The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Fearing the Lord sets us free to pursue lives that glorify the Father in the name of Jesus.But, there are other kinds of fear. These fears don’t set us free, they make our world smaller. They enslave. They limit. They draw our attention away from the Lord towards something else…usually some version of our own comfort, safety, or pleasure.Have you al...  Read More

The results are in...I am thrilled to once again share with you that baptisms are on the rise here in the SCBO. We experienced a 13% increase in 2024 and have seen a 121% increase since 2021...to God be the glory!!I pray that we never get over the Gospel and stay focused on sharing the hope of Christ across the street and around the world. Thank you for your faithful and sacrificial generosity tow...  Read More

PICKERINGTON, Ohio (BP) – A year’s planning had gone into Change City Church in central Ohio before launch day on what was initially a rainy Feb. 16. That’s when the texts started arriving on Pastor Darryl Baker’s phone.“Are you still launching? We are shut down. There’s a snow emergency here,” a Cincinnati pastor texted Baker. But that was 120 miles away. In Pickerington, it was only raining and ...  Read More

Pastor Johnathan Newman and Koinos Church, Troy, are in a new era of ministry. For the last few years, Newman and his wife, Jeni, have sensed the Lord calling them into something new. However, Newman wanted to transition the church in a way that was best for its long-term health. “Being here for almost 27 years made me really have the desire to see the church do well beyond our lifetimes,” Newman ...  Read More

On March 13, our sister convention in North Carolina graciously shared its graphic design experts to train our pastors, staff, and volunteers! We had 25 registrants from SCBO, with 14 of our churches able to attend live. Thank you, Kathryn Carson, Daniel Spivey, and Derek Toone! Also, Whitney Goulding couldn’t attend, but she created a significant amount of the content that was shared. This traini...  Read More

In the fall of 1975, a 19-year-old college student started his career in ministry at Forest Hill Baptist Church in Berlin, KY.Over the next fifty years, Steve Hopkins became a pillar of Ohio Baptist life as a pastor and then a member of the State Convention of Baptists in Ohio staff.On April 7, 2025, Hopkins will celebrate 50 years of ministry – 22 years in the pastorate and 28 years at SCBO – as ...  Read More

Mike and Angie are Jared’s neighbors. They live on a dead-end street next to Sugartree Creek in Williamson, West Virginia. Normally the nearby creek is about eight feet wide and a foot deep. But on February 19, 2025, torrential rains caused the river to swell out of its 15-foot bank and spill over another seven feet where it swallowed up homes on Goodman Drive. Both families lost everything in the...  Read More

God has a plan for every SCBO church, but often pastors and lay leaders become discouraged in their efforts for the Lord. Mark Jones shares five hope-giving truths in the April issue of the Ohio Baptist Messenger.  Read More

In Northeast Ohio, over 60 leaders gathered to learn how to understand the ways of God and not simply look for acts of God. Dr. Richard Blackaby, president, Blackaby Ministries, led us in three sessions that challenged us to seek Christ and his kingdom first. Dr. Bill Kirkwood shared how to plan worship that solely glorifies God....  Read More

The old, empty church buildings that dot our countryside demonstrate that small-town churches can no longer assume the “if you build it, they will come” strategy. Instead, we must go to them.  Read More

Pastor Will Massaro, lead pastor of Trails Church, Huber Heights, his wife, Alyssa, sons, Liam, Luca, and newborn Lottie. Lottie was named in honor of missionary Lottie Moon. Early in his career, Pastor Will Massaro felt God calling him to either the pastorate or the mission field.Today, as lead pastor of Trails Church, a young church plant in Huber Heights, Massaro gets to do both right in his ow...  Read More

Registration for Super Summer 2025 is now open! Super Summer, a premier student leadership program, is back at Cedarville University June 24-28, 2025! Super Summer is for students who have completed grades 7-12 and are serious about their faith in Jesus and want to make a difference for him. To qualify for Super Summer, students must meet the leadership criteria as established by their church’s pr...  Read More

There 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 apart, the city code off...  Read More

Cornerstone Missionary Baptist Church in Sandusky actively participated in the “21 Days of Prayer” initiative. This period of prayer was both inspirational and instructional. As a church family, we were able to identify some blind spots and clarify some misconceptions regarding the gospel, faith, and prayer. As a result of these discoveries, we aligned our prayer lives with God’s desires. In prepa...  Read More

Several weeks ago, I experienced one of the greatest honors of my life and ministry.The Lord allowed me the joy of preaching in a chapel service at the International Mission Board (IMB) in Richmond, Virginia. Dr. Paul Chitwood, IMB president, was gracious in extending the invitation for me to come and represent the State Convention of Baptists in Ohio (SCBO).Over the past several years as SCBO Exe...  Read More

Have you ever felt like you were all alone or like no one would understand your situation? In 2023 at the SBC Annual Convention, a resolution entitled, “On Needed Care and Support for Pastors and Ministry Leaders” passed. One of the paragraphs says: “WHEREAS, The reality of internal struggles among spiritual leaders has reached a critical point, with current research indicating that 42% of pastors...  Read More

2 And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Lk 10:2). (2016). Crossway Bibles. The church where you worship hasn’t been there forever. Whether it was five years ago or 100 years ago, at some point, somebody planted the church where you ...  Read More

International Mission Board missionaries commissioned a new facility, Lead Global Training Center, in Nairobi, Kenya, on Jan. 26 to prepare Africans to reach the nations.IMB missionaries, along with senior leaders from Richmond, gathered to pray for healthy African churches to send African missionaries and to praise God for the work He is already doing across the continent.  Chad Pumpelly, who ser...  Read More