Sunday, August 6, Rev. Theo Griffin and the team at Greenfield Brown's Chapel Wesleyan Church welcomed me to bring greetings from our district team and to preach the morning message. After the service, I enjoyed the opportunity to connect with members of their board. This has been an encouraging season of ministry at Brown's Chapel. Their summer sports camp has grown from 40 children in year 1, to more than 70 in this third year. The church has seen miraculous answers and financial blessing in response to a dedicated team of prayer warriors. It was a special treat to meet Jason, the Griffin's first grandchild, who was making his first visit at Brown's Chapel. Sunday evening, I joined Pastor Mike and Elizabeth Weller for the service with Restoration Church in downtown Anderson. Each month during the summer, Restoration Church hosts their service in the park next door to their regular meeting space. A good group gathered last evening in spite of uncertain weather. Pastor Mike and Elizabeth are making a difference in the inner city while they both work other jobs to support this ministry. Please keep Restoration Church in your prayers! Last week's schedule included a wide-variety of appointments and ministry opportunities. On Monday, I joined Dr. Chris Williams, Assistant DS, for an online debrief from our district conference, before heading to a meeting at Taylor University, and then wrapping up the day at Central Wesleyan Church in Indianapolis. The last meeting was the most surprising. The leaders at Central Wesleyan voted to close and move together as a congregation to become part of an ultra-conservative holiness church in the area. I'll be working with our DBA to make plans for a new ministry serving the mission field in the Fountain Square neighborhood. Tuesday included coaching conversations in Marion and connections with two prospective church planters. Pray that God will continue to send laborers into His harvest. Wednesday, I was in Kokomo for two meetings concerning a leadership transition at The Branch in Lafayette. Rev. Phil Carder announced his resignation on Sunday (August 6) and will conclude his service to The Branch early in September. I'll be meeting with the LBA this Wednesday to work on the transition and a pastoral search process. Wednesday afternoon, I met with Rev. Nate Thomas who continues to be active in a ministry to motorcyclists. He was packing for a quick ride to Louisiana for a special church service. Pastor Nate brings a whole new meaning to the concept of circuit rider. Wednesday evening, I met with the LBA at New Castle Memorial Wesleyan Church as they prepared to interview a candidate to become their new lead pastor. The team has been diligent in their search process because Dr. Joe Harmon has been such a blessing to the church in his interim ministry. They did vote unanimously to recommend the candidate and we anticipate an exciting announcement in the near future. Please keep Dr. Harmon in your prayers for his continuing health concerns and an upcoming surgery. My last stop of the day was in Ingalls where Pastor Scott Rhyno and the congregation of Waterline Church had gathered for an evening of praise and prayer. They were meeting in the unfinished warehouse space that will rent and build out for their future growth. There was a strong turnout for this midweek service which included powerful testimonies and baptisms. Thursday morning, I had the honor of welcoming and praying for the leadership cohort that Rev. Carla Working (chair of our DBMD and Director of Clergy Care for The Wesleyan Church) is leading this year for women in ministry in our district. This a growing group that will be meeting once each month for leadership development, encouragement, fellowship, and prayer. Thursday afternoon, I was blessed to connect with Rev. Dr. Tim Kellerman, who leads the Church of the Nazarene here in northeast Indiana. It was inspiring to hear his story of effective local church leadership and how God is now blessing his ministry as district superintendent. Later in the afternoon, I drove to Ann Arbor (Michigan) to check in on Eden, our youngest granddaughter, who is recovering from open heart surgery. It was good to be with Eden and her parents for a visit that evening and again on Friday. Thank you for the many prayers that have been extended to Eden and our family. May I encourage you to also be praying for Simon, son of Rev. Emily and Rev. David Hines, who will be undergoing a similar surgery on Wednesday morning, August 8. While we all are grateful for the amazing advances of medical technology, our faith rests in the Great Physician, the source of all healing. Pastor Brent Miller and the team at Gas City Southside Church had an all-church camping weekend cut short by the weather. They were not discouraged but quickly moved their meals and activities back to their