Let’s Make Disciples of Jesus Christ 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” 27 She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.”The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Jn 11:2...  Read More

The harvest is here in Ohio, and laborers are needed.With over ninety percent of Ohio’s twelve million people unchurched, we need more planters, pastors, and churches here in the Buckeye state! The Scriptures not only provide an exhortation but also an encouragement to help us reach more with the Gospel of Christ. Jesus told us in Luke 10:2, “And he said to them, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the...  Read More

By John Heading, Ohio Disaster Relief directorEconomists have determined that the work of Disaster Relief (DR) volunteers is worth $28 per hour.This is important because each county can include DR hours into their total loss for reimbursement from government emergency declaration grants. Ohio DR does not receive any of the grant money.However, the value of Disaster Relief is worth much more to the...  Read More

Stephen Spurgin is the 2024 recipient of the Darty and Dot Stowe Award which was presented on November 12, during the SCBO Annual Celebration at Jersey Church, New Albany. Spurgin is the 30th recipient of the award.Each year, the award is given in memory of Darty and Dot Stowe who served Ohio Baptists from 1954 to 1981. It is presented to a pastor or minister who has served faithfully, never recog...  Read More

By Scott Barkley, chief national correspondent, Baptist Press.NEW LEXINGTON, Ohio (BP) — When it comes to Southern Baptist Disaster Relief, the physical nature of the work calls for strong bodies. However, it also calls for experience and maturity useful in ministering to those days or even hours removed from a natural disaster. And as said natural disasters don’t schedule their arrival, you need ...  Read More

By Stephanie Heading, managing editorThe Pastor’s Conference kicked off the 2024 SCBO Annual Celebration at Jersey Church, New Albany, on Monday, November 11, featuring messages from four Ohio pastors.SCBO President Adam Pursel invited the pastors to challenge and encourage their counterparts from across the state. The Worship Team from Lifepoint Church, Mount Vernon, led vibrant praise and worshi...  Read More

By Stephanie Heading, Ohio Baptist Messenger, managing editorOver 330 messengers, guests, and exhibitors from across Ohio gathered at Jersey Church in New Albany, Ohio for the 2024 State Convention of Baptists in Ohio (SCBO) Annual Celebration, November 11-12.The Annual Meeting celebrated God’s work in Ohio as well as cast vision for the future as SCBO Executive Director-Treasurer Dr. Jeremy Westb...  Read More

By John Heading, SCBO Disaster Relief state directorFlexibility is important in Disaster Relief (DR) ministry.Disaster situations change rapidly, so DR teams must be flexible and willing to pivot on a moment's notice.Since two catastrophic hurricanes, Helene and Milton, roared through the southeastern United States, Southern Baptist Disaster Relief (SBDR) teams have been on the ground in the impac...  Read More

By Stephanie Heading, managing editorPastor Tony Lambert has a heart for reaching the unchurched.For the past 16 years, Lambert and the members of his church plant, Real Joy Community Fellowship, Chillicothe, have done whatever it takes to reach the unchurched in Ross County.Lambert’s call to plant Real Joy came in an unusual way. The Lord used a canceled mission trip, a thunderstorm, and an unchu...  Read More

By Matt Pardi, SCBO Northwest Region catalystLifeWise Academy is alive and well in the Northwest Ohio Region.LifeWise Academy is a nonprofit organization that provides Bible education to public school students during school hours off campus.The 1952 U.S. Supreme Court decision Zorach v. Clauson determined that teaching the Bible during the public school day was constitutional and therefore legal i...  Read More

By Kirby Mitchell, CampUCAN director Growing up in mostly female-led homes and living below the poverty line in Ohio’s inner cities, they are fatherless, hopeless, frustrated, and hostile. To many they seem unreachable, unwilling, fed up, lost, broken, hurting, alone, and struggling.CampUCAN, SCBOs outreach to urban young men, ages 9-15, aims to combat the challenges these young men face with the ...  Read More

By Send Relief StaffThere were a million reasons Julie couldn’t address the roofing issues in her home. Being widowed made house repairs difficult. Then there was her age and declining health. And with kids constantly scurrying around her house—two grandchildren she was raising on her own—roofing repairs felt as far out of reach as the sky.When neighbors reported that Julie’s roof was falling apar...  Read More

By Stephanie Heading, managing editorGod is at work in Kenya and He personally invited Phil Duncan to be part of it.Pastor Phil Duncan, retired pastor of evangelism and discipleship, Jersey Church, and Pastor Fredrick Masha of Chalfisi Baptist Church in Gede, Kenya, met in the early 2000s when Masha visited America. Duncan invited him to stay in his home and mentored the young pastor.During his ti...  Read More

By Jeff Singerman, retired IMB missionaryMy wife Barbara and I became missionaries with the International Mission Board (IMB) over 34 years ago in Benin, a French speaking West African country. Benin is known as the birthplace of voodoo and its 54 people groups desperately need to know the Creator God, Jesus Christ. We were privileged to see scores of churches planted and thousands come to Christ ...  Read More

By Stephanie Heading, managing editorThe world’s greatest problem: LostnessThe percentage of unreached people in the world: 59%The number of unreached people in the world: 4.6 BillionThe solution to the problem of lostness: The GospelOver 150 Ohio Baptists gathered on Saturday, September 14 at First Baptist Church, Kettering, to learn how to combat the world’s greatest problem—lostness.Together fo...  Read More

Hello, SCBO ministry wives. Let me introduce myself. I am Jennifer Westbrook, wife of Dr. Jeremy Westbrook, SCBO executive director. My husband and I have served in ministry since 2002. We have worked in youth ministry, college ministry, and church planting, as well as other ministries, and it has been an exciting journey with many faith moments along the way.Throughout our ministry, there are thi...  Read More