News and information from around the Ohio Conference
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Video Message from Elder Bob Cundiff,
Ohio Conference President
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"I want to talk about mission, because in the Ohio Conference,
ministry does not stop
," says Ohio Conference President Bob Cundiff, in this week's video address.
Last week Cundiff addressed the financial health of the conference, and this week he explores our educational system, and shares how our schools have responded to the COVID-19 virus. "My heart was encouraged," said Cundiff. "All of our schools are alive and well. Our principals and teachers have proven themselves nimble and responsive to the adaptations that were necessary to continue delivering great Adventist education during this crisis."
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Responsible RestartOhio: What Does This Mean for Ohio Conference Churches, Schools?
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Six weeks ago, the Ohio Conference shared their
#MinistryDoesNotStop
action plan in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic crisis. While the "stay at home" orders from Governor Mike DeWine and the Ohio Department of Health respect our First Amendment rights of religious groups and exempt us from the
mandatory
force of these orders, conference leadership decided to respect a higher standard of care than permitted to religious groups under the orders. On March 19, 2020, the Ohio Conference entered Stage 3 of this action plan, and discontinued all in-person services and gatherings across the territory.
This week, Governor DeWine shared more about the state's
Responsible RestartOhio
program, designed to protect the health of employees, customers, and their families; support community efforts to control the spread of the virus; and, lead in responsibly getting Ohio back to work. The "
stay at home
" orders remain in place.
Ohio Conference leadership is following these guidelines in order to help protect the health of members, visitors, pastors, students, educators, employees, and our community. What does this mean for our conference?
Ohio Conference facilities will remain closed until the state Department of Health and the Governor amend or rescind the "stay at home" orders. Conference officers are meeting regularly to determine when it will be prudent to reopen. We encourage pastors and members to utilize the next few weeks to ensure your church is prepared to reopen safely and following the state's
responsible protocols
for reopening businesses and the items specified in Stage 2 of the
Ministry Does Not Stop
Ohio Conference Action Plan
.
Bob Cundiff, Ohio Conference president, acknowledges the impact of the social distancing fatigue felt by everyone. "Please adhere closely to what our Governor and COVID-19 response plans have outlined," he said. "This reflects positively on us as a church when we do so, and helps us to protect not only ourselves and our families, but also the communities in which we serve."
What about summer camp, camp meeting, graduations and other conference events? Conference leadership is meeting tomorrow (May 1) to make those decisions, and we will share those decisions when available on our website, social media platforms, and in next week's Faithpoints.
We are in this together. It remains as important as ever for our spiritual communities to rally together and care for each other, even when personal contact is discouraged. We applaud and praise God for the creative ways our churches and pastors ensure ministry has not stopped. We also thank our members for their continued and faithful giving, which helps ensure ministry will not stop.
Visit
www.ohioadventist.org/virus
for information on facility reopenings, status of events, and other coronavirus updates from the Ohio Conference.
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Isolated But Not Alone: Youth Staying Connected During COVID-19
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Young people may have a particularly difficult time making sense of what is happening in the world today. Their brains are still maturing, they lack experience, leaving them vulnerable and confused. They have been socially isolated from their peers, their school and teachers, and their daily routines. Add the seemingly endless news cycles, and children and teens (even adults) may feel overwhelmed, anxious and scared. Comprehending from the news and social media the extent of risk that this pandemic crisis may pose to them, their loved ones and friends can create a sense of panic. Many feel alone.
Retaining that connection, that sense of community during a time of social distancing, is challenging in the best of times for adolescents and teens; during a pandemic, it requires innovative thinking and a willingness to work
well
outside the box. What are Ohio youth and young adult pastors doing to ensure these susceptible individuals, who may be isolated, are not alone?
The Kettering Adventist church has a pastoral duo who stay connected with their youth and young adults. Pastors Jason Calvert and Paddy McCoy employ a mixture of technology and "old school" methods to remain connected to their youth and to their congregation. According to McCoy, "young adult elders are each calling and caring for 20-25 of their young adult community members, evaluating their health, prayer needs, and other needs as they present themselves." Calvert shared he has his high school students calling approximately 50 elderly and/or lonely church members in isolation each week.
In addition to Sabbath Schools and Prayer Meetings held virtually, the pastors offer live weekly Bible studies, daily devotional videos, and interactive games and challenges with competitors able to win bi-weekly prizes. Sometimes, to encourage a youth or teen celebrating a birthday, "We simply drive-by (parade style) a student's home, honking and yelling and cheering!!!" said Calvert.
Both pastors regularly text their respective community members, letting them know they are praying for them and available to talk via whatever means preferred. "I truly believe that all the work to create content and be a constant online presence helps our members feel like we are wrapping our arms around them even from a distance," said McCoy.