facility. I celebrate the creativity and resiliency of our pastors! Nothing brings greater joy than to hear stories of life transformation from our district churches. Pastor Paul Van Cise and Bryant Wesleyan celebrated two baptisms this weekend. Dr. Steve DeNeff and the team at College Wesleyan Church celebrated two more baptisms this past Sunday. Pastor Josh Fox and the team at Hartford City Wesleyan Church celebrated five baptisms. This was extra special for Pastor Josh as his two oldest children were baptized. Pastor Scott Rhyno and the team at Waterline Church celebrated five baptisms on Wednesday evening at their new gathering space. Pastor Matthew Trexler and the team at The River Church in Marion celebrated 12 more baptisms on Sunday. They've baptized 70 new believers so far in this calendar year. Praise the Lord for these reports of spiritual victories across our district in churches both older and newer, larger and smaller. God is on the move and lives are being #MadeNew! Our prayers and condolences are extended to Rev. Chris Taylor, pastor of Plymouth Wesleyan Church, on the passing of his father on Friday afternoon. He had just been placed in hospice care and Rev. Taylor was able to make it home in time to be with him before he passed. Today marks Day #2 for the 21 Days of Prayer focus that several of our district churches are leading. Dr. Chris Williams reported that Lakeview Wesleyan Church had 41 people gather at 6:00 this morning. If you'd like to participate online, Church of Highlands livestreams their prayer service through their app and website at 7:00 a.m. https://21days.churchofthehighlands.com/ Please pray with us for the Follow Conference this December. I encourage you to attend and bring as many teenagers as possible for this life-changing experience! Keep on making a difference in the cause that counts for eternity! Your servant in Christ, Mark Gorveatte Crossroads District Superintendent Sunday morning, July 30, Sherry and I had the privilege of worshiping with Pastor Aaron and Jennifer Lee at Cultivate Church in LaOtto. This congregation in LaOtto was one of the first churches planted in our conference back in 1843. Yesterday, Pastor Aaron's grandmother told me about the conversations she had with a granddaughter of one of the founding members. That lady remembered her grandfather's stories of hiding the former slaves in belfry at the church and in their basement. Their home had a trap door hidden in the floor under the kitchen table to access the secret compartment. LaOtto Cultivate is still a church on mission. Several members of the congregation arrived home at 3:00 a.m. from their short-term mission work with "Impacto" in Guatemala and still made it out for the worship service. I brought greetings from the district team and shared the message from God's Word. Pastor Lee closed the service with communion. Following the service, I appreciated the opportunity to connect with several members of the local board. Fairmount Camp concluded their annual Family Camp on Sunday evening after another successful week of ministry with Rev. Patty Bray and Rev. Nathan Metz as the evangelists. I was glad to be able to attend some of the evening rallies. Fairmount's Old Time Camp is just around the corner (August 16-20, 2023) with Rev. Gale Janofski serving as camp evangelist. Here's the link: https://www.fairmountcamp.org/old-time-camp-meeting.html More than 30 lay leaders and pastors, including me, from the Crossroads District attended the GROW Conference at Church of the Highlands last week (Tuesday over Thursday). Our leaders left inspired by Pastor Chris Hodges and Dr. John Maxwell. We came home with the clarifying question that every board can ask: "What one thing if it got better would make the biggest difference in our church?" (How would you answer that question?) We continue to hear encouraging reports from across the district about the ways that God is moving and changing lives. Pastor Scott McDermid and the team at Sheridan Six Points baptized another young man earlier this month with two more moving toward that decision. Praise God! While Pastor Mike Hewitt was leading a team from Muncie Rising Hope on a mission trip to the Dominican Republic, Janiel Caraballo, Rising Hope's church planting resident, baptized 8 at their summer camp. Exciting days ahead at Rising Hope! Pastor Jacob Gibson and the team at LifeSpring Church hosted their annual picnic and baptized 10 new believers yesterday afternoon! Rev. Zach Working and the team at Huntington Hope Rising also celebrated their annual church picnic and baptism yesterday with six new believers publicly professing faith in Christ! Congratulations to Rev. Andy and Leanza Riemersma (Westfield ONE Church) on the birth of their second child, Eminora Grace, born just last week. God is blessing Pastor Andy with a growing church