Connecting Columbia Union Seventh-day Adventists

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Ohio Conference's 2023 Initiative Almost Complete

Editorial by Bob Cundiff

As we end the first quarter of 2023 here in the Ohio Conference, we are so grateful for each member across this great state! Looking back on how God brought us through 2022, we can only marvel and praise Him for all He has done—the state of the Seventh-day Adventist churches across the territory is continuing to grow.

Last year was a fantastic year! Our churches were pressing together. People were involved in the mission, message and movement of Adventism in a way that was unprecedented in our recent history. Our tithe was up. And this has continued into 2023.

We, the administrators of the Ohio Conference, just want to thank you—the priesthood of believers, our partners in ministry—for serving, for loving, for sharing the gospel, for your faithfulness, and for your stewardship.

The 2023 Initiative is a vision that God laid on our hearts at the beginning of 2021 to see 2,023 new souls added to God’s kingdom across our conference by the end of 2023. The truth is, there is nothing about the history of growth in our conference that suggests that we could bring in that many new people in such a short period of time.

But family, this was God’s vision!

Time and time again, we see the impossible become possible in places where God has a vision and gives it to His people. When we grab on to God’s vision, we access the resources of heaven. It is hard to fail when the King of the universe is leading the way forward.

At the close of 2022, we welcomed 1,691 new believers join God’s kingdom across the Ohio Conference. That puts us some 300 people away from reaching our 2023 Initiative goal! We have no doubt that we’re going to reach this goal by the end of 2023 and perhaps even in time for our constituency session, June 4.

How exciting it will be for us to realize at the end of the day that perhaps our faith was a little bit too small. God wants to do a new thing in this territory. Thank you for answering the call.

UPDATE: Since the publication of this article in the March/April 2023 Visitor, the Ohio Conference reports they are only 130 baptisms away from their goal.

 

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