As your SCBO Worship Consultant, I want our worship leaders to be able to learn from the best worship ministry trainers in the world.

That’s why I’m excited to share that Paul Baloche will be our guest artist for Worship 4:24 on January 30-31, 2026!

Paul brings a wealth of worship leading, songwriting, pastoral, and training experience to our conference. He served for 25 years as a worship pastor, while winning three Dove Awards across 12 albums recorded through Integrity Music.

Paul deeply cares about pastoring the teams he leads and has become known as an incredible worship teacher and trainer through his master classes and video resources, with millions of views on YouTube. A vast amount of this training is available for free on his YouTube channel and his website Leadworship.com.

You probably have heard some songs from the early 2000s that Paul has written, including “Open the Eyes of My Heart” or “Hosanna (Praise is Rising)”…we sang these all the time growing up. But my favorite Paul Baloche song is one he wrote more recently in 2020: “Behold Him.” It’s a modern, but beautifully simple song about beholding Jesus as He truly is. HeartSong teams from Cedarville University lead this song, and for good reason. It’s a fantastic song that I commend to our churches.

I’m asking every SCBO church to send at least one worship leader or team member to Worship 4:24 this year, whether they’re a volunteer song leader trying to help keep the ship afloat or an instrumentalist or a tech team member. If they come, they’ll get to soak in worship training from a true, faithful veteran of worship ministry in Paul Baloche, and go to breakouts that give them tools to solve problems and lead more effectively.

If you are a pastor and you want to learn how to lead worship leaders, come with your worship leader. We’re planning breakouts tailored just for you.

The conference will be hosted again at Cedarville University. We love Cedarville. Thank you to the Cedarville Worship Department and leadership for making this possible year after year.
Bottom line: Pastors, I’m really excited for you, your worship leader, and your worship team to get to learn about best practices in worship ministry from Paul and his team, and for us to worship together this January.

Now, I say this every year, and this is the secret: if you register your team today, it will only cost $50 per adult and $25 per student. Don’t wait to lock in this price, it will go up as we get closer.

Also, for your 14-18 year olds, please encourage them to attend the Weekend of Worship on Thursday! It adds a bonus day to the conference! You’ll get to meet Paul and his team, spend time with worship bands from Cedarville, and select bands will get a chance to play and receive feedback from worship professionals.

Register your team today at worship424.com, and lock in a great price for an incredible conference for your whole worship team.

Throughout 2025, SCBO is celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the Cooperative Program with “CP100,” a series of interviews highlighting the impact of the Cooperative Program on churches and individuals in each of Ohio’s six regions.

This month, CP100 is visiting Ohio’s West Region.

For almost 34 years, Ohioans Jeff and Barbara Singerman served as International Mission Board missionaries, sharing the gospel and seeing thousands come to Christ in Benin and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Cooperative Program funded their ministry as well as the efforts of all International Mission Board missionaries who work to fight the world’s biggest problem: lostness.
 
Don’t miss CP100 – Episode Five: Jeff and Barbara Singerman, retired IMB missionaries.

Heather Wagoner, a lifelong musician and southwest Ohio native, serves as the Worship Minister for Grace Point Fellowship, Franklin, the church she helped plant in 2015, alongside her husband, Lead Pastor Reagan Wagoner. She loves being mom to their four beautiful kids, Reese, Ty, Tess, and Presley, good coffee, and getting herself into more DIY projects at home than she can actually handle. Heather graduated from Gateway Seminary in 2025, where she earned a Master’s in Educational Leadership.

The outdoor patio at Pizza Cottage in Pickerington was the location for the “Called to Ministry” lunch gathering in early August.
 
Thirteen full and part-time youth leaders took time to invest in 12 young adults who are exploring a call to ministry. We handed out “Calling Out the Called” books by Scott Pace and Shane Pruitt of NAMB to the pastors and youth leaders at the meeting.

After connecting around lunch, we interviewed those in ministry on topics including: defining a call to ministry; discovering your specific area of ministry; balancing family and ministry; paying for college and seminary; living on a ministry salary; and establishing a “rhythm of rest” that will avoid burnout.

It was wonderful to see the interactions around the table and how eager the ministry candidates were to learn from the experienced ministry veterans. It is encouraging to see how God is still calling and raising up young leaders to lead the church into the future.

Please feel free to reach out if you have questions about Super Summer, our Student Leadership program, or if there is any way that I can be of assistance at khurt@scbo.org.

Let’s keep raising up Next Gen leaders together!  

While working in a well-established career in city planning and development in Licking County, Chris Harkness felt the Lord calling and preparing him for a ministry in church planting.

“He had been slowly kind of moving us towards ministry,” Chris said. “We felt like he was speaking very clearly to us for maybe eight years. So it was like we knew he was moving us into ministry, but we were waiting on him to make it clear as to when and how and what we were supposed to do.”

During those eight years, the Lord gave Chris opportunities in his local church for increased leadership, preaching, and teaching as well as the chance to lead young families and groups.
A few years later, he and his wife, Kari, sensed that the time had come. “It was time to get really prepared for something,” he said. “So I actually entered seminary and we began preparing.”

Also during this preparation period, the couple began to feel an immense draw to relocate their family near the village of Fultonham, population 115, in Muskingum County.

“I have all kinds of family connections here,” he noted.“This is where I grew up, and so when the Lord was moving and making it clear, he actually moved us back out here.”

Chris thought the move would be a temporary situation, enabling his family to live close to his parents as he prepared for what the Lord had next. He believed he would go to seminary, get ready, and then the Lord would send him, his wife, and five children where he wanted them to go.
 
Following the move to the Fultonham area, Chris and his family left the church they were attending and started a house church in their garage, and the house church grew to 20-25 people.

Then the Lord brought a need to Chris’s attention.

“The Lord connected us with a church that was literally half a mile up the street from our house,” he said. “It was essentially dying, and they were praying to the Lord.”

Only four or five members were left in the 200-year-old church, and a little 89-year-old woman was leading the group to pray and ask the Lord to provide, because they were at a loss.
“They had no pastor. They had lost virtually their entire congregation, and they were down to basically wanting to sell off the building and just kinda move on, almost, unless the Lord was going to provide. And he did.”

The 20-25 people in the house church connected with the dying church, and Chris knew this was the plan the Lord had laid out for him and his family. The house church and the struggling church merged and launched Uniontown Baptist Church with Chris as the pastor.

“Well, what we actually found out was he had already moved us to the place he wanted us,” Chris said. “And so we didn’t move, because he wanted to send us somewhere else. This was the plan.”