and a growing family! Congratulations also to Rev. Randy and Carole Yaryan on their 40th wedding anniversary. Their children invited me to join in the surprise celebration that they hosted in the Winchester church fellowship hall on Saturday afternoon. God is on the move. Let’s keep making a difference in the cause that counts for eternity! Your servant in Christ, Mark Gorveatte Crossroads District Superintendent P.S. Please pray with us as our next generation of Wesleyan leaders gather in Cincinnati for Follow Conference this December. Seminars and workshops will be available for pastors and parents so please make every effort to attend! Sunday, July 23, I had the privilege of representing our district team and bringing the morning message at Monon Wesleyan Church. Rev. Dr. Bradford Snyder, though officially retired, has stepped up to lead this revitalization project. Pastor Brad and Peggy are not strangers to challenges in ministry having served in church planting projects in Alaska. The highlight of the service was the presentation of a baptism certificate to a teenage boy and his family. After the service, I chaired a brief meeting with the LBA and then joined folks from the church for lunch at the Monon Whistle Stop Restaurant and Railroad Museum. Sunday evening, Sherry and I joined hundreds who gathered at Fairmount Camp for the opening rally of Family Camp. Rev. Jeff Luedtke, chair of the board, and Rev. Rob Tippey, are doing a great job leading the camp forward. Rev. Patty Bray and Rev. Nathan Metz are the evangelists for this year’s camp. Rev. Dan Van Duyne, from LifeSpring Church, is leading the worship team. Rallies are held each evening at 6:30 and you’ll be blessed by attending! I had a great week connecting with pastors and other district leaders, but the real action is on the frontlines in our local churches. Listed below are updates from just the past few days: Rev. Sam Maddox, Jr. leads the team at Albion Wesleyan Church. Saturday, they hosted their first Block Party as their first “Next Level” outreach initiative. The team of 30 volunteers provided free food, games, prizes, and gave away over 100 backpacks with back to school supplies for neighborhood children. They also had the joy of celebrating six baptisms this weekend, with three on Saturday and three more on Sunday. Pastor Sam wrote that “God is good and on the move in Albion!” Pastor Dave and Suzanne Cox are officially retired from the marketplace but are ministering effectively at Laketon Wesleyan Church. Yesterday, the church gathered at the lake for a picnic fellowship and celebrated three baptisms. Pastor Dave also shared that some younger families have started attending Laketon Wesleyan in the past few weeks. Pastor David Leitzel and the team at Hamilton Wesleyan Church also hosted their church picnic yesterday and capped it off with 5 baptisms and two more affirmations of baptism. The most special of those was Pastor David’s own daughter who spent some years away from the Lord but has come back to faithfully follow Jesus! Praise God for lives being #MadeNew and for small town churches that are making a big difference! Here’s another idea from one of our pastors who is leading by example in going to “one more” place. Pastor Randy Yaryan coached T-ball this year. Yesterday, he welcomed and honored his team for what they called “Baseball Sunday” and they welcomed 15 visitors. He shared a message comparing baseball and the Christian life with the goal in both to make it “Home.” Where is the next place God may be calling you and your church to go? We have pastors with serious health concerns. Rev. Dan Clark (Colfax Wesleyan) updated us on his cancer surgery now scheduled for August 28. You can follow Pastor Dan on Facebook for additional information. I also spoke with and prayed for Rev. Dr. Joe Harmon (New Castle Memorial Wesleyan Church) by phone last week. He had been hospitalized with a critical heart condition. Join me in praying for Dr. Harmon as he is now home awaiting open heart surgery. Rev. Emily and Rev. David Hines would welcome your prayers for Simon, their baby boy, who has an upcoming heart surgery on August 8. You can join their prayer team and stay updated at this site https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/simonathanasius And we would be grateful for your prayers as our granddaughter Eden undergoes heart surgery in Michigan on August 2. We are blessed to serve our God who hears and answers prayer. He is still the Great Physician! We would also invite your prayers this week for more than 30 leaders from churches in our Crossroads District who will be traveling to Birmingham (Tuesday-Thursday) to attend the GROW Conference at Church of the Highlands. Pray that God will bless this time of learning and fellowship! Let’s keep making a difference in the cause that counts for eternity! Your