American Baptist Churches of Ohio

2020 Annual Gathering Live Stream

Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

The 2020 Annual Gathering of the American Baptist Churches of Ohio was held Tuesday, October 6 from 1:00-4:30 pm at the Crowne Plaza Columbus North. Just as many of our schools and colleges used a hybrid model (both in person and online) to begin the schoolyear, we planned the Annual Gathering so that people throughout our ABC Ohio family could choose to gather either in person or electronically.

The program includes an address by Dr. C. Jeff Woods, Acting General Secretary of the American Baptist Churches USA and a time of worship led by Pastor Benjamin Payne of the First Baptist Church of Seville. Rev. Dr. Ken Atchison, President of ABC Ohio will present his Presidential Address. We will also hear virtual greetings from some in the broader American Baptist family. As is required by our constitution, there is a brief business meeting.

WATCH THE ENTIRE LIVE STREAM HERE:

2020-2021 Ohio Baptist Education Society Scholarship Recipients

Ohio Baptist Education Society is provides financial assistance to prepare American Baptist professional church leaders for tomorrow.

These students from our ABC/Ohio churches are benefitting financially with grants from the Ohio Baptist Education Society as they continue their professional education.

Rev. Kenneth Eugene Durtsche Goes to Meet Jesus

Rev. Kenneth Eugene Durtsche, age 85, of Marion, met his beloved Jesus on Saturday, February 20, 2021 at Heartland of Marion.

Rev. Durtsche was born on July 11, 1935 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and shortly after moved to Galion, Ohio where he was raised by Albert and Bertha Durtsche. He attended The Galion Schools graduating in 1953.

While living in Galion, Rev. Durtsche served as a Councilman and City Service Director. Wanting to continue his education and understanding of the Bible, Rev. Durtsche attended Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, The Baptist Bible Seminary in Johnson City, New York, Ashland Seminary, and The Methodist Theological School in Delaware, Ohio. Rev. Durtsche started his many years of service to the Lord at The Kings Creek Baptist Church in Urbana, Ohio, Pastored the Baptist Church in Morral, and faithfully served The Fairpark Community Baptist Church in Marion for more than thirty-five years.

Rev. Dr. John A. Sundquist enters Fully into the Presence of Hi Lord

Rev. Dr. John A. Sundquist, who served as Executive Director of American Baptist International Ministries (IM) from 1989 until 2003, entered fully into the presence of his Lord on Sunday, February 21, from his beloved home at Bethany Beach (in Sawyer, Michigan), at the age of 84. International Ministries joins with his family, friends, disciples, and colleagues all around the globe in giving thanks to God for his life of dedicated service to the cause of Christ.

READ MORE HERE

Jay Curry Reaches His Earthly Journey's End

Jay M. Curry, of Brookfield, Ohio, peacefully passed away on February 15, 2021, at Ohio Living Lake Vista, Cortland, Ohio, following a brief illness. He was 97 and a day.

Jay was born on Valentine’s Day, 1924, in Youngstown, Ohio, a son to Harry L. and Anna E. (Fox) Curry.

His elementary school years were spent in Austintown Fitch and Youngstown City Schools. However, he graduated from Brookfield High School in 1942.

He served in the U.S. Army Medical Corps during WWII and was assigned to the 25th General Hospital, 30th Field Hospital, and the 2nd Evacuation Unit during the Battle of the Bulge in Europe.

Employed by General American Transportation in Masury, Ohio, he served in many areas of supervision and management for over 42 years. He was instrumental in initiating an Employee Assistance Program, which still exists in the Chicago area as a hotline to meet people’s needs. He retired on his birthday in 2011, working his last 27 years with Roemer Industries, Masury, as a Manufacturing Engineer of tooling and equipment.

Sister Mildred Archie Goes to be with the Lord

Sister Mildred Archie passed away on February 11, 2021. Sis Archie was the first American Baptist missionary to be assigned to South Africa along with work in Zambia and Ghana.

She was born and raised in Springfield, Ohio. Her parents, who had relocated from Alabama, remembers attending St. John as a fidgety four year old child. She joined in 1943 under Rev. B.E. Edmondson.

She attended local schools and remembers being the only "colored" in some of her early classes. After graduation, most young people if they did not go into the armed forces, worked at the Department of Defense at Wright Patterson Air Force Base (WPAFB).

However, she continued her education by going to night school and upon graduation received the honor of having one of the longest tenures from start to finish with a degree in Sociology in 1990 from Wittenberg University. The education included interruptions in schooling while working for WPAFB for 19 years and then transferring over to the Department of State as a Foreign Service Officer for an additional 22 years which included Canada, Iceland, Sweden, Central America, South America, Tunisia, Nigeria and Vietnam.