Pastor Brian Moffatt, Friendship Baptist Church, New Concord, came alongside Chris and Uniontown Baptist Church and connected them to Send Network, the church planting arm of NAMB.

“They’ve been a blessing,” Chris said. Chris was still working in city planning for Licking County and replanting the church, but his connection with Send Network helped him make one big life change.

“Send Network kind of helped us go all in with the ministry. A year and a half ago, I left that job in Licking County to become a full-time Replant Pastor here at Uniontown Baptist Church.”
Today, Uniontown BC has about 60 people on Sundays, and the church is working hard to become an integral part of its community.

“This is definitely where the Lord has sent us to share the gospel message for this community.”

Urbancrest Baptist Church hosted the 27th Annual Urbancrest Golf Classic on Friday, August 22. We were honored to have 100 golfers participate in the event. The golfers were treated to a Chick-fil-A breakfast sandwich and a player gift bag at check-in. Foursomes played 18 holes of golf on one of the best days of weather this year.

Following golf, we joined together for the Awards Lunch, which featured a meal from City BBQ and prize drawings. We were honored to have retired Cincinnati Bengals kickers Jim Breech and Doug Pelfrey in attendance. Doug shared his personal testimony of how he came to know Christ as Lord and Savior.

We were blessed to have one person give his life to Christ, as well as several prayer requests.

The focus of the day was to raise funds for Ohio Disaster Relief. We were honored to present a check for $16,500 to Dr. Jeremy Westbrook, SCBO executive director and Dr. John Heading, Ohio Disaster Relief director.

Once again, it’s time to think about getting involved with the Christmas Backpack Program. 
This program is a lifeline for children living in the Appalachian areas of Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee and West Virginia.  

I’m asking every church to please consider packing backpacks this year! They not only help the children but also impact the families who receive them with items that are needed, as well as the Christmas story. What a perfect way to spread the love of Jesus.
 
Last year, we were able to send 400 backpacks. I know we can do more this year for this very important cause. Will you join me and collect Christmas Backpacks?

If you need help or have any questions, please feel free to call me or email me at christmasbackpacksohio@gmail.com. My phone number is 513-518-7051. Download the Christmas story and the gift suggestions at https://scbo.org/christmas-backpacks.

Thank you for your support!

In 2024-2025, 52 churches have been planted or replanted in Ohio, and each one was led by a church planter.

However, before Ohio church planters move from sensing the Lord’s call to starting a church, many seek the expertise and training available from Send Network Ohio.

Send Network Ohio is part of Send Network, the largest church planting organization in North America and a division of the North American Mission Board. (NAMB)

“We’re a family of churches, planting churches everywhere for everyone,” said Aaron Taylor, Send Network Ohio church planting catalyst and pastor of Living Hope Church, an eight-year-old church plant in northwest Columbus.
 
“Networks don’t plant churches. Conventions don’t plant churches,” he said. “We believe churches plant churches.”

From expressing interest to launching a church, Send Network Ohio guides hopeful church planters through “The Church Planting Pathway.”
 
The pathway includes a process known as “PACE,” which stands for Prepare, Assess, Care, and Equip.

In the Prepare component, church planter candidates are evaluated in nine characteristics or competencies.
 
“It centers on this idea of nine essentials for being a faithful and effective church planter,” Taylor explained. “We want to make sure that they have spent adequate time preparing for what they believe God has called them to.”

The Assess step is next and involves numerous online questionnaires.

“One of the things I really appreciate about Send Network is the robust nature of our assessment process,” Taylor commented. “We are really doing our best to spend adequate time making sure that all the right pieces are in place to set these guys up for not only their personal health, their marital health, and their family health, but also the health of the church they believe God has called them to.”

The assessment dives into all areas of a potential church planter’s life.

“We ask very specific questions in those realms,” he said. “We get to learn about their marriage and their family, and we dive into some of the dynamics of how they communicate, how they handle conflict with one another.”

Candidates also share about their calling, discipleship strategy, and engagement strategy for their community.
 
“One of the things we press huge with our guys is that your community doesn’t just need another worship service,” Taylor stated. “They need an army of disciples that are going to engage a city with the gospel, make disciples from those who choose to trust Christ, and then from that, we start churches.”

If candidates progress through the questionnaire phase, they are invited to a two-day in-person assessment with a Send Network Ohio assessment team.

“It’s an in-person retreat. We bring in expert practitioners in certain fields,” Taylor said.
The experts include experienced church planters, current and former church planters, as well as pastors’ wives and Christian counselors.

“Again, we want to make sure that we’re sending out healthy planters, healthy marriages, healthy families, and healthy churches,” he explained.
 
If the assessment team approves a candidate, the Care phase begins
“It’s one of the things Send Network does best,” Taylor noted.

Send Network Ohio catalysts come around church planters and their families, providing care and encouragement.

“It’s just that reminder that there’s a family of Southern Baptist churches all around North America that love you, that believe in you, that pray for you. We are cheering you on as you get this thing going,” he said.

In addition to ongoing care, church planters who complete the assessment move into the Equip phase.
 
“They go through several months of training just to help them clarify – bring clarity to their vision, bring clarity to their discipleship strategy – a variety of things,” Taylor said.

Send Network Ohio offers coaching to church planters for the first two years of their church planting. Planters are paired with another church leader in their region who is trained to be a listening ear and help draw out what the Lord has already put inside a church planter.
“So we offer a training piece; we offer that coaching piece, and then we just have a variety of resources available to equip our guys.”

For more information about church planting or becoming a church planter, visit Send Network at https://www.namb.net/send-network/church-planting/.

Gospel conversations lead to Gospel congregations. As you can see from the cover of this edition, we have seen a culture of multiplication begin to sweep across the Buckeye State through a movement of new church plants in recent years! The Lord has been so kind to us, providing an excellent SEND Network Ohio team, resources, and, of course, planters who have received and responded to the call upon their lives.

Gospel Conversations are at the root of this movement.

In the New Testament, we see in Acts 18 that God wants to use all of us to be part of a church planting movement through our daily activities.

Engage the City - The first item on the agenda of the Apostle Paul as he entered the city of Corinth was not to build a website or buy a building, but to engage the city.
 
Please do not misunderstand me, there is nothing wrong with building a website or buying a building. However, oftentimes we can miss the most important step in the process, and that is to engage the city we live in and are striving to reach with gospel conversations.

Disciples are Made - Another important piece in the church planting movement is that disciples are made. The Apostle Paul, here in Acts 18, engaged the city, and then disciples were made.
 
