NEWSLETTER.

What If God Wants to Use Your Church to Start Something New? When we read the book of Acts, one truth becomes clear: the early church grew because ordinary believers stepped out in faith to start new communities of worship and mission. Church planting isn’t a fad or a strategy reserved for megachurches—it’s the heartbeat of the Great Commission.Across our district, there are communities where the gospel witness is almost non-existent, neighborhoods where people live and die without ever encountering Jesus in a meaningful way. What if God is calling us to change that? What if He wants to use…

Nurturing the Call We are inviting every pastor across the South Central Ohio District to join together in preaching on The Call on Sunday, October 12, 2025. While none of us—including pastors and parents—can call someone into the ministry, we can create a climate in our churches and homes where it is easy for God to call, and easier still for people to hear His voice. I will never forget the night God called me. It was a warm July 23 evening during a youth camp service in Summersville, West Virginia. That moment has been the defining spiritual experience of…

Celebrating a Million-Dollar Mission: Our District’s Impact on World Evangelism Fund We’re thrilled to announce that our district has officially raised one million dollars for World Evangelism Fund (WEF) during the 2024-2025 church year – a historic milestone that reflects the heart of our churches and the mission we share in proclaiming the message of holiness and hope in Jesus! The World Evangelism Fund is the fuel and lifeline of the Church of the Nazarene, enabling the church to send missionaries, plant churches, train leaders, and respond to crisis needs across the world. Through WEF, we are truly a church…

Head for the Hills!Hocking Hills, that is! I hope you’ll join us for the 2025 SCO Camp Meeting at Hocking Hills Retreat Center, from Sunday, July 6 through Sunday, July 13. Evening services will be held at 5:00 p.m. on Sundays and 7:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday. If you’re joining us for the first time, the address is: 30682 Chieftain Drive, Logan, OH 43138. We’re excited to welcome Dr. J. K. Warrick, a gifted leader and anointed preacher. You will be blessed by his ministry! He and I will alternate preaching during the evening services. You’ll also enjoy the inspiring…

Pastor, Please Extend an Invitation There was a season in my ministry when I found myself stepping back from giving altar calls as often as I should have. It felt like a dry spell—few people were coming forward—and I found myself growing weary of the lack of response that followed those invitations. Over time, I began to wonder, Why keep pressing through the awkwardness, week after week, when nothing seems to be happening? So, instead of invitations being a regular part of my preaching ministry, they became infrequent. Looking back, I sometimes wonder how many hearts were ready—how many souls were…

A Heartfelt Thank You, Pastor Christy! This newsletter marks the bittersweet conclusion of Pastor Christy Robison’s service at the district office. Over the past four years, Christy has been a dedicated and integral part of our team, first serving as Executive Administrator (full-time) and later as Director of Communications (part-time). In her roles, Christy played a key part in keeping our district connected, overseeing the production of our newsletters, coordinating communication across the district, planning events, and so much more. Her impact has been deeply felt, especially by the three different district superintendents she has served. A couple weeks before…

Do You Have a Sophia Near You? Sophia began attending the Westerville Nazarene Church about three years ago, and she was an answer to our Multiply by Ten prayer initiative. Sophia, who is from Bolivia, began attending our ESOL Sunday School class where we teach English to speakers of other languages. The class uses a Biblically based and personally customized curriculum. After class, Sophia began attending our bilingual worship service. It did not take very long before Sophia began bringing other people to church with her. It started with her husband Cesar and sons Miguel and Adrian. Next came Nubia, Johana, Juana,…

The 82nd South Central Ohio District Assembly is now “in the books.” What a wonderful celebration of all that God has been doing in our midst! We celebrated 14 ordinands, 12 newly licensed district ministers, and 6 retirements. Here are the district statistics reported: Worship Attendance (in person): 8,939 + increase of 590 Worship Attendance (online): 3,540 + increase of 655 Total Worship Attendance: 12,479 + increase of 1,245 NDI Attendance: 7,856 – decrease of 459 Conversions: 901 + increase of 23 Baptisms: 601 + increase of 137 New Nazarenes: 657 + increase of 269 Membership: 10,770 – decrease of…

District Assembly is Upon Us In just five days, we’ll be gathering from across South Central Ohio for a time of celebration, connection, and concentration on the year we’ve closed, with a strong commitment to the year we are entering into. We are casting our sights on The One. The following are some important details concerning our 82nd District Assembly. Sunday, April 27th — Ordination Service Monday, April 28th — Business Session Delegate Handbook —

A Most Taxing Day It strikes me as ironic that April 15—Tax Day—falls during Holy Week this year, and even more ironic that April 15, 2025 is a Tuesday. It was on the Tuesday of Holy Week that Jesus was asked to address the issue of paying taxes. It seems that paying taxes was as hot an issue in Jesus’ day as it is in ours, and popular speakers like Jesus were expected to have a word on the matter. The Pharisees and Herodians, political enemies, had teamed up to trap Jesus, using the issue of paying taxes as bait. …