Things to Know (July)

what God is doing among Chicagoland Baptists

Nathan Carter

Jul 14, 2022

There are 13 Chicagoland Baptist churches that worship in the Korean language and are part of the Korean Baptist Fellowship. On Sunday night I was invited to speak to their quarterly meeting about the vision for Chicagoland Baptists. I drew from the example of the church in Antioch in the book of Acts. I had 3 points:

1) Antioch was the Chicago of the first century. It was the third largest city in the Roman Empire, dense, diverse, dark… Rodney Stark writes that “Antioch was a city filled with hatred and fear rooted in intense ethnic antagonisms and exacerbated by a constant stream of strangers.” Sound familiar?

2) The gospel did something amazing in Antioch! Some believers went there and preached the Lord Jesus to non-Jews and a great number believed. People from different ethnic groups started coming together to worship the one true God. The world had never seen anything like it before and they had to come up with a new name for it – “Christians” (Acts 11:19ff).

3) The church at Antioch was part of an Association. The church in Jerusalem sent Barnabas to come encourage them. He helped them with their pastoral search process and connected them with Paul. They sent financial resources to help the churches of Judea during a famine. They sent out some of their best to plant other churches (Acts 13:1ff) and loved to hear updates of what God was doing (Acts 14:27).

What a picture of what can happen in a place like Chicagoland through churches cooperating together for mission! May we see a great many people added to the Lord through us!

Here is someone to know about – Pastor Jorge Rodriguez.

A native from Venezuela who’s considered Chicago home for 18 years, Jorge is the Lead Pastor at Grace Family Church – a multiethnic and multigenerational urban church in Rogers Park. He and his family planted the church in 2019. Jorge has a B.A. in Pastoral Ministry from Moody Bible Institute, and an M.A. in Ministry Leadership from Moody Theological Seminary. In November he will celebrate 25 years of God’s grace in marriage to Belkis, who works as programming coordinator for Radio Moody. Together, they have three grown children – Abigail, Aviel, and Aidán, and as a “familia” they live on mission in Rogers Park.

Previously, God has used Jorge to plant bi-lingual churches in Miami, lead multicultural church mergers, and serve as pastor in both urban and suburban settings of the U.S. He currently serves on the side with NAMB and Send Network English/Español training church planters in Chicagoland and soon helping develop local church residencies in Spanish. Personally, he is passionate about training healthy church planters and seeing the gospel of Christ cross ethnic, economic, and language barriers in local churches for the glory of God and the good of the city.

Here are some events to know about –

We have a Prayer Call every Wednesday from 9:00 to 9:30 AM. Just click here to join (or dial 331-218-1983 | Conference ID: 844 262 125#). It’s the same link every week.
The first Wednesday of every month from 9:00 to 10:00 AM we turn those calls into a Discussion around a relevant topic. On 8/3 we’ll be talking about “Social Media and Ministry”
Upcoming Regional Lunches for fellowship:
- NORTH (8/25) – Noon at First Baptist of Elk Grove Village | Devotional by Jorge Rodriguez
- WEST (9/29) – Noon at Gospelife in Carol Stream.
- SOUTH (10/27) – Details TBD
LAST CALL: There is still room if you have any kids who have completed grades 3-12 that would like to come to our Chicagoland Camp at Streator (7/28-30). It’s just $25 with Discount Code: Chicagoland2022. Register now by going here!
If you would like to go with me to any of these conferences this fall, just let me know and I will pay your registration:
- Lead the City (9/9-10)
- A Noble Task (9/19)
- Exponential Chicago (10/12-13)
- Gospel Coalition Chicago (10/21-22)
Mark your calendars for IBSA’s Ignite Evangelism Conference (9/18-19).
The All Church Equipping Conference (ACEC) is back! Plan to bring your leaders (10/14-15)!
Our Annual Meeting will be held on 11/12. This year’s theme is “Stories of Revitalization.”
Looking for a way to do a service project? We’re trying to get Chicagoland Baptists to fill 200 backpacks for refugee children going to school here this fall. We’ve already got 110 done. Would you consider participating? More info here.

Here is something else to know about –

Through the ComEd Small Business Energy Efficiency Program your church can receive a free energy assessment of your building and possible upgrades at NO COST to you. For example, replacing your fluorescent light tubes with LED strips uses up to 83% less energy. Contact JP Paulus, a former member/staff at Uptown Baptist Church who now works with ComEd, to set up your appointment. Here’s his info: 312-282-2809 | jp@do-gooder.us

Don’t forget to get your Annual Church Profiles (ACPs) in!

If you want to make a donation to Chicagoland Baptists, contact our Office Manager – Mindy Cobb – to find out ways to give.

For the Sake of the Name,