As he went about his daily activities, engaging the city as a tentmaker, he met Priscilla and Aquilla. He met with and discipled them along with many others who went on to embark on a planting movement. All of us can join the Great Commission and make disciples not only in our local congregation, but also in our local community. It does not have to always be a formal or weekly meeting, but as you go about your daily activities.

A Church was Planted - Finally, after the city was engaged and disciples were made, a church was planted.
 
This is the church planting journey of how the Lord started the church in Corinth. As you can see, it takes all of us, not just the planters, to start a new work. As Tim Keller once said, “To put it simply, the multiplication of churches is as natural in the book of Acts as the multiplication of individuals.”

I am beyond grateful for God’s activity among us in recent days, but we have so much to do in order to reach the people of Ohio with the good news of Jesus Christ. It will take all of us having more gospel conversations that will ultimately lead us to having more gospel congregations.

CampUCan 2025 brought 90 young males, ages 9-15, from diverse backgrounds and cultures to experience the love of Jesus Christ.

In early August, youth from urban communities in Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton, and Toledo descended into the hills of north central Ohio’s Mohican Region.
 
Powered by Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me,” CampUCan challenged and encouraged young men to believe they can do all through Jesus Christ.

Attendees who are fatherless, hopeless, frustrated, seemingly hostile, unreachable, unwilling, fed-up, lost, broken, hurting, alone, and struggling were loved, reassured, brought hope, and strengthened by devoted Christian adult male mentors along with Christian athletes and speakers who challenged them to live their lives in the way God created them to be.
 
Rev. Jimmy Mann, pastor, All Nations Bible Fellowship Community Church, Dayton, served as camp pastor and encouraged the youth to believe God made them to become men of good character and courage. Pastor Mann also urged the young men not to let their environment, no matter how difficult, sideline them from their God-given destiny.

It was a phenomenal week.

We witnessed 25 decisions and 13 baptisms. The State of Ohio Baptist Convention, Florida Baptist Convention & Huddle Touch Sports Inc. partnered to Touch a child, reach a family, change communities, and make them better places to work, worship, pray & stay - Dr. Jeffrey Singletary, Catalyst, Florida Baptist Convention.
 
Kirby Mitchell, CampUCan director, said, “Growing up on Chicago’s south side, I had heard the name Jesus, and I had heard the name God. However, never knowing the power within those names could change a person’s life, circumstances, and situation. That revelation changed my life. When youth learn the power of and how to use the name of Jesus in any given situation, their lives will be changed. That’s the reason in John 14:13-14, Jesus says, "And whatever you ask in my name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son." What CampUCan does is help young men know the power of Jesus' name.”

Because they gave their lives to Jesus Christ, 25 youth will help communities all over Ohio hear more about the love of Jesus Christ. That’s why CampUCan is so essential.
If you are interested in financially supporting CampUCan, please give at: CampUCan/SCBO, 9000 Antares Avenue, Columbus, Ohio 43240 or SCBO.ORG/UCAN

A Cleveland-area pastor lights up when he shares his story – a testimony of a new life in Christ, a call to church planting, and a mission to reach his community with the gospel.

“So the Lord saved me in prison,” said Lentrail Abston, pastor, Clearview Community Church, Euclid. “While I was there, Jesus rescued me and gave me my calling.”

When he got out of prison, he moved in with a mentor, who lived in Mansfield, and attended church with him.
 
“I think the burden for church planting was birthed there, because I asked the question, ‘Why aren’t there churches like this in my old neighborhood?’ That’s when the burden was birthed.”
As he grew in his faith and started studying, Letrail attended an evangelism class at Liberty University.

“In the book Evangelism, they made this argument that church planting is one of the greatest ways to fulfill the Great Commission. That added theological conviction to my desire to church plant first.”

Clearview Community Church was the result. It’s located about 15 minutes from his old neighborhood in Euclid.

“I wanted to see something like this in my own neighborhood,” he said. Then the theological conviction started to form, and then a wide-open door through the program with Christ Community Chapel, which was our original sending church. That door was so wide open, it almost felt like sinning not to walk through it.”

Lentrail developed a core team, many of whom drive from Hudson, 30-40 minutes away. The core team made a one-year commitment to the church.

“All of them have stuck around,” he noted. “And that created this diversity amongst our church immediately.”

Clearview’s diversity is especially seen during Sunday morning worship services.

“On a Sunday morning, we’ll have 25-30 people, half will be African American, half will be white, but it’s a beautiful family, and we call ourselves a family on mission.”

Lentrail says diversity is important in his ministry context. The city of Euclid is 60 percent African American, and 30 percent white.

“Our church, from the inception, reflects our neighborhood,” he said. “It creates this entry point where different ethnic groups walk in and there’s someone that they can relate to, and it creates this beautiful culture that God is forming here at Clearview.”

The church also emphasizes engaging its community with events like “Family Night.”

“That’s one of our most well-attended events, and it’s simple,” he said. “We just bust out board games, and we have pizza, and we invite the community in to come and hang out with us. Our last game night, we had 45 people there. It's a great time of engaging the community.”
 
They want to do more than just engage their community. Their vision is to reach one percent of Euclid’s population.

“Our biggest dream, part of our vision, is just to reach one percent of the city,” he said.

“Sometimes I joke and say, ‘I don’t know if it’s just because my faith is smaller or just because one percent of 49,000 is a significant amount.”

An opening in the local schools is moving the church toward that goal.
 
“We were given the opportunity for me to go into Euclid High School and share my testimony with the ninth grade,” he said. “All freshmen came in. They had this elective class, and the teacher who ran that class let me come in and share my Christ-centered testimony.”

Recently, the church was invited to an elementary school to pray over the school year. The principal also asked church members to come on the first day of school to high-five and encourage students as they entered the building.

Above all, Lentrail hopes his work at Clearview will help the people of Euclid understand who God is and truly see what Christ has done for them.

“When we moved here to Euclid and as we began to engage the community, we didn’t find many people who had some kind of knowledge about God,” he said. “And so that’s why we came up with the name, ‘Clearview.’ Our mission statement is just simply that we want to help people see Jesus clearly and follow him fully.”

Through your generous participation in the Ray Roberts State Missions Offering, Ohio Disaster Relief has been able to purchase much-needed equipment. This new equipment has provided the opportunity to respond more efficiently to crisis events.

What people often do not see is how the offering helps us give new life to donated equipment and get it ready for use by Ohio Disaster Relief and local churches.
 