Much like his colleagues at Kettering, Pastor Joel Greve stays connected with his Centerville youth and young adults. In addition to weekly video devotionals, virtual youth and young adult Bible studies and Sabbath School, Greve has his young adults "call older adults in the church who may be stuck at home, to see if they have any needs." Weekly "Pastor Joel's Challenges" have become a hit with his young people. Participants must submit photos or video of whatever challenge Greve issues that week; winners receive prizes.
While young people at Cincinnati Clifton church have similar weekly programs, Kojo Twumasi, youth pastor, also encourages service to their community. Last week his young adult group delivered thank-you packages to frontline health care workers. "We don't share these
photos
to boast or humble-brag. We share them to flood your timelines with positivity, inspire others to action, and give God glory!"
Up at the Worthington church, Youth Pastor Jeremy Wong has a multitude of ways he remains connected with their young people. Outside the newly "standard" weekly virtual programming during this pandemic crisis, Wong divided students in his youth group into six different small groups, each with a mentor-type leader. "I have assigned a youth leader over each group, and their responsibility is to check in with the individuals in their group multiple times a week, explained Wong. "If the youth leader has time, they are encouraged to ”hang” out with their group by playing virtual games or FaceTiming with each other." This has resulted in groups of students connecting with each other through playing virtual games together. "This happened totally organically and I am glad students are connecting with each other," he said. These mentoring opportunities continue during Wong's Friday night Instagram live sessions, where they have had two students share about their journey with God, and this Friday will feature some of their seniors share "advice on how to survive middle school and high school."
Like his colleagues, McCoy has received messages from near and far who share similar thoughts as to this one from a Kettering College student who is at home in Michigan and missing community: “Hey Pastor Paddy! Just wanted to let you know how much I appreciate how much you and the rest of the pastoral team have been doing to keep all of us connected with the church and community. I look forward every Sabbath to live streaming the service all the way from up here in MI and enjoy all of your podcasts and Wednesday connect chats with Pastor Jason. It is such a blessing to be connected to such a wonderful community.”
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Bucyrus Adventist Church to Begin "Drive-In" Worship Service
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Churches around the country have been exploring innovative ways to worship together with their members and friends. Some have begun "come as you are in the family car" drive-in worship services open to church and community members alike.
During this time of social distancing, an Ohio Conference church has decided to utilize this opportunity to worship together with their community. Their drive-in worship service will be held in the parking lot of the Bucyrus Adventist church located at 1980 Stetzer Road in Bucyrus. Overseeing the project is Marcellus de Oliveira, pastor of the Bucyrus, Blooming Grove, Marion and Galion churches.
It took de Oliveira several weeks to secure the necessary permissions from the local government and health department, find an FM transmitter, and ensure no FCC infractions. Their first of four scheduled drive-in services begin this Sabbath at 11:30am and will live-streamed. All are welcome to join them.
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Conference Treasury Department Facilitates Local Church Treasurer Training Virtually
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Earlier this month, Ohio Conference Treasurer Roy Simpson and his team facilitated a training for local church treasurers and pastors across the conference. It had been several years since such a workshop had been made available, and rather than wait until the current pandemic crisis had passed, Simpson scheduled the training to be conducted via Zoom.
Topics covered included AdventistGiving (the Adventist Church's online giving platform), Jewel (denominationally authorized church accounting software), and best practices for maintaining financial accounts for the local church. Breakout sessions were offered in both
English
and
Spanish
, and were recorded for future use.
#MinistryDoesNotStop here in the Ohio Conference.
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A Message from Our Educators
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Ohio Conference Education Superintendent Richard Bianco shares messages from educators in all 11 schools across the conference, thanking members and churches for their support of Adventist Education during this COVID-19 pandemic crisis.
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Proverbs tells us, " Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it." (Proverbs 22:6, KJV).
During the current "stay at home" orders here in Ohio, many members are watching worship services online. Delaware church member Tarri Jones is no exception. She was watching the Springfield First Church worship live-stream service last Sabbath when her grandson, Clyde, became extremely interested the sermon of Pastor Michael Stough II. Stough is pastor of the district which includes Delaware, New Carlisle and Springfield.
You can find links to Stough's live-streamed worship service and other Ohio Conference live-streamed worship services
here
.
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Inspirational Quote of the Week
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Read the Current Issue of
Mission Ohio
in the Columbia Union Visitor
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Highlights of this issue include new Ohio Conference treasurer, Roy M. Simpson and his wife Melissa; Ohio Conference high school students being "ReCharged," and how a growing church plant changes lives in Massillon.
Read these articles and more in the current issue of
Mission Ohio
in
Visitor
magazine.
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Heidi A. Shoemaker, Communication Director
Ohio Conference of Seventh-day Adventists
1251 E Dorothy Ln, Dayton, OH 45419
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