A Church Called Evergreen

Last Sabbath, the Toledo Hispanic Church inaugurated its new sanctuary with a worship service attended by more than 110 people. The service featured praise and worship music, testimonies, baptisms, and a sermon. Pastor Edwin Monterrosa, Director of Multilingual Ministries, represented the Ohio Conference administration and shared a special message with the congregation. On Tuesday, September 1, 2026, the Ohio Conference held its Executive Committee meeting in the church’s fellowship hall. Conference President Bob Cundiff explained that the administration had intended to hold a fall meeting at a different location to reinforce that the committee represents and serves the entire state of Ohio, beyond the communities where its members live or normally meet. Cundiff emphasized that periodically meeting in different parts of the conference territory serves as an internal reminder of that responsibility. He connected the visit to the committee’s work, noting that although its business often takes the form of agendas, minutes, budgets, papers, and motions, those decisions have tangible consequences for local congregations. Anthony Infante, pastor of the church, welcomed the committee and expressed the congregation’s happiness at being able to host and serve its members in their new church home. Infante thanked the Ohio Conference administration, the Executive Committee, and the treasury team for helping make the building purchase possible. He compared the congregation’s experience to the account in Nehemiah 1:2–4, in which Nehemiah received the troubling news that Jerusalem’s walls were broken down and responded with sorrow and prayer. Infante explained that the congregation’s lack of a church home had similarly prompted members to turn to God in prayer. As with Nehemiah, prayer became an important part of their journey. The congregation used to meet in the fellowship hall at Toledo First. Over time, both the Hispanic and English-speaking congregations grew, creating a space shortage. Infante described this as “a good problem.” Eventually, the building could no longer comfortably accommodate both growing congregations. Infante humorously compared the situation to Abraham and Lot going in different directions, emphasizing that both congregations needed room to continue growing. The Hispanic congregation purchased its new building approximately three months before the committee’s visit. The facility required substantial work. Infante shared photographs showing its condition at the time of purchase and later led committee members on a tour. During those three months, the congregation undertook significant improvements. The exterior paint was deteriorating and needed attention, and members constructed a new platform to replace the deteriorating one. They also added a baptistry, provided needed chairs and pews, and installed new lighting. Other renovation and preparation work has continued throughout the facility. Church members have accomplished much of the work through direct involvement and volunteer labor. Returning to the example of Nehemiah, Infante described members as working with “the Bible in one hand and construction in the other.” Members have come to church in work clothes and devoted considerable time and energy to preparing their new home. Infante said it was wonderful to see them serving their church in such a practical way. Even after worship services, members have gone upstairs to continue working on the renovations.

Camp Mohaven Summer Camp Report 2026 By the Numbers… Staff Training Dates: June 1 – June 13, 2026 Weeks of Camp: June 14 – July 13, 2026 Camps Offered: Cub, Junior, Tween, Teen, & Family Total Staff: 30 03 - Paid Leadership 04 - Volunteers 23 - Paid Staff (Counselors) Total Campers: 287 242 = Youth Campers (Cub, Junior, Tween, Teen) 45 = Family Campers For the Kingdom… Out of 77 Junior Campers… 35 Wrote Prayer Requests 52 Chose to Follow Jesus 70 Chose Bible Studies 16 Been Baptized 57 of the 61 Possible Baptisms Chose Baptism 25 Wanted Home Baptism 32 Wanted Baptism at Mohaven (not all had parental permission) Out of 62 Tween Campers… 12 Wrote Prayer Requests 33 Chose to Follow Jesus 45 Chose Bible Studies 30 Already Baptized 26 of the 32 Possible Baptisms Chose Baptism 16 Wanted Home Baptism 10 Wanted Baptism at Mohaven (not all had parental permission) Out of 59 Teen Campers… 28 Wrote Prayer Requests 51 Chose to Follow Jesus 50 Chose Bible Studies 35 Already Baptized 22 of the 24 Possible Baptisms Chose Baptism 19 Wanted Home Baptism 3 Wanted Baptism at Mohaven (not all had parental permission). The Story … Even with the enemy’s challenges from without and within, once again, God overwhelmed us with His blessings each week of Mohaven’s Summer Camp! Our Staff persevered through various hardships to see God’s work accomplished. From the beginning to the end, the Staff kept their focus on the ministry at hand, rather than being sidetracked by distractions. The most critical part of summer camp is the heart of the camper – helping them know they are important and loved by God and each of our Staff. No one has lived in the cabins since the fire destroyed the water system on March 13th. So, we spent the first couple of weeks pushing nature back into the woods. Ranger Russell, along with some professional help, did an outstanding job of sending honeybees, mice, and snakes back to their natural habitats. We could not be more thankful for the Health Department’s Report (Knox County Health report on Cabins attached below). Except for the Staff Cabins, Gazelle & Horse, the rest of the boy’s village cabins mentioned in the report, where campers are housed, had minimal pest activity at the initial KCH inspection. During a follow-up inspection, the KCH inspectors repeatedly commented on how well Camp Mohaven is being maintained. Summer Camp Staff began their ministry by training during the day and then leading the evening programs for Children’s & Youth divisions at the Ohio Conference’s Camp Meeting. Once the summer campers arrived, the Staff ministry was in full stride. Each Staff member assists in programming and activities as well as being a Counselor. They are in the trenches of ministry with our weekly pastors (this summer we welcomed: Pastor Joel Greve, Pastor Clay Koh, Evelyn Goodman, and Pastor Jeff Akenberger) Two areas speak to the success of a Summer Camp: the heart decisions of the camper and the retention of Staff. As you can see in the “By the Numbers…” we were blessed to have an overwhelming number of campers choose to accept Jesus, want to be baptized, and desire continued Bible Studies. We match the campers’ request for Baptism with the parents’ permission for them to be baptized at Mohaven. We are excited that nearly all Staff plan to return next summer. Once again, God continues to overwhelm us with His blessings for Mohaven’s Summer Camp! The Knox County Health inspection report referenced above is provided below for review.