The latest example is a shower-laundry trailer donated by The Pecos Valley Association and SBC Disaster Relief of New Mexico.

This unit has six showers and two washer/dryers. It is a little rough right now, but after a small investment from the Ray Roberts offering, it will be ready to go. If we were to purchase the unit new, it would cost around $80,000.

The need for shower units continues to grow in Ohio, especially in churches that have mission teams coming. Churches usually have room for mission teams to sleep and eat, but very few churches have showers available.

If Ohio Disaster Relief loaned out our current shower all summer, then we would not have showers for our teams when a disaster strikes. This new unit will primarily be for churches that need it for mission teams.
 
We want to meet the needs of people affected by disaster, but we also want to help the local church in its mission to make disciples of all nations. This helps the local church be stronger, and Ohio DR to be more prepared in the future.

We are looking for a church to manage this shower unit. It would involve having a heavy-duty truck to move the unit, and an investment in insuring the unit. If you would like to know more, contact me at jheading@scbo.org.  

Thank you so much for your church’s participation in the Ray Roberts State Missions Offering. I want to encourage your church to be even more involved in spreading the gospel through disaster response and church planting.

A few years ago, Word Baptist Church was just a dream in the hearts of a handful of believers.

Meeting in the gym at Highland High School in Marengo since their launch in January 2022, this rural church plant has been proof that God delights in doing big things in small places.
 
In just 30 months, Word BC has seen 26 people baptized and now averages over 60 in Sunday morning worship.

This summer’s Vacation Bible School proved that point again. In their fourth year hosting VBS, Word BC saw their best attendance yet —113 students enrolled and an average of 95 participants each night, including teen helpers.

Pastor Jeff Deel shared, “We didn’t have any public professions of faith during the week, but the students’ attention to the Bible stories each night was incredible. They were tuned in. You could see their interest in Jesus. We believe God was definitely at work.”

That work was evident the following Sunday during the church’s VBS follow-up program. The small church plant shattered its attendance record, exceeding their previous high by 30 people. The sanctuary was full. The energy was high. And the gospel was front and center.

For Pastor Deel and the Word BC family, numbers tell part of the story—but not the whole story. “Our prayer,” Deel said, “is that the seeds planted during VBS will lead to souls saved—not just among the students, but also in their homes, among parents, siblings, and grandparents.”

In rural ministry, VBS is often more than a summer program—it’s one of the most effective ways to reach entire families. This year, Word BC didn’t just host an event; It created a space where the gospel was clearly proclaimed, relationships were built, and hearts were stirred.

Please pray for the gospel seeds planted to grow deep roots, bear fruit, and bring many in this rural Ohio community to saving faith in Christ.

“The story of Southern Baptists in Ohio cannot be told apart from the life and ministry of Ray E. Roberts, transplanted North Carolinian whom God brought to Ohio by the way of Kentucky,” former Ohio Baptist Messenger Editor L.H. Moore in his 1979 book, The History of Southern Baptists in Ohio.

The Ray Roberts State Missions Offering is a fund supported by Ohio Southern Baptists and managed by the SCBO to further God's Kingdom in the state of Ohio. It is named after one of the earliest pioneers of Southern Baptist Cooperation in Ohio who also served as the first Executive Director of the SCBO.

Dr. Ray Roberts first visited Ohio in 1951. In July of 1952, he began serving as a missionary in Ohio for the Home Mission Board, Kentucky Baptist Convention, and White Water Baptist Association.

Upon his arrival, Roberts shared his burden for Ohio and its lost population.

“It is my deep conviction,” Roberts said. “That the ripest field for Southern Baptist work in the USA lies within the boundaries of the state of Ohio. This conviction has not been formed by hearsay, but as I have come face to face with undeniable facts. Every preacher who has been privileged to come in contact with the work in Ohio shares my conviction.”

On January 8, 1954, the State Convention of Baptists in Ohio was organized under Dr. Roberts’ supervision with thirty-nine churches representing ten thousand members.

Roberts served the SCBO as Executive Secretary for twenty-five years, during which time the convention grew to include fourteen associations and 449 churches. Upon his retirement, the SCBO State Missions Offering was renamed the Ray Roberts State Missions Offering in his honor.

Throughout his tenure, Roberts kept the goal of SCBO in mind. “There are no geographical boundaries on the great commission, and it would certainly be a gross sin if we fail God in this ripe field of opportunity,” he said. “The goal for our work is a Southern Baptist church in every community in Ohio.”

The vision of Ray Roberts continues in today’s SCBO. Funds from the Ray Roberts State Mission Offering are split 50/50 between church planting efforts in Ohio and Ohio Disaster Relief.

Churches and individuals can contribute financially to state missions any time, but one week of September is set aside each year to emphasize the importance of mission work in Ohio.

Many churches around the state will take this opportunity to join together in prayer, to share stories and testimonies of God's continued work in Ohio, and to collect financial gifts in support of the Ray Roberts Offering. To contribute online visit https://scbo.org/give.

Vacation Bible School, Hillside Church, Polk
Pastor Mike Feliciano, Hillside Church

God blessed our second VBS since we launched Hillside. We averaged 24 with a high of 25. It was nice to see families walking to VBS in our town. One 12-year-old girl was saved and then baptized the next Sunday at our church pool party. We had two visitors that Sunday and four the next Sunday. Our volunteers worked hard and were amazing. What a great spirit. Thank you SCBO for your partnership in prayer and financial assistance.


Summit County Fair Outreach, Church on the Boulevard, Akron
Pastor Robert Hale, Church on the Boulevard

The 2025 Summit County Fair proved to be highly successful, providing numerous meaningful conversations and exposure that would not have been possible otherwise. A “fair" guess, pun intended, we estimate having engaged with over 150 individuals in discussions lasting at least 90 seconds. This event presented an excellent chance to share the gospel with a wide audience. Among these interactions, three involved deeper conversations with individuals interested in learning more at a later date. We connected them with a nearby SBC church for follow-up. Additionally, two families expressed interest in discovering more about Church on the Boulevard, its community work, and potential collaboration opportunities. Many attendees also paused for prayer, either by submitting prayer requests on index cards placed in a treasure chest or receiving personal prayers offered by dedicated volunteers. We are thrilled about the relationships forged not only with community members but also with partnering churches, and we value the encouragement and support from both these churches and SCBO. We are grateful for this incredible opportunity and eagerly anticipate future outreach events together.


