PART 1: THE MINISTRY CONTEXT
THE ILLINOIS GREAT RIVERS CONFERENCE MINISTRY CONTEXT
Demographics of the Ministry Context
The Illinois Great Rivers Conference
lives within a demographic context of three and a half million people dwelling
in the southern two-thirds of the state of Illinois. The basic migration
patterns westward were over the Great Lakes to Chicago and through the
Cumberland Gap in Tennessee. The latter explains a significant Southern
cultural influence in downstate Illinois.
 The quote is a selection from David O. Kueker’s Fuller Seminary Doctor of Ministry project submitted in September, 2007, entitled Diagnosis, Dialogue, and Decision: A Threefold Process of Revitalization For the Illinois Great Rivers Conference.
It is shared here in recognition of its 12th Anniversary along with comments to update and provide perspective on the material. The original project was a Training Manual/Study Guide of three Seminars supported by three chapters of research and an Introduction. The material is available for download at www.disciplewalk.com/Resources.html. In 2009 it was provided for purchase as a softcover book entitled Designing Discipleship Systems: Christian Disciple Making For Any Size Church, Any Theology through CreateSpace.com.
   
All Scripture quotations are from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1946, 1952, and 1971 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Please review the page How and Why We Use Quotes.
Abraham Lincoln’s family migrated to Illinois through Tennessee, then Kentucky and southern Indiana to finally settle at New Salem northwest of Springfield. The Southern influence is not aristocratic but largely one of rural poverty. Harold Henderson discusses the conflicts of blending three cultural groups in Illinois, which he terms “upland Southerners, Midlanders and Yankees.” Harold Henderson, “Who We Are,” Illinois Issues: A Publication of the University of Illinois at Springfield 24, no. 5 (May 1998), under http://www.lib.niu.edu/ipo/1998/ii980512.html(accessed June 18, 2007). Cf. Gregory Rodriguez, “Where the Two Americas Collide,” Los Angeles Times, October 1, 2006, under http://www.newamerica.net/ publications/articles/2006/where_the_two_americas_collide (accessed June 18, 2007).