Illinois Baptist
Seeing your blind spots People who bug you can really help you Carmen Halsey P. 16
A Better Grip
in focus
on Leadership
Your church’s future hangs in the balance. News journal of the Illinois Baptist State Association
FEBRUARY 15, 2016 Vol. 110 No. 03
Lessons from the Illinois Leadership Summit P. 7-9
Annual Church Profiles
Tallies reveal challenge
Nonprofit Organization U.S. POSTAGE PAID Peoria, Illinois Permit No. 325
Good attendance tempered by fewer baptisms Illinois | For IBSA churches, 2015 was a year of ups and downs: giving and attendance were up, but baptisms were down. “It seems clear to me that being a Baptist here in Illinois, indeed being a Christian in America, is becoming increasingly counter-cultural,” IBSA executive director Nate Adams said. “We no longer reach people and grow churches simply by opening the doors on Sunday morning.” A rebounding economy and continued emphasis on missions giving may be behind a 1.53% increase in Cooperative Program giving to $6,230,082 (reported prior to completion of the annual audit) and a 10% hike in the Mission Illinois Offering last year at $403,595, according to the tallies of the Annual Church Profiles submitted by IBSA churches. Total membership is up by more than 1,000 in IBSA churches (to 193,972), and worship attendance is up by almost 5,000 (7.3%) over the P. 3
ANNIE ARMSTRONG SEASON
S’more for Jesus P. 12 TABLE TALK
Why ‘Baptist’ is still our middle name P. 13
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