Illinois Baptist
Calling the next generation
It’s a pastor’s job to make the nature of ministry clear Heath Tibbetts P. 13
mission
CONVENTION
Can we have virtual messengers? Reporter’s Notebook P. 6
DISASTER RELIEF
Helping hands Workers aid after storms hit northern counties P. 4
ASSOCIATIONS
Stronger and closer
Getting the job done From Chicago to Cairo, it’s a season of service
Building better relationships with churches and leaders
mission
INSIDE: Student groups and mission teams on scene all summer long. Photos and story, P. 7
P. 5
eclipse News journal of the Illinois Baptist State Association
AUGUST 14, 2017
Nonprofit Organization U.S. POSTAGE PAID Peoria, Illinois Permit No. 325
Vol. 111 No. 11
People in Illinois need the gospel
Cover your eyes But open your heart during rare outreach opportunity
Carbondale | When the sun goes dark Aug. 21, southern Illinois will be one of the best places to catch the first total solar eclipse visible from the U.S. since 1979. Churches in the region, along with others across the country, are planning to use the event as an opportunity to share the gospel. Everyone in the contiguous U.S. will be able to see at least a partial eclipse, but the 70-mile-wide “path of totality,” in which a total eclipse will be visible, will pass through 14 states, including Illinois. Makanda, Ill., located just south of Carbondale, has been cited as the “greatest point of duration,” or the place where the eclipse will be visible the longest—2 minutes and 38 seconds, according to a city website devoted to sharing eclipse information. Lakeland Baptist Church in Carbondale hosted an area-wide prayer and worship rally Aug. 14 to spiritually prepare for the influx of people. And Nine Mile Baptist Association, through a partnership with IBSA, plans to distribute 50,000 gospel tracts during the weekend prior to the eclipse. Additionally, people will be stationed at each of Carbondale’s four entry points to pray over P. 3
NOW
Pray for state missions September 10-17 P. 11
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