July 4th Block Party, Good Shepherd Baptist Church, Amherst
Pastor Gabriel Ray, Good Shepherd Baptist Church

The event was wonderful, and all of the volunteers walked away tired, yet satisfied, because we had over 100 people at the event, with 14 families coming from around our community. We got to serve our guests, feed our guests, and talk to our guests. Many of us spent time telling them about our church and what Jesus has done for us. Even after all the time, energy, planning, and work that went into it, our congregation is ready to do it again. They are holding on to the hope that if we can show our community the love of God, more of them will be willing to hear about his love and sacrifice too.


A Year of Gospel Impact, Summit Association, Akron
Mark Jones, Summit Association Mission Strategist

The two main events we focused on as an association were to promote our gospel-centered congregations at the Summit County Fair in Tallmadge and to provide our congregations with school supplies to engage their communities locally.
 
The county fair event allowed us to engage hundreds with the gospel and for the glory of God. The school supplies are still impacting our association as we were able to equip at least six congregations.

We are so thankful for the investment of NAMB and the SCBO in the evangelistic outreaches in the Summit Association of Churches.


Continual Community Impact, Freedom Hill BC, Kent
Pastor Mark Jones, Freedom Hill Baptist Church

In the spring, we had over 600 people participate in the city-wide event. We partnered in gospel impact with three other local congregations.

We gave every child a piece of candy connected to a card with a QR code that pointed to a gospel cartoon from SpreadTruth.com.

In August, we had the opportunity to feed the local football team twice with burgers and chicken, but more importantly, with the gospel via cards inserted in their lunch bags, as we were not given the opportunity to vocally share.

Please pray for the families and players impacted. We are so thankful for the evangelism funds that allowed us to accomplish these events.


Community Outreach Booth, Vertical Church North, North Ridgeville
Tiffany Fairbairn, Vertical Church North, Leadership Team

The town festival was great! We had many conversations, and even a few opportunities to pray with people from our community. We handed out information about our church, invited the community to our school supply drive, and had crafts and popsicles for the kids. This event allowed us to get our name out in our community and helped us invite people to church who normally don't have access to the gospel daily. We're praying that we planted some seeds. Thank you again for your generous donation that allowed us to be present in our community and share the love of Christ.


Vacation Bible School, Grace Point Fellowship, Franklin
Pastor Regan Wagoner, Grace Point Fellowship

At Grace Point, we registered over 500 kids and volunteers at VBS and saw 37 kids take next steps towards Jesus! We baptized three on the Sunday after VBS on Family Day, and have baptized several more since then. One family we talked to after VBS came and spoke with me last week, as their 6th grader came and gave her life to Jesus. She then talked to her 12th-grade brother, and he gave his life to Jesus last week! Their family had never heard John 3:16 before we began sharing the gospel with them! God is good, and he moved at our two campuses during VBS, as we offered a day VBS at Grace Point Franklin and a Night VBS at Grace Point Hunter.


Back-to-School Bash, Elyria Church, Elyria

Elyria Church's first-ever Back-to-School Bash was great. Having it in our front yard drew the attention of our neighbors across the street. We had about 100 people show up. We grilled food, passed out backpacks of school supplies, and gave out additional school supplies. We also handed out teen bags for older students. Our Clothes Closet was also open. One single mom walked out with bags in her hands and tears in her eyes, saying, "Thank you so much. I was so worried about what we were going to do for school clothes this year, and here we got all our needs met for free." The conversations throughout the event were great. Questions were asked about wanting to know more about the church, what classes we have and for what ages, what other events that we offer to the community, as well as asking about who God is and why He is so important. Pastor Josh was able to give a brief testimony and share the gospel. We let people know about our service times and our Trunk-or-Treat in October.  It will be exciting to see who will show up on a Sunday morning service, as well as see if they will return to our next event this fall. 

“Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart. ² But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God. ³ And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. ⁴ In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. ⁵ For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. ⁶ For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”
 
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (2 Co 4:1–6). (2016). Crossway Bibles.

This is one of my all-time favorite passages, and there are a lot of reasons why.
I’ll mention two.

First, Paul highlights the tension many of us experience in ministry. Ministry is a gift that we have been given through God’s amazing goodness, love, and mercy. We love it and are thankful for it!!!
 
But also…

It can be easy to lose heart…to feel discouraged…to look for man-centered techniques to manufacture results. We can feel tempted to tamper with the Word, to practice cunning or underhanded ways.

Like Paul, we are called to renounce such wickedness and refuse to practice any manipulative or man-centered approaches to ministry!
 
This brings us to number two.

Without Christ, people are perishing.
 
Let’s pause there. Without Christ, people are perishing. They’re dying. They’re lost. They’re without hope and without God in the world. Perishing. Blinded by the god of this world, unable to see the glory of Christ.

Does that bother you? Are you grieved by the lostness in your community? Are you grieved that some people are currently kept from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ?

Don’t lose heart. Don’t stop proclaiming. What we proclaim is not ourselves. We proclaim Christ! We proclaim the God who creates light in dark spaces and life in dead places. Don’t lose heart!

As always, I want to remind you: there are amazing resources in our state to help church leaders faithfully proclaim Christ in their communities. You can always reach me at president@scbo.org.

Grace and Peace,
Adam Pursel, SCBO president

Hey Northeast family. I pray that you are enjoying the warm weather because in northeast Ohio, we only get a few months of it. I hope you have been able to take a break and refresh for a little bit.

This is also the time when many churches ramp up their outreach efforts with sports camps, back-to-school bashes, and car washes. I'm praying the Lord is blessing your effort as you share the love and gospel of Jesus with your community.
 
As we seek to connect with our local community, I believe it’s also important for us to connect with other churches to encourage one another, especially those who are a part of our local Baptist associations.

I had the privilege of connecting and serving with a group of pastors from the Cleveland Hope Association for the ordination council of the new Senior Pastor Joe Valenti at Cuyahoga Valley Church, Broadview Heights. This moment was truly special and encouraging.
 
The council was led by CVC founding pastor, Rick Duncan, and he assembled an amazingly diverse group of pastors from the association to serve. These were pastors who served in smaller and larger congregations, pastors who served different ethnic churches, as well as pastors of older established churches, and pastors of church plants. In the midst of all of this diversity, there was unity around the Lord Jesus as we encouraged Pastor Joe.

This moment reminded me of Philippians 1, where the Apostle Paul wrote about “fellowship in the gospel” (1:5). We are in fellowship with one another in the gospel of the Lord Jesus.
On a very foundational level, everyone in the room had one thing in common that superseded any difference we had – our faith in the risen Lord Jesus.

