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and plenty of s’mores enjoyed around the fire. As one member shared, “It felt like a glimpse of heaven—God’s people together, worshiping freely, and celebrating his goodness.” The night beautifully embodied the spirit of Luke 14:23, where Jesus calls his followers to “go out into the highways and hedges and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.” The evening at The Cove was more than a dedication—it was a declaration that Springboro Baptist is committed to going beyond the walls of the church to reach the lost and serve their community in love. The mission of 2 Cor- inthians 5:20 continues to guide them: “We are ambassa- dors for Christ, God making his appeal through us.”
As a leading church in the West Region of the SCBO, Springboro Baptist continues to model faithful leader- ship, creative ministry, and a gospel passion that is in- spiring others throughout the West Region. The congre- gation is proof that when God’s people remain faithful to his word and committed to his mission, he does immea- surably more than all we could ask or imagine. The days ahead are filled with excitement and expectan - cy. Whether it’s through baptisms, backyard barbecues, or bonfire worship nights in The Cove, Springboro Bap - tist Church is seeing firsthand that God is still in the busi - ness of changing lives—and the best is yet to come.
Florida-Ohio Churches Partner for Reciprocal Mission Trips Two churches in the Florida-Ohio partnership are grow- ing their connection by investing in one another – in per- son. By Stephanie Heading, managing editor
The partnership between Life Church, Monroe, Ohio, and Faith Baptist Church, Lakeland, Florida, has taken the next step – working together hand-in-hand in each other’s ministry context. This past summer, Life Church and Faith Baptist formed mission teams that drove nearly 2000 miles round-trip for reciprocal mission trips during two weeks in August. Life Church, led by Pastor Bill Sargeant, traveled south during the first week of August and arrived in Lakeland with a team of eight in time to participate in a week of missions with Faith Baptist and its association, the Cen- tral Florida Baptist Association. “What our AMS was asking was for that whole week, all of our churches to really go above and beyond in the area of community outreach,” said Pastor Drew White, Faith Baptist Church. The churches worked together to serve people inside the church, outside the church, and at various commu- nity agencies, including a local camp, a pro-life clinic, and the national headquarters of One More Child. “We did power washing and physical labor and things like that with Drew,” Bill said. There’s just something about physically doing something together. It was a re- ally good moment where two churches came together. Because it wasn’t our group and your group, it was us together.” Life Church is a church replant and is currently reaching people who have never attended church before, are be- coming believers and are hungry to learn how to live the Christian life. The members of the mission team were all part of Bill’s small group.
Pastor Bill Sargentm (left), Life Church, Monroe, Ohio, and Pastor Drew White (right), Faith Baptist Church, Lakeland, Florida.
“Small groups are about depth in the word, but it’s also about proximity and relationship with one another,” he said. “Ultimately, to be involved with others, and when people don’t have that, and they get that, it just blows them away. That’s what happened on this trip.” At the end of their week together at Faith Baptist, the Life Church team headed back to Monroe to prepare to welcome the Faith Baptist team to Ohio the last week of August. They returned home changed, and that affected Life Church, too. “This trip was a little bit different because it overflowed onto the church,” Bill said. “The people who went were definitely impacted, but more so those who were close to them because of the joy and the excitement,” Bill not- ed. Since the trip to Lakeland, five people at Life Church
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