Northeast Ohio Pastors Visit Southeast Florida

Hey Northeast Region family,

I pray that 2025 has started well for you.

A new year brings new opportunities and challenges but with the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit, we will be able to seize some of those opportunities and stand strong against the challenges we may face.

One of those opportunities is for us to build on our partnership with southeast Florida.
On January 8-10, several Northeast Region pastors and I traveled to southeast Florida for a Vision Trip.

We visited three, Broward, Miami-Dade, and the Florida Keys, and spent time with some amazing pastors who are serving the Lord and their communities. This was a great time of learning, fellowship, and encouragement.

We learned the following facts about our partner region in Florida:

• An estimated 6 million people live in Southeast Florida, from West Palm Beach to Miami.
• Approximately 200 languages are spoken in this region. It is truly a melting pot.
• Ethnic populations of Hispanics and Haitians are continuing to expand in the region.
• Miami-Dade County is the most populous county in Florida, and over 50% of its population was born outside of the United States.

Because of the immense diversity in southeast Florida in language and heritage, it can be a great first step for those interested in doing foreign missions.

Looking ahead, I’m praying that God will increasingly knit our fellowship together with southeast Florida and we will see northeast Ohio and southeast Florida associations and churches partnering together to reach more people for Jesus.

I hope you will join me in this prayer because both regions are ripe for harvest. To reap the harvest we need to partner with our brothers and sisters in Florida for the glory of King Jesus.

Be on the lookout for information coming from your association on how you and your church can get involved in what God is doing between these two regions.

If I can be of assistance, please feel free to reach out to me at sowens@scbo.org.