Rev. Brian & Amanda Moser

Prayer of Ordination & Laying on of Hands

Pastor Eric Cochran Installed at Oakfield Baptist Church · On Sunday, March 30, 2008, Mr. Eric Cochran was installed as the pastor of the Oakfield Baptist Church in the Zanesville Association. The service of installation was part of the morning worship and was followed by a covered-dish dinner. Eric began serving the church officially as pastor in January after filling the pulpit for a few months. He is the grandson of Pastor Raymond Lemity, who before his death, served the Oakfied church as pastor for nearly 50 years. Pictured left to right are: Rev. Dan Taylor, Minister of Congregational Development, Pastor Eric Cochran, his wife, Karen, and their daughter Allyson.

African Heritage Festival · May 3 & 4, 2008 at Shroyer Baptist Church (Dayton Area Baptist Association).  Rev. Dr. Eleazar Ziherambere was the featured speaker for an African Heritage Festival: "Continents Joining Hands".  He is Area Director for Africa with International Ministries. He will be speaking about ABC/USA missions work in Africa. He will also share about other issues pertaining to our partnership with Africans: African refugees and immigrants in our communities and churches, and assimilation of Africans into local communities and churches.  This festival was inspired by the African refugees and immigrants in the Shroyer Baptist Congregation. The countries represented at Shroyer Baptist include: Burundi, Congo, Nigeria, and Rwanda.

Pastor Richard Runion Installed at Torch Baptist Church · On Sunday, March 2, 2008, Richard Runion was installed as the pastor of the Torch Baptist Church, Marietta Association. He served as the co-interim for 18 months before being called as pastor. Pictured are Mr. Gary Frye, Marietta Association Moderator; Pastor Runion; Sandy Runion; and Rev. Dan Taylor, Minister of Congregational Development.

Recent Meeting of the Rise Up and Build Leadership Team · In a recent meeting the Rise Up & Build Leadership Team from the First Baptist Church of Marietta discusses their current readings and how they apply to their own lives and the life of their congregation. Pictured below are Rev. David Bilyeu, Becky Mallet, Bonnie Hamilton, Bunk Hall, Leonard Grant, and Stephanie Biehl.

Central Baptist working with Neighbor to Neighbor Ministries · Pastor Arlis McCall (right) of the Central Baptist Church in Portsmouth helps to pack the van from the Food Pantry of Neighbor to Neighbor Ministries to go to a satellite distribution site in Scioto County. Neighbor to Neighbor is a separate ministry reaching out from the church to Portsmouth and the county to feed the hungry. Central Baptist is a Rise Up & Build congregation looking for new ways to share and care within their community.

 Dan Mullins, a member of the Rise Up and Build Team and Director of Neighbor to Neighbor passes food through the basement window (below).

Mid February ABC-Ohio Staff Retreat · It is great to welcome Rev. Mark Click to the staff as he attended his first retreat with us! We're glad Mark is on board.

Rev. Mark Click, Rev. Bob Cassady, Dr. Larry Swain, Rev. Jane Gibbons and Rev. Dan Taylor pictured during their staff retreat in mid-February.

The staff took a break during their retreat to visit the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton. Jim Thorpe joins the staff for a picture.

"Break the Chains" Yard Sale · The Women’s Ministry of Sawmill Baptist Church (Powell, OH – David W. Nuhfer, Senior Pastor) in the Columbus Baptist Association (Rev. Robert Cassady, Minister of Congregational Development) is sponsoring a church-wide Yard Sale on Saturday, May 3, 2008 to benefit the American Baptist Womens Ministry’s “Break the Chains” effort to combat human trafficking. The goal is to help the ABWM of Ohio raise $17,000.00 by June 2008.  The church is enlisting the aid of the entire congregation through different teams for organization, advertising, set-up, clean-up and donations. During the yard sale, they plan to distribute literature about human trafficking to shoppers and offer opportunities for people to make other cash donations.  Paulette Nuhfer is serving as Chairperson for the event. In addition to raising funds for the “Break the Chains” cause, the church hopes that this will increase awareness of the dangers of human trafficking within the minds and hearts of the people in their community and the surrounding area. If you would like more information, feel free to call the church at 614-764-1141 or contact Paulette Nuhfer by e-mail at carouselpdn@aol.com.

Ordination Service for Rev. Robert Joseph Parrott · On January 27, 2008, Sawmill Baptist Church celebrated an Ordination Service for Rev. Robert Joseph Parrott.  Sawmill Baptist is in Powell (Columbus Baptist Association), Rev. David Nuhfer, Pastor.

Rev. Robert Joseph Parrot and wife Sherrin	Pastor Jeffrey Huff, Licensed Lay Minister at Sawmill Baptist Church leads in the ‘Laying On of Hands’ for Rev. Parrott	Dr. Robert Hoffman, Presiding Elder at Sawmill Baptist Church presents the ‘Declaration of Ordination’ to Rev. Parrott

Installation Service of Rev. Peter McCurdy · Congratulations to Rev. McCurdy as he was installed as Pastor of First Baptist Church in Painesville on Sunday, January 20, 2008. 

Participants in the Installation Service were Rev. Robert Cunningham, Rev. Paul McCurdy (Peter’s father), Bev Keyes, and Rev. Robert Cassady (Minister of Congregational Development Central Northeast).

The photo (right) is of Peter, his wife Sarah and their 3 children: Elisabeth, Nathaniel, and Samuel (whom Peter is holding).

Fanning The Flame  - A National Pastors' Renewal Conference · Here is a great opportunity for Professional Church Leaders to meet other colleagues in ministry and nurture peer relationships.  This conference will also provide professional church leaders opportunities to worship and experience spiritual nourishment and a continuing education experience.  Rev. Dan Southerland, author of Transitioning: Leading Your Church Through Change will be one of the guest speakers at the event.  The April 22-25, 2008 Conference will be held at The American Baptist Assembly, Green Lake Conference Center in Green Lake, WI. The Conference fee, including food and housing, is $399 for single occupancy and $279 per person (two to a room). The American Baptist Assembly has graciously agreed to offer a complimentary round of golf on one of their two eighteen hole golf courses. This is their way of honoring professional church leaders and thanking them for their faithfulness in Kingdom ministry.  For a full-color brochure and sign up information in PDF form, CLICK HERE.

Questions should be directed to Victoria.Goff@abc-usa.org , National Coordinator, Volunteer Services
National Ministries ABCUSA