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ASHLAND — Often times societal problems are mischaracterized as ‘political’ rather than spiritual. At the end of the day, the heart of the matter is the matter of the heart. Recently the “Ashland Angle” show interviewed the president of an active clergy group that engages culture outside the Church’s four walls. Because this band of faith leaders leaves no stones unturned, some in Ashland believe there is the Republican and Democrat Parties, and then the Ashland County Ministerial Association.
“The Ashland County Ministerial Association (ACMA) is a group of clergy, professional church workers, and nonprofit directors that partner together to tackle problems in our community,” says Dave McNeely President of the ACMA. “Our county has about one-hundred-ten churches, and we hold monthly meetings with over forty leaders regularly attending. For the last forty years, this multi-denominational association has helped unify the Church and influence our community for the better.”
According to its website, in addition to meeting together for prayer and mutual encouragement, the ACMA coordinates community outreaches and has a membership covenant. Pastor McNeely says the ACMA has addressed a number of issues.
“Thru our association of faith leaders, we have helped address the drug addiction crisis thru the non-profit ministry Project One. We have also helped unify our community by coordinating corporate prayer events like the gathering at Freer Park, and our annual National Day of Prayer. I believe there has been a ripple effect that can be seen in our area because of this prayer.”
The ACMA rents out the Convocation Center at Ashland University for annual prayer breakfast which has an average attendance of seven hundred. As one of the largest National Day of Prayer observances in the state each year, Ashland leaders from various spheres of influence participate in the corporate gathering to take spiritual authority over different areas of society.
“So many challenges we face as local communities are not challenges that the government is equipped to address. So we need church leaders to help address these heart issues in the community.”
Ashland Mayor Matt Miller
During the pandemic and national social unrest of 2020, a collaboration of twenty-five churches from the ACMA held a sacred assembly to seek GOD and ask for His mercy. The event drew nearly two-thousand to Freer Park and drew national headlines.
In 2022, a number of pastors and faith-based leaders from the ACMA held the Ashland Library Board accountable for displaying inappropriate materials in the children’s section. Consequently, one of seven board members has been removed as a result of their stand. Faith leaders demonstrated that the issue of child-grooming is not just a fringe issue, with fifteen lead clergy and two hundred attending a library board meeting to address the protection of vulnerable children.
Pastor McNeely commented that one of the top priorities of the Association is to reach area youth to curb juvenile delinquency. “As an Association, we have met with school boards and elected officials to promote Bible education during school hours. This program, LifeWise Academy, now has over one thousand elementary students from all five school districts in our county learning from the Bible each week. And the Ashland County Ministerial Association was the tip of the spear to help accomplish this. Next year, we will be launching LifeWise Academy for Ashland High School students.”
LifeWise Academy has complimented teachers’ efforts in improving student behavior and academic achievement. Ambassador Enterprises commissioned a third-party data research firm, Thomas P. Miller & Associates, to gather and analyze data from over six thousand different schools across Ohio, Indiana, and Iowa, to understand the effectiveness of LifeWise programming in their region. In seventy-six of the studied schools, LifeWise Academy has been in place for multiple school years.
The survey found that the schools’ attendance rate increased in just the first year of the program, most attendance improved by nearly 7%. Additionally, student participation increased by 10% in a LifeWise program school. In the second and third years, schools with LifeWise programming saw improvements in discipline, with declines in both in-school and out-of-school suspensions.
Ashland Mayor Matt Miller commented during the Ashland Angle interview, “So many challenges we face as local communities are not challenges that the government is equipped to address. So we need church leaders to help address these heart issues in the community.”
“When we learn to work together, we accomplish so much more,” Pastor McNeely said.
The Bottom Line:
The Bible says in Psalm One-Thirty-Three, “How good and pleasant it is when GOD’s people live together in unity! It is like precious oil poured on the head, running down on the beard, running down on Aaron’s beard, down on the collar of his robe.”
View the video about LifeWise Academy, a character-based program for public schools based on the Bible. (3 min.)
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