Then, on a vocational level, we have a common call of the Lord to serve his church, no matter the size or location. The Lord has chosen us to serve in the vineyard, reaching people for Jesus, and helping Christians become more like Jesus while leading a local church —a task that is no easy endeavor.

And this common vocational calling had me thinking about Philippians 3:10, which speaks about the “fellowship of his (Jesus') sufferings”. As pastors, we will experience hardship and trials as we seek to serve the Lord and his church. But, praise God, the Lord encourages us because Philippians 2:1 tells us we have the “fellowship of the Spirit” to comfort us in Christ during those difficult moments.
 
Our time together highlights two values of the SCBO: “prioritizing the pastor” and “welcoming kingdom diversity”. The pastors came together to encourage the next lead pastor of a church in the Cleveland area. And the pastors on the council showed the diversity that is already among us, which we need if we are going to reach our neighborhood and nations for Jesus.

Let us continue to encourage one another and reach our diverse communities for King Jesus. If I can be of assistance, feel free to reach out to sowens@gmail.com

As I shared with you last month, I’m thrilled that we are rolling out regional worship consultants in four of our six regions! These are high-capacity leaders who serve in our SCBO churches and have been helping our churches as volunteers behind the scenes.
 
These leaders will be driving new regional worship gatherings, and pastors, I urge you to require your worship leader to attend. It will encourage them, sharpen them, and give them people they can call for help when they get stuck. If you don’t have a worship leader, come yourself or send whoever is leading as a volunteer. We deeply care about helping the people doing the work, no matter their title, church size, or pay status.

Meet the SCBO Regional Worship Catalysts:

Northeast Region: Kevin Lorow is a Worship Leader in Northeast Ohio and has been on staff at Cuyahoga Valley Church for 10 years, serving as a Worship Pastor and in several other roles. He and his wife, Carolyn, have been married for 7 years and are enjoying the adventure of parenting their two young sons, Josiah and Benjamin. Kevin has yet to encounter a food he won’t try and has a deep love for dogs, Tolkien, classic Nintendo games, and LEGO. Kevin is passionate about seeing healthy churches served by healthy leaders as they make much of Jesus in their communities. Contact Kevin at klorow@cvconline.org.

Central Region: Joe Kibbey was born in Marysville, Ohio, where he grew up in a Christian home with three other siblings. He was saved at the age of seven and raised to serve the local church. Joe met his wife Erin in high school, and the two were married in June of 2008. They have one son, Marcus, who keeps them busy playing multiple sports. Joe has served in multiple areas within the local church in choir, youth praise team, grounds crew, etc. He started leading worship in 2009 and, in January of 2018, helped start a church plant in Powell, Ohio, where he continues to serve as the Worship Pastor.

Joe is currently pursuing a degree at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Over the last five years, he has had a growing desire to help churches develop a God-honoring worship ministry that exalts the name of Jesus through song. Joe is also serving the new partnership between Worship Initiative and SBC Worship, sbcworship.com, as a member of their advisory committee! Contact Joe at Joe@livinghopecolumbus.com.

Southwest Region: David Anderson is the worship pastor at Lakota Hills Baptist Church just north of Cincinnati, where he’s served for nine years. He is married to his wife Jillissa and they now have three children, Chloe, Asher and Micah. David graduated from Cedarville University with a degree in worship and music, and he is also an alumnus of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, where he completed his M.Div. Growing up as an MK, David has a heart for multicultural and multilingual worship and for seeing the Church worship God in various ways. Contact David at david@lakotahillsbaptist.com.

Southeast Region: Hey there! I’m Sarah, and I am the worship director at The Bridge Ministries in Lancaster. My husband, Ashton, and I are currently planting The Bridge Logan as NAMB/SEND Network church planters. We have two wonderful kiddos, and I get the pleasure of homeschooling them. Serving together as a ministry family has been so rewarding, and although sometimes challenging, I love it so much.

I think connecting other worship leaders for the purpose of learning from one another and community is so important. Those relationships were vital for me when I first started as worship director, so I’m super excited to begin this role of doing just that. Contact Sarah at swalton@thebridgeohio.org.

I am still looking for leaders for the West and Northwest Regions. This is not a paid position, but resources will be provided to fund regional events. Applicants must be willing to plan and lead quarterly worship gatherings, meet quarterly on Zoom with me and our team, and engage in Worship 4:24. Training will be provided. If you are interested or have a killer, kingdom-minded worship leader who would be interested, email me at zjames@scbo.org.
Ministry is a team sport. You and I can’t do this alone. And neither can your worship leader.

This month, I want to simply make you aware of upcoming opportunities, free resources available, and encourage you to seek a deeper relationship with Jesus.

This Saturday, August 2, the West Central Association’s Hillcrest Baptist Church in Bellefontaine will host a Pastor’s Conference for a time of preaching, praying, and praising.
 
Centered around the theme of 2 Corinthians 4:1, highlights will include a message by Jeff Mixon on the persevering pastor. Pastor Jeff has served as the senior pastor of New Life Church in Cincinnati since 2017. He received his doctorate from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Our very own Steve Hopkins will bring a message on the praying pastor. www.scbo.org/events 

On Friday and Saturday, September 19-20, join us in Lancaster for two powerful days of spiritual renewal and encouragement designed for pastors, church leaders, and congregants ready for a fresh season of gospel-centered ministry.
 
Mark Clifton, NAMB’s Replant Director, will guide us through intentional sessions filled with prayer, hope, and renewed focus on Jesus. You’ll walk away with practical resources, renewed energy, and tools to lead your church into a healthier future. There is a bonus session on Saturday with SCBO Revitalization Consultant Mark Jones and Pastor Scott Gibson, The Bridge Church, Lancaster.  Worship led by SCBO Worship Consultant Zac James. www.scbo.org/events

How is your relationship with Jesus? How about that of your congregation? Renewal and revitalization begin by having a right relationship with Jesus. It is easy to go through the motions and become more involved in what I call “man-istry” rather than true ministry.  

A first step is the free resource made available by the NAMB Replant Team in hard copy and PDF format entitled, “Falling in Love with Jesus Again.” They have compiled a tool to take your congregation on a journey back to Jesus. I have just taken my congregation in Stow through it and it has been wonderful. Find out more here.
 
My hope and prayer are that you will realize the resources and possibilities available at your fingertips. All of this is made available by your faithful Cooperative Program giving.  Connect with me at www.scbo.org/revitalize.

Partnerships are key to the work of Ohio Disaster Relief.

In December 2023, Rumford, Maine, experienced terrible flooding. Much of the town, including the fire station, was damaged by floodwaters.
 
A 12-person Ohio DR team led by Josh Wright, Urbancrest Baptist Church, deployed to Rumford. The team was supposed to do both flood and chainsaw recovery, but little did they know that God had other plans.

Upon arrival, the entire team was needed for flood recovery, and one of the homes affected belonged to John and Nancy. Their home and shop, which housed their business, were under several feet of water.
 
The Ohio team got to work and finished the flood recovery in about two days. It then took months for John and Nance to get back to normal.

John and Nancy are carvers who make animal carvings from tree trunks using a chainsaw. To help them get their business going again, the members of the flood recovery team commissioned a carving of a bear for Ohio DR. The team paid for it out of their own pockets and chose the name, “Muddy Bear.”

Eighteen months later, on July 8, 2025, Muddy Bear arrived in Ohio. Why did it take so long to receive the carving?

The carving process takes time. First, a rough carving is cut, and then the item has to dry for six months. Once it dries, the fine carving of the details is completed, and the carving is stained.
 
While Ohio DR waited for Muddy Bear, something else happened. John joined New England Disaster Relief and deployed on a chainsaw team.

This is a great example of partnership. Ohio DR deployed to Maine through a partnership with New England Disaster Relief. The Ohio DR team partnered with John and Nancy through the commissioning of Muddy Bear, helping them restart their business, and finally, John joined New England DR and deployed to help others affected by disaster.

Partnerships are key to the work of Ohio Disaster Relief.

Throughout 2025, SCBO is celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the Cooperative Program with “CP100,” a series of interviews highlighting the impact of the Cooperative Program on churches and individuals in each of Ohio’s six regions.

This month, CP100 is visiting Ohio’s Southwest Region.

The nations are moving into the Cincinnati area, and Travis Smalley and Amer Safadi are on a mission to reach them with the gospel.
 
Smalley, pastor, Lakota Hills Baptist Church, and NAMB Send Cincinnati missionary, and Amer Safdi, lead pastor, Kingdom Family Arabic Church, and Arabic church planter, believe the Cooperative Program plays a vital role in fulfilling the mission. “We can do more together than we can apart. When we come together, we’re the largest missionary protestant force in history,” Smalley said.

Safadi agrees. “You can’t do it by yourself. Southern Baptists are a family. When you give, you don’t just give for church planting, you give for multiplication.”
 
Don’t miss CP100 – Episode four: Travis Smalley and Amer Safadi.

Another record Super Summer is in the books!

Held at Cedarville University during the last week of June, Super Summer had record involvement with 475 students and staff in attendance.
 
To accommodate the large number, two worship services were held each night – one for older students and one for younger students. This also allowed this year’s speaker, Dean Inserra, lead pastor, City Church, Tallahassee, Florida, to tailor his messages to each age group. TakeHeart led worship for both services nightly.

Throughout the week, Inserra spoke on “Permanent Things” that are “Unending.” His messages encouraged students to build their houses on the rock of Christ’s teaching, to stay anchored to God and his Word, and to live from a place of intimacy with Jesus.  He also led our students in an extended time of prayer each evening.

In addition to evening worship, Super Summer uses biblical truth to develop Christian leaders for kingdom impact.
 
Students who have just finished seventh grade through their freshman year in college receive training that is specific to their grade level. Some of the top pastors and leaders in the SCBO come together to invest in our student leaders.

At each grade level, students worship together, hear teaching from gifted SCBO pastors, and then discuss the application of the lessons in small groups.

The students choose a total of six elective classes to attend during the week, including topics like Responding to the Call to Ministry, Character Matters, Church Planting, Mental Health and Leadership, and Understanding How You Are Wired to Worship, as well as many others.

The intense week of study and spiritual challenge led to students making a variety of decisions in their walk with the Lord: Twenty-one students made professions of faith; thirty-five students were called to full-time ministry; and seventy-two students were called to missions.
Please pray that each of our Super Summer students would continue to pursue Jesus and the specific kingdom contribution that God has for them.

Also, please go to supersummerohio.com to see the Super Summer Recap video and to learn more about developing your student leaders through Super Summer. God Bless!

The Cincinnati Area Baptist Association (CABA) is having a fruitful season with multiple outreach opportunities for sharing the gospel.

Soccer camps: Three international soccer camps kicked off this summer, involving many children who have had no exposure to Bible characters or terms, let alone the gospel message. During soccer camp, students rotated through three stations, including an indoor Bible story and activity session.
 
Soccer camps took place at Liberty Heights, Liberty Twp; First Baptist Church, South Lebanon; and Beacon of Christ Church, Dent.

Ray Taw, church planter, International Fellowship Church, mobilized 162 Southern Baptist volunteers, including 130 students from Dawson Baptist Church, Birmingham, Alabama. Taw also serves as International Partnership Consultant for CABA.

CABA Block Party Trailers: Since the 2024-2025 CABA financial year began last fall, the association’s five block party trailers have been in use. One hundred thirty-four reservations have been made for the year, 83 events for CABA churches and 51 events for non-CABA churches.
 
According to evangelism reports, seeds were planted in the lives of 19,501 people, and there were 6,658 evangelism encounters and 15 professions of faith.

And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. ¹⁸ And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

 The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Mt 28:17–20). (2016). Crossway Bibles.

The Bible is sometimes shockingly honest. Jesus has just conquered sin and death. He’s invited His disciples to touch His side and eat along with Him. Rightly, they worship Him…but some doubted. They doubted?!?!?!? They’re literally face to face with the risen King…and some doubted.

Like the disciples, we worship Jesus. Like the disciples, we have come to know and believe that He is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. He has the Words of Life; where else would we go? And like the disciples, sometimes we have doubts.
 
Are you in a season of doubt? Of faith-filled worship? Of struggle? Of joyful victory?

No matter what season you are in, remember the Lord’s command to make disciples. Baptize them. Train them to observe all of the Lord’s commands…including the one to make disciples! Tell them to remember Jesus; He’s with His people, all the time, no matter what, until the end.
He loves His people.

One of the great things about being an Ohio Baptist is the support. Are you going through a tough time? Help is just an email or phone call away. There are amazing resources in our state to help church leaders who are struggling. We can help you remember the mercy of the Lord, and we can help you proclaim the Word of Christ in your community so that lost people can hear and respond to the Gospel! You can always reach me at president@scbo.org.

