January 2025 | 7
“What’s ironic is that there’s a Salt Network church plant in Gainesville, Florida, that had their Fall Conference the same weekend,” he said. “They were able to have it, but ours got canceled in Ohio.” Guetzko rebooked the conference. “We typically have a guest speaker come, but with the rescheduling be- cause of the hurricane, he wasn’t able to come,” he said. “We have two-and-a-half weeks to throw the new one together and to refund people who weren’t able to come anymore.” Despite the time crunch and the lack of a speaker, Guetzko relied on God, reorganized the event, and served as the primary speaker himself. Using 2 Corinthians, he preached four messages high- lighting how God loves us, transforms us, sustains us and invites us. “It was a really, really simple framework,” he said. “I felt so thankful for how it felt like the Spirit was leading in the preparation of that because it just felt really natural to say what we wanted to say.” One student at the retreat stood out. A student told Guetzko that she was walking through a significant sea - son of anxiety and depression that was causing her to lose hope. But by the grace of God, she said that Jesus
Nearly 200 Ohio State students traveled to Kelly’s Island for the 2024 Salt Company Fall Conference.
seemed more hopeful than ever after the Fall Confer- ence. “She wouldn’t have been able to attend our conference when it was originally supposed to happen three weeks earlier,” he said. “I’m convinced that God worked every- thing out to specifically have her be in attendance and I’m praying we continue to hear stories like that as we meet with students going forward.”
Resolve to Renew and Refocus in 2025 By Mark Jones, SCBO revitalization consultant
The new year is here and many Ohio Baptists have made resolutions about their diets, workloads, Bible devotions, exercise, and other areas of life. Perhaps you have made resolutions yourself. If you are like many other pastors, you might resolve to lead dif- ferently than you did last year. According to the dictionary, as a verb “resolve” means to decide firmly on a course of action. “Resolve” as a noun is a firm determination to do something. Before making a resolution, we must review and assess the need for the resolution. What needs to be resolved in your community? What needs to be refocused within your congregation? What causes you to stumble in your resolve to lead well? What do you need to resolve to have the resolve necessary for revitalization? My prayer over the next year is to encourage each of us to begin a journey of renewal by refocusing on the kingdom of God and his desire for each of us. Will you “resolve to have resolve” when it comes to renewal by refocusing on his kingdom above all else? May our heart’s prayer be “Father, may your will be done and your kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven.” To help your resolve, several events are being offered in 2025.
Dr. Richard Blackaby, president of Blackaby Ministries, is coming to Cuyahoga Falls in March to speak on the ways of God. In May, pastors will be encouraged during the Lead Well Conference in the Northeast Region of Ohio. Later in the year, Mark Clifton, NAMB senior director of replanting, is coming to Lancaster and the South- west Region to encourage pastors to have resolve in the journey. In addition to events, there are multiple revitalization tools available–from the weekend of Awakening to a season of refocusing. This year pastors can become part of Overseer cohorts to assist them in casting vi- sion and developing a deployment strategy. Resolutions are best accomplished by goals set. My 2025 goals in revitalization are to see six regional con- gregations go through a Church Renewal Journey - Awaken weekend; ten congregations complete the Corpus Vitae Refocus process; twenty-four pastors complete the Overseer cohort; six additional Pathfinder coaches trained; and ten percent of our congregations complete a Pulse assessment. Would you like more information? Email me at mjones@ scbo.org or go to scbo.org/revitalize.
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