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.”
Leadership transitions are common in life. A boss retires. An incumbent loses an election. A pastor moves to another church. A parent leaves or passes away. … Having experienced all those leadership transitions, I’ve learned they can be both good and bad, depending on the people, the situations and how well the transition is planned and implemented.
Redefine your measurements for success if you want to reach the next generation, said Seth Conerly, pastor of Metro Community Church in Illinois.
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.
