Story by Francis Tuffour
During a recent Ohio Conference Workers’ Meeting, the administrative team officially launched Ignite Ohio—a bold, statewide initiative designed to inspire revival, foster reformation and mobilize churches for frontline mission in 2026. Spanning the entire year, the movement will culminate in a coordinated evangelistic effort, with more than 20 churches across Ohio conducting simultaneous proclamation series from September 19–26.
Ignite Ohio builds on the spiritual momentum of Pentecost 2025, a North American Division-led initiative that sought to launch more than 3,000 proclamation efforts across the United States and Canada. Grounded in the Great Commission and inspired by Matthew 24:14, the initiative aimed to mobilize every local field in a united wave of evangelism.
In 2025, Ohio Conference churches and schools responded with strong engagement, resulting in more than 1,000 baptisms across the state. That success demonstrated what is possible when churches unite around a shared mission. Now, Ignite Ohio aims to carry that momentum forward with deeper engagement and more substantial support.
This year’s initiative primarily serves Englishspeaking, non-Hispanic multilingual congregations. Hispanic churches will continue advancing their mission through a parallel, conference-supported evangelism program tailored to their ministry context.
A defining feature of Ignite Ohio is the level of support provided to participating churches. In partnership with the Columbia Union Conference, each church that formally commits will receive a comprehensive support package valued at nearly $20,000. This package includes evangelism funding, a trained Bible worker and a fully funded speaker or evangelist for a proclamation week—far exceeding the typical annual evangelism support.
Leadership development is also a key element of the strategy. Once a church joins the initiative, pastors and lay leaders will receive step-by-step coaching from the Ohio Conference Evangelism Department to plan and implement a full evangelism cycle—preparation, proclamation and follow-up. Churches are encouraged to design outreach efforts that reflect their unique community, using resources such as the 28-Day Acts Challenge, which offers a daily reading plan, reflection questions, community-focused projects and branded promotional materials.
To access the full support package, churches must take several important steps: gain church board approval, submit a local evangelism plan and have the pastor complete and submit a commitment form. Once these steps are completed, financial and personnel resources are released, allowing the church to move into the planning phase.
While not every congregation may be able to participate this year, the conference understands that ministry contexts differ. Churches that choose not to join Ignite Ohio may still receive support through the standard evangelism funding process. However, Ignite Ohio reserves its strategic resources for churches that commit to the coordinated initiative.
Conference leaders say that, at its core, Ignite Ohio is about transformation. It’s a united call to act, to serve and to boldly share the gospel—together.