SCBO Welcomes New Senior Staff Member
A familiar face is returning to Ohio, bringing his ministry experience to benefit SCBO and Ohio Baptists.
On August 1, Dr. Ryan Strother will join the SCBO team as Director of Convention Support. He previously served as the Executive Director of the State Convention of Baptists in Indiana.
As the pastor of Central Baptist Church, Marion, Ohio, for 12 years, Strother also served SCBO from 2016-2020 in three leadership positions – President, 1st Vice President, and 2nd Vice President.
Since 2009, Strother, his wife, Nikki, and their five children, ages 16-12, have called Ohio home, and he is excited to minister again in the Buckeye State.
“We’ve lived in Marion since 2009,” Strother said. "That's where I started in a lead pastoral role.”
Both Ryan and Nikki grew up in Maryland and lived outside of Baltimore before moving to Ohio.
“We were not Midwesterners. We were East Coast people, but when we came here, it didn’t take long for us to say ‘We are Midwesterners.’”
Returning to ministry in Ohio feels special to Strother and his family.
“Every place you’ve ever served, there are always memories there. There are always things that you’ll cherish. And so in a lot of ways, this is a homecoming for us.”
"The Lord's timing is always perfect,” said Dr. Jeremy Westbrook, SCBO executive director.
“What a joy it is to welcome back Dr. Ryan Strother to SCBO. His title will be the Director of Convention Support, and he will serve on the Senior Staff, but Ryan has been doing that for years in his previous roles serving Ohio Baptists. Please join me in welcoming back the Strother family."
In his new role, Strother’s ministry focus will be on Ohio’s pastors and churches.
“I will support anything in the area of pastoral wellness, church support, and church health initiatives,” he said.
In addition, he will also work with SCBO Prayer and Association Consultant Steve Hopkins.
“I’ll be blessed to work alongside Steve Hopkins still for a little while at least,” he said. “I talked to him and I said, ‘I hope you still do this for 20 more years.’ He didn’t commit to that, but I’ll work with him on prayer initiatives and associational relationships. I’m really looking forward to jumping in there.”
Strother is also looking forward to bringing his experience, skills, and abilities to support the SCBO staff and Dr. Jeremy Westbrook’s vision for Ohio.
“I know one of the things he’s charged me with is how to provide counseling services to pastors in the state. That’s in my wheelhouse. That’ll be a fun project to tackle in the first few months – just how do we serve pastors best?”
Strother is in a unique position to understand the needs of pastors in the local church since he grew up in a pastor’s home, and his grandfather was also a pastor.
“I’m a third-generation minister, which was not my choice,” he recalled. “I wanted to have a real job and be a normal church member.”
After a year as a middle school social studies teacher, he realized the Lord was calling him to ministry.
His grandfather, who fought in World War II, served churches into his nineties, and his father is still ministering today in his seventies.
“He pastored the same church all of my childhood. He was there until I moved out and married. So I saw longevity. I saw what the fruit of that could be.”
These examples influence the goals he has for his ministry at SCBO.
“I want to see pastors in the pulpits longer. I want to see churches actually baptizing, seeing people saved, doing what we’re doing on mission, and not becoming so self-focused.
“We celebrate that baptism rates have been up in Ohio; they were up in Indiana last year, too. We’re celebrating that for sure. I want to see that number go up. We need to see more churches. We need all of this, and we can work together, and we can see so much of this happen.”
He also hopes to make sure that pastors in Ohio have their emotional needs met and have the freedom to hurt and feel the struggles they might not yet acknowledge.
“There are so many things along those lines, but I really hope to bring that to the table,” he said. “I just hope no pastor feels alone. There are people with them, and they know there’s support. They know that brothers and sisters will lock arms and say, ‘No, we’re with you in this. Let’s keep going.’”
On August 1, Dr. Ryan Strother will join the SCBO team as Director of Convention Support. He previously served as the Executive Director of the State Convention of Baptists in Indiana.
As the pastor of Central Baptist Church, Marion, Ohio, for 12 years, Strother also served SCBO from 2016-2020 in three leadership positions – President, 1st Vice President, and 2nd Vice President.
Since 2009, Strother, his wife, Nikki, and their five children, ages 16-12, have called Ohio home, and he is excited to minister again in the Buckeye State.
“We’ve lived in Marion since 2009,” Strother said. "That's where I started in a lead pastoral role.”
Both Ryan and Nikki grew up in Maryland and lived outside of Baltimore before moving to Ohio.
“We were not Midwesterners. We were East Coast people, but when we came here, it didn’t take long for us to say ‘We are Midwesterners.’”
Returning to ministry in Ohio feels special to Strother and his family.
“Every place you’ve ever served, there are always memories there. There are always things that you’ll cherish. And so in a lot of ways, this is a homecoming for us.”
"The Lord's timing is always perfect,” said Dr. Jeremy Westbrook, SCBO executive director.
“What a joy it is to welcome back Dr. Ryan Strother to SCBO. His title will be the Director of Convention Support, and he will serve on the Senior Staff, but Ryan has been doing that for years in his previous roles serving Ohio Baptists. Please join me in welcoming back the Strother family."
In his new role, Strother’s ministry focus will be on Ohio’s pastors and churches.
“I will support anything in the area of pastoral wellness, church support, and church health initiatives,” he said.
In addition, he will also work with SCBO Prayer and Association Consultant Steve Hopkins.
“I’ll be blessed to work alongside Steve Hopkins still for a little while at least,” he said. “I talked to him and I said, ‘I hope you still do this for 20 more years.’ He didn’t commit to that, but I’ll work with him on prayer initiatives and associational relationships. I’m really looking forward to jumping in there.”
Strother is also looking forward to bringing his experience, skills, and abilities to support the SCBO staff and Dr. Jeremy Westbrook’s vision for Ohio.
“I know one of the things he’s charged me with is how to provide counseling services to pastors in the state. That’s in my wheelhouse. That’ll be a fun project to tackle in the first few months – just how do we serve pastors best?”
Strother is in a unique position to understand the needs of pastors in the local church since he grew up in a pastor’s home, and his grandfather was also a pastor.
“I’m a third-generation minister, which was not my choice,” he recalled. “I wanted to have a real job and be a normal church member.”
After a year as a middle school social studies teacher, he realized the Lord was calling him to ministry.
His grandfather, who fought in World War II, served churches into his nineties, and his father is still ministering today in his seventies.
“He pastored the same church all of my childhood. He was there until I moved out and married. So I saw longevity. I saw what the fruit of that could be.”
These examples influence the goals he has for his ministry at SCBO.
“I want to see pastors in the pulpits longer. I want to see churches actually baptizing, seeing people saved, doing what we’re doing on mission, and not becoming so self-focused.
“We celebrate that baptism rates have been up in Ohio; they were up in Indiana last year, too. We’re celebrating that for sure. I want to see that number go up. We need to see more churches. We need all of this, and we can work together, and we can see so much of this happen.”
He also hopes to make sure that pastors in Ohio have their emotional needs met and have the freedom to hurt and feel the struggles they might not yet acknowledge.
“There are so many things along those lines, but I really hope to bring that to the table,” he said. “I just hope no pastor feels alone. There are people with them, and they know there’s support. They know that brothers and sisters will lock arms and say, ‘No, we’re with you in this. Let’s keep going.’”
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