American Baptist Churches of Ohio

It was 1967, two years before Neil Armstrong stepped on the Moon,  when the last Vacation Bible School was held at the Beulah Baptist Church in Proctorville (Lawrence Association).  A lot has happened in those 43 years, there were many struggles and many times when a faithful few would gather for worship, but they continued to pray and persevere.  In the past two years a transformation has occurred.  Guests started coming to Beulah and they stayed.  Dr. Kevin Bloomfield, who was supply preaching for a couple of years was called as pastor and he and others will say that it is all in God's timing - the church was ready for transformation.  People continue to come and they are working, praying and studying together and reaching out into the community.  God is at work at Beulah Baptist!

Linda Brutto passed away on Saturday, June 12, 2010, in Alliance, OH.  Linda served for 25 years on the staff of Neighborhood Ministries in Youngstown.  She had been a member of the ABC/Ohio Board of Regional Ministries in past years and faithfully served in the Trumbull Baptist Association and in her own church, First Baptist Church of Alliance.

Three members of Columbus Baptist Association Churches were recently recognized as recipients of ‘The Living Faith Award’ presented to individuals of exemplary faith and the influence of faith within their vocation and larger community. The awards are presented by the Columbus Metropolitan Area Church Council, whose mission is ‘to encourage one another in mission, build relationships among Christians, create a forum for Christian witness in the community, and work with others in a common mission.’

A mission work team of 16 people from the Vinton Baptist Church (Rio Grande Association) served in Haiti in early April during Holy Week.  The team, led by Harry Rittenhouse from the Springdale Baptist Church, worked to begin building a school in Grand Guave in partnership with American Baptists, Cooperative Baptists and the Haitian Baptists.   This was a first-time experience mission experience and first-time out of the United States for most of the team.  Work was accomplished, but lives were changed and each of the team members is ready to return to help the people of Haiti.  If you would like to have a personal mission report from Haiti, feel free to contact the Vinton Baptist Church.