taxes on it then either.

If you have further questions or need any assistance speaking with your church about pastoral compensation, I’d be glad to help! Just reach out.

Here is somewhere to know about – Harvey

According to Wikipedia, “Harvey was founded in 1891 by Turlington W. Harvey, a close associate of Dwight Moody, the founder of the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago. Harvey was originally intended as a model town for Christian values and was one of the Temperance Towns.” Today Harvey has a declining population of about 20,000. Over 30% of residents live below the poverty level. And in response to struggling finances, the city’s government is threatening churches with fines if they don’t maintain business licenses (see here to read more about this).

This month we’ve been praying for Chicagoland Baptist churches in the south suburbs, including three in the city of Harvey – Holy Bible, St. Mark, and Universal. Keep praying for their witness in Harvey…

Here are some events to know about –

Weekly Prayer Calls every Wednesday from 9:00 to 9:30 AM. Just click here to join anytime.
Monthly Discussions on the first Wednesday of the month from 9:00 to 10:00 AM.
On 3/5 our topic will be – “Sending Missionaries” with Quintell Hill and Jeff Waligora from IMB.
Upcoming Pastors’ Lunches for fellowship:
- CENTRAL (2/20) – Noon at Uptown Baptist Church | RSVP HERE
- NORTH (3/27) – Noon at Golf Road Baptist Church | RSVP HERE
- WEST (4/24) – Noon at TBD | RSVP HERE
- SOUTH (5/29) – Noon at Divine Word Ministries | RSVP HERE
There are still a few seats left on the Prayer Bus! Don’t miss this opportunity to get a glimpse of God’s work across Chicagoland and pray for more. Sign up here. If you can’t be on the bus, consider joining us at one of the following stops on 2/22:
- Golf Road Baptist Church (501 W. Golf Rd, Des Plaines) at 8:00 AM.
- Empowerment Community Church of Chicago (649 N. Cicero Ave, Chicago) at 10:30 AM.
- Iglesia Bautista Misionera North Avenue (4917 W. Medill Ave, Chicago) at 11:50 AM.
- Uptown Baptist Church (1011 W. Wilson Avenue, Chicago) at 1:50 PM.
Our 14^th annual Women’s Conference is coming up on 3/1, hosted at Love Fellowship Baptist Church in Romeoville. More info here.
Save the following dates:
- Minister’s Wives & Widows Luncheon at the Garfield Park Conservatory – 9/27
- ACEC – 10/17-18
- Chicagoland Baptists Annual Meeting – 11/15

Here is something else to know about –

George Liele, a freed slave from Georgia, was the first overseas missionary sent from America! You can read more about him here. 2/2 was the George Liele Church Planting, Evangelism, and Missions Sunday seeking to celebrate and continue his legacy. The National African American Fellowship of the SBC (NAAF) is sponsoring a mission trip to the place where Liele took the gospel – Jamaica – 6/19-24. Consider joining other Chicagoland Baptists who will be going this summer. More info here.

For the Sake of the Name,

Nathan Carter

Chicagoland Baptists

Executive Director/AMS

1356 N. Rockwell Street, Chicago, IL 60622

nathancarter@chicagolandbaptists.org

312.493.3726

You can see a map of all the member churches of Chicagoland Baptists here.

You can apply to officially affiliate with Chicagoland Baptists here.

You can donate to Chicagoland Baptists here.

You can see past editions of ‘Things to Know’ here.

You can sign up for our weekly ‘A Quick Word’ here.

The mission of Chicagoland Baptists is to facilitate relationships among the Baptist churches of this Great City so that they can more effectively fulfill the Great Commission.

Here are our state and national partners for resourcing the church and reaching the lost: