David Smith, pastor of First Baptist Church, Grayville, Illinois, recently launched an initiative to clean the headstones of veterans buried in his town.
For six weeks prior to Memorial Day, he worked with church members and community residents to scrub about 1,000 veterans’ headstones, IBSA Newsjournal reported.
“What an honor it has been to clean our veterans’ markers and show them the respect we have for them,” Smith said, “and our appreciation for the freedoms we have.”
The 2026 Illinois Leadership Summit, held in Springfield January 20-21, featured four main session speakers discussing the hard work needed to reach the next generation.
Extreme cold and water pipes can be a bad combination. That was case Thursday (January 22) at Streator Baptist Camp in Streator, Illinois, when a water pipe in the kitchen ceiling froze and then burst creating a cold, wet and costly mess for the camp.
With less than two weeks remaining before Christmas and two days before the start of Hanukkah, there was no big announcement or splashy public signing.
Scott Foshie’s tenure as IBSA executive director officially begins April 1. But as of Jan. 1, he has a plan for his first 100 days. “In my apprenticeship season with Nate (Adams), which I am grateful for, I am also going to be in a deep listening season.”