Grace and Peace,
Adam Pursel
SCBO President

Bethany Baptist Church, Liberty Township, VBS Follow Up
Pastor Wayne Yeager, Bethany Baptist Church
 
Family Celebration - At our VBS Family Celebration, we rented inflatables, had cotton candy and snow cones, and served families who came. It was a lot of fun with many conversations throughout the event as we connected with new families. Some of the best stuff was watching our volunteers connect with each other.

Pancakes with the Pastors - However, the most exciting thing happened on the next Sunday. We held Pancakes with the Pastors and invited all the children and parents to have breakfast with our pastoral staff. We also invited other adults with whom we wanted to share the gospel. We ate and shared the gospel using Three Circles. Several students raised their hands seeking further follow-up. I'm glad to share that a few weeks later, we were able to have a second conversation, and at least two of those students gave their lives to Christ and were baptized in late July.

Sports Camp and Block Party, Redemption Hill Church, Columbus
Pastor Josh Rosentreter, Redemption Hill Church

This year's sports camp and block party went great! Thirty-four people from Park Baptist Church, Rock Hill, South Carolina, came and did ministry with us. There is talk of them bringing them more people next year and helping another SBC church.
 
The sports camp averaged 49 kids a day, and we saw a total of 66 different children throughout the week. This represented 48 families in our community. Each day, the campers enjoyed sports and built relationships with their coaches. They also learned that Jesus is our king, our shepherd, he seeks us, and he died in our place.

One family has been attending sports camp for the last few summers. The parents are atheists, but their twin boys are reading their Bibles and want to learn more about Jesus. A few members from the team were about to attend their baseball game one evening. The parents heard the gospel, and on Sunday, they attended our worship service. We will continue to follow up, and we pray they will agree to study God's word with us and come to faith in Christ.

We also saw two other women attend our church for the first time as a result of the missions week. One overheard my invitation to church on the loudspeaker from her home, and the other was invited as the team was distributing doorhangers.
 
The block party had 180 attendees, and most RHC members were able to have at least one positive gospel conversation. We added a free prayer booth, which went really well and helped our more introverted folks start conversations.

Overall, it was another great week! We could not have done it without the evangelism grant!

Vacation Bible School, Fellowship Baptist Church, Maineville
Darcy Land, children’s minister, Fellowship Baptist Church

Our VBS was fantastic this year! We had over 130 kids in attendance, and we were able to share with them all about God's great love through sending his son! Every child that came through our doors learned that God sees them, God cares for them, God loves them, God forgives them, and God keeps His promises! What great truths for children to memorize! We also had so much fun at our Vacation Bible School! The kids ate yummy snacks, played games outside, and made an awesome craft! We believe that because of events like VBS, the kids in our community know they are loved by our church and by Jesus!

Blaze and VBS Camps, Waynesville Community Church, Waynesville
Pastor Todd Cyphers, Waynesville Community Church

Thank you for your generous support of our Blaze and VBS camps! With your help, we reached over 25,000 people through social media during camp week and connected with 250 homes through canvassing the week prior. We served 150+ kids and students each day, supported by more than 100 volunteers from our church and Blue Springs Church in Tennessee. The week culminated in a special Sunday gathering with over 250 in attendance, who stayed for a meal and time of fellowship. Most importantly, we saw seven professions of faith during the week, and we are actively following up with each one. Lives were truly impacted, and we are deeply grateful for SBCO’s role in making it all possible.

Pickerington Community Festival, Change City Church, Pickerington
Pastor Darryl Baker, Change City Church

Our event was the culmination of a week of community engagement. We held a three-day Youth Sports Camp and concluded the week by marching in the local parade and hosting an outreach event complete with food trucks, games, face painter, and bounce houses. As a result of our efforts, we had several families come to church on Sunday, and several others plan visits for this coming Sunday. Lastly, several have decided to come to our Exploration Class this month, where we explain salvation, church membership, and serving opportunities. We're expecting salvations, baptisms, and new members in coming days and weeks as a result of these events!

Vacation Bible Church, The Valley Church, Cincinnati
Pastor Chuck Smith, The Valley Church

VBS 2025 was our favorite so far! Over 100 children attended one of our nights, and many of them are unchurched.
 
We had the chance to engage in meaningful conversations with parents, and several have expressed a desire to join us for worship on Sunday. Thank you so much for your kingdom partnership with our church!

July 4th Community Outreach Day, Goshen Community Church, Goshen
Pastor Aarron Ellerman, Goshen Community Church

This has truly become a community event. We get support from local churches and businesses, who all help us put on this event. This year, we had around 1000 people attend. We were able to have 50+ gospel conversations. God has used this event to draw lost people unto himself in the past, and we have faith he will do it again this year.

Vacation Bible School, Redemption Church, Johnstown
Pastor Sam Romine, Redemption Church

We wrapped up our three-day Vacation Bible School last night, which was our first VBS since our church first met one year ago!

We had 50 children register and over 25 volunteers. It was so encouraging to see our church body come together to serve in this way, and it was a great way to bring our people together.
We also had many children come who were not connected to our church before. Actually, more than half who came had never come to our church before! We were able to share the gospel with each child in a variety of settings - large group, small group, and individually. I was personally able to have many great conversations about sin, Christ, and the gospel, and was able to clearly explain to them what they must do to be saved.

 We were also able to make some good connections with the parents and are hopeful some will come check out our church on a Sunday morning. We are hopeful and praying that the Lord will bear much fruit from this even in the weeks and months to come!

Vacation Bible School, Citizens Church, Westerville
Pastor Rob Kane, Citizens Church

It was our little church's first time doing VBS, so there were plenty of learning curves. But it was very encouraging! We had 20+ kids and about a dozen or so volunteers. We had LOTS of gospel interactions with the kids – conversations, songs, lessons, etc. And our final day cookout was a huge hit with the kids and the rest of the church! Thank you again for your help with everything!

Vacation Bible School, Georgetown Baptist Church, Georgetown
Pastor Bink Garbutt, Georgetown Baptist Church

We had a great VBS this year! We had about 35-40 children each night. The grant from the SCBO helped to provide meals for the children. This is important because we live in an economically depressed area. Many have food insecurity.
 
We shared the gospel each night through the Bible lesson, and on the third and final night, we shared it during the assembly. There were no decisions for Christ among the children; however, one of the teen volunteers professed faith and is being baptized. Additionally, a family that brought their son has started attending our Sunday worship service.

Many of the members served vital roles in the success of our event. God was glorified, the gospel was preached, and the body of Christ was drawn together in unity.