October 2, 2026
NEWPORT, Ky. (KT) – The Cincinnati Bengals may have fallen short again in heartbreaking fashion on Sunday, sending 60,000 fans home from Paycor Stadium disappointed. But across the river, hope was alive and well.
In west Newport, more than five dozen volunteers from Kentucky Baptist churches spent the afternoon canvassing neighborhoods to spread the word about Hope For Northern Kentucky, a week of gospel-centered outreach which culminates in a Nov. 9 crusade at the Newport Car Barn.
During the canvassing, one teenager professed faith in Christ, and countless gospel seeds were planted. Volunteers representing at least nine Northern Kentucky Baptist churches distributed informational door hangers throughout the streets surrounding the crusade site, where evangelist Daniel Ritchie, who was born without arms, will share his inspiring testimony.
The week leading up to the crusade will feature six school assemblies with Real Encounter, a BMX stunt team known from America’s Got Talent, culminating with a youth rally on Wednesday night at Lloyd Memorial High School in Erlanger. On Saturday, youth soccer tournaments at Griffin Elite will include gospel presentations in multiple languages after each match.
Kentucky Baptist Convention evangelism strategist Jason Hay said the effort is much needed in a region where “93 percent of the population [is] not in church on any given Sunday morning.”
“There’s this giant need to mobilize the church into this region and Newport specifically,” Hay said. “In Newport last week, we knocked on [the doors of] 27 homes and never met a believer. We went to different restaurants, and they were very willing to hang posters, but they weren’t believers. We have a great opportunity to mobilize our churches and to land in northern Kentucky to make a difference for the gospel.”
Nine churches joined in the canvassing effort, aiming to reach about 850 homes. Volunteers spent two hours going door-to-door, introducing themselves, offering invitations, and praying.
Teenage friends Issac Ramsey and Ashton Bray said the afternoon was rewarding.
“We got to meet a lot of nice people,” Ramsey said. “A couple people who said they’d definitely come. It was a blast. A couple of people saw what we were doing, said 'no' and walked away. They weren’t mean or rude.”
Bray, participating in door-to-door evangelism for the first time, said it was a positive experience.
“I met a lot of people who were already Christian, which was nice,” he said. “They supported our movement and said they would tell people. We met some animals, too. Two cats followed us down the street.”
Schmidt also had a memorable encounter with a small dog nipping at his heels during one visit.
Many volunteers found that residents weren’t answering their doors — often because they were watching the Bengals game. “One guy was in a big hurry,” Ramey said. “He said, ‘What do you have, the Bengals are on.’ As soon as we were done, he vaulted back in.”
Even when homes were empty, the groups paused to pray in front yards.
Josh Skipper, Baptist Campus Minister at Northern Kentucky University, joined his wife, Lindsay, who is helping with publicity for Hope For Northern Kentucky.
“It makes me excited about the NKBA (Northern Kentucky Baptist Association) partnering and us reaching northern Kentucky together here,” he said. “Any conversations we had were pleasant. Some people said they were going to try to come.”
Andrew Martin, one of more than two dozen volunteers from Burlington Baptist, prayed with a man he met on the street and invited him to the crusade. Later, on a porch visit, Martin and Burlington Baptist associate pastor Jeff Perry were greeted by a young girl.
“She was six or seven,” Martin said. “Jeff told her to tell her parents about the crusade at the Car Barn. She said she would tell her mom. When asked if there was anything we could pray for she said we could pray for David, her father, who had (recently) passed. That was impactful.”
Several pastors also joined the volunteer prayer teams.
Fessler, who grew up in Bellevue, added, “This is our neighborhood, especially since we don’t have an SBC (Southern Baptist Convention) church here right now. This is our world.”
Interest is already growing in planting a Kentucky Baptist church in Newport — and Hope For Northern Kentucky could be the first step toward making that vision a reality.
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This story appeared in Kentucky Today.
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