servant in Christ, Mark Gorveatte Crossroads District Superintendent P.S. Please pray with us as our next generation of Wesleyan leaders gather in Cincinnati for Follow Conference this December. Seminars and workshops will be available for pastors and parents so please make every effort to attend! Sunday, July 17, I had the privilege of ministering with Dr. Keith Loy, a long-time friend, at Celebrate Church in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Keith and I first served together at New Hope Church in Williston, North Dakota, back in 1998. It’s been a joy to see how God has blessed his life and ministry. Celebrate Church is one of the leading church-planting congregations in The Wesleyan Church with more than 20 daughter churches. Dr. Lyon and I were invited by Dr. Loy to help teach “Wesleyan Church History and Discipline” as part of their ministerial education program. Dr. Lyon taught in June and I taught on Saturday with 30 leaders in the room, including several prospective church planters. Camping ministries continued to make a difference for churches in our district last week. I dropped in at Fairmount Camp on Tuesday morning to thank several of our pastors and volunteers who were serving for Fairmount’s camp for children. Pastor John Hannan (Union City CrossRoads), Rev. Michelle Henry (Marion Brookhaven), and Rev. Carol Schenck (Noblesville Circle of Hope) were some of our pastors serving there and making a difference. Tuesday afternoon, several of our district pastors joined us for the funeral service for Rev. Mike Cloud, one of our district’s most respected leaders. Rev. Martin Furrow (Rochester The Cross) assisted in leading the service. Please continue to pray for Brenda and her family as they grieve their loss. Wednesday morning, I was in Indy for a coaching conversation with Rev. Benjamin Tuimuk who leads Shalom Church, the Chin (Burmese) congregation that worships at Southview Wesleyan Church. It was also good to catch up with Southview’s pastor, Rev. Nathan Richardson. I’m excited that Pastor Nathan will be joining us for the GROW conference. Wednesday evening, I was able to worship with our friends at the Family Camp hosted by Frankfort Camping Ministries. Phil and Rhonda Foley have done a marvelous job leading the turnaround at Frankfort Camp. Several of our pastors serve on this team. Notably, Rev. Allen Gross (Cicero United Family) provides leadership to the youth track for the camp. The camp evangelists were Rev. Dale Freed and Rev. Keith Hinton (one of our own retired ministers). That evening, I was pleased to connect with several Crossroads District friends including Rev. Ernest Batman (our retired district superintendent). One of the fun connections was with Martha Blackburn, Grace Chitty, and Mrs. Haines who taught together at Frankfort Pilgrim College in the late 1960s. I’m grateful for these women and their investment in students that still is bearing fruit today. Before I flew to South Dakota on Thursday, I met with Rev. Lyle Breeding (Sonlight Wesleyan Church) in Bluffton. It was encouraging to hear how God has been moving and bringing new families to the church this summer. Pastor Lyle has been recovering from one surgery and has another upcoming so please join us in praying for his recovery to full health and mobility. God is on the move during these summer months. Sunday, July 16, was the first worship gathering for Casa de Esperanza, the new Hispanic campus led by Rev. Claudia Ruiz and Rev. Joe Schmit. Church leaders from Casa de Alfarero, the main campus in Richmond, and from Casa de Oracion, in Union City, joined with the first contacts in Portland for a combined worship and prayer experience with nearly 60 people present. God is changing lives at Monon Wesleyan Church. Dr. Brad Snyder and the congregation celebrated 4 baptisms in the past month. This is a congregation that averaged 17 last year with no baptisms. Praise God for progress! Pastor Matthew Trexler and the team at The River Church in Marion reached out in a day of service to Gas City on Saturday. They closed out the day with an evangelistic service that included another baptism. Praise God for lives being #MadeNew! Dr. Joe Harmon has officially retired but continues to serve New Castle Memorial Wesleyan Church while they are in their pastoral search process. He was excited to report two more baptisms yesterday. Let’s rejoice with them and pray as they seek God’s best for their future. Fairmount Camp is excited about their upcoming Family Camp, July 23-30, featuring Dr. Patty Bray and Rev. Nathan Metz as camp evangelists. Plan to attend if possible and join in praying for God to continue to move in the hearts of His people! Thank you for making a difference in the cause that counts for eternity! Your servant in Christ, Mark Gorveatte Crossroads District Superintendent Please pray with us as our next generation of Wesleyan leaders gather in Cincinnati for Follow Conference this December. Seminars and workshops will be available for pastors and parents so please make every effort to attend! Sunday morning, July 9, I had the joy of welcoming East Liberty Church (just north of Decatur) as the newest congregation in our Crossroads District service. This former EUB congregation, originally founded in 1845, completed the disaffiliation process with the United Methodist Church and voted to join The Wesleyan Church. Our DBA approved their reception so I was present to bring the morning message and lead an organization meeting after the service. They do not have a pastor but Rev. Dennis Croy, an ordained Wesleyan minister in our district, has graciously agreed to preach for them this summer as they make plans for the remainder of the conference year. Please keep East Liberty Church in your prayers as they begin this new chapter in their 178-year history. Since the service at East Liberty began at 9, I had time to check in with Pastor Aldean Pablo and the team at ARISE Church in Roanoke. Pastor Aldean and Jessie Pablo are doing a great job leading this new ministry and reaching out to their community. After celebrating July 4th with family, I was back on the road Wednesday for coaching conversations. I met with Pastor Randy Yaryan for lunch in Winchester and met with Pastor Andy Cole (Lapel Daybreak) later that afternoon. Thursday, I was in Marion for our office staff meeting. We had a productive time debriefing on district conference and planning for next year’s conference (June 29 at Marion Lakeview). We were able to present Rev. Nicholas Reynolds with his new iPad, a door prize provided through the generosity of Marvin Miller, our Brotherhood Mutual agent. Congratulations, Pastor Nick! Our last stop on Thursday afternoon was in Elwood Central Wesleyan Church where we presented Rev. Jon Noggle with his certificate of ordination affirmation as he completed his transfer into The Wesleyan Church. We are delighted to have Pastor Jon and his family serving with us in the Crossroads District. Friday morning, Rev. Wayne and Dr. JoAnne Lyon welcomed me to their home. On behalf of our district, I was honored to present Dr. Lyon with her official retirement award (although she’s still on the fly) and to thank her for her ministry at our ordination service. Pastor Wayne closed our time together with a powerful prayer. He also introduced me to one of his newest hobbies, boxing. If you ever need someone to pray with you or for your church, you’ll be blessed if you reach out to Pastor Wayne! Saturday morning, I met with Pastor Phil Carder and the LBA at The Branch in Lafayette. They’ve just added Rev. Naomi (Umfleet) Small to their team and are making plans for growth this fall. From Lafayette, I drove on to Shunem House in Noblesville to check in with Pastor Mike Hewitt who was providing “relaunch” training for the team at Anderson Living Hope. My last stop on Saturday was at Daybreak Church in Lapel. Pastor Andy Cole and the team at Daybreak do a great job hosting events like this car show that was part of the community fair. If you look closely, you can find four ordained Wesleyan ministers in this photo (Rev. Dan Clark, Rev. Andy Cole, Rev. Richard Cole, and Rev. Joe Jackson). We love hearing reports of lives being changed by the Gospel so please pass along your praise reports and pictures. One of the best stories this week was Pastor Josh Bowlin (Marion Chapel Pike Wesleyan Church) baptizing his son in the very same baptism pool as he was baptized in many years ago! Pastor Michael Hewitt, Muncie Rising Hope, passed on the the good news that Cafe Con Dios, a part of the Rising Hope’s multi-site network, held two more baptism services (in Madrid and Chiclana, Spain) for a total of 35 new believers baptized in these new sites in four weeks! Please pray for the leaders and teams at Frankfort Family Camp and Fairmount Children’s Camp as they minister this week! Let’s keep making a difference in the cause that counts for eternity! Your servant in Christ, Mark Gorveatte Crossroads District Superintendent Sunday morning, July 2, I had the privilege of representing the Crossroads District at Silver Lake Wesleyan Church. In addition to sharing an update and preaching the sermon, it was my joy to honor Rev. Duane Seitz with a certificate and medallion in recognition of his 60 years of ordained ministry in The Wesleyan Church. Pastor Duane and JoEllen Seitz have been faithfully serving the Silver Lake congregation since 2016. We are grateful to God and appreciate their faithful and effective ministry for six decades. I was back on the road for coaching conversations this week. I had a great time in the South Bend region on Wednesday. My first stop was with Rev. Ed Friberg who is preparing to step into