The September 13-20 Mission Illinois Offering and Week of Prayer is just days away. Is your church ready? Use this brief check list to make sure your church is prepared for the 2015 Mission Illinois Offering.

____ Posters hung in foyer, halls, classrooms 

____ Offering envelopes are in pews or bulletins

____ Bulletin inserts are ready for distribution 

____ Show the "Mission Illinois Offering Prayer/Launch" video Sept. 6

____ Show the "Mission Illinois Offering 2015: Together, in Concert" video Sept. 13

____ Pray for state missions in worship Sunday, Sept. 13

____ Collect the Mission Illinois Offering Sept. 13, Sept. 20, until we surpass the goal

 

You can schedule a special prayer meeting, missions study, and more using the resources found at IBSA.org/mio. To order additional materials, including the 31-day prayer guide, e-mail [email protected]

Mission Illinois Offering: Two great questions, two great answers

Show this video in worship. Post it on your Facebook page. Tweet it. Encourage your church to prepare to pray and give.
Show this "MIO: Prayer/Launch" video in worship. Post it on your Facebook page. Tweet it. Pin it. Encourage your church to prepare to pray and give.
A pastor recently wrote to IBSA Executive Director Nate Adams to ask a couple of questions about the state missions offering. The questions were excellent and so were the answers. We think they may help you as you explain to your congregation why we support the Mission Illinois Offering.

1. If you were here at our church during the Mission Illinois Offering season, what one thing would you tell us about MIO?
 
100% of the Mission Illinois Offering stays here in Illinois to focus on the evangelistic strengthening and starting of churches here in our home state. Right now there are around 80 new churches in Illinois in some stage of getting started, with about 25 new churches being planted each year.
 
Your Mission Illinois Offering allows us to nurture and help establish these churches, along with more than 750 existing churches whose leaders our staff helps train and strengthen each year, in areas ranging from evangelism and discipleship to Vacation Bible School, Worship & Technology, children's ministry, and leadership development.
 
We also help churches navigate transitions and challenges, such as finding new pastors and addressing legal and financial challenges. As a result, together those churches baptize almost 5,000 new believers each year.
 
2. What makes the Mission Illinois Offering unique from Cooperative Program giving to the Illinois Baptist State Association? What special thing does it do?
 
The Mission Illinois Offering really supports all that we do as cooperating Illinois Baptists, as does the Cooperative Program. But with funding from the North American Mission Board shifting almost exclusively to church planting in the major cities, the MIO enables us to continue supporting ministries in Illinois that NAMB has moved away from.
 
For example, the Christian Activity Center in East St. Louis, collegiate ministry on 30 college campuses in Illinois, Women's Ministry and Missions, including Illinois WMU, and Missions Mobilization staff that plan and assist Illinois Baptists in multiple mission trips and experiences each year.
 
The Mission Illinois Offering helps us focus on missions and ministries that are unique and important to Illinois Baptists, even if those are not priorities of the national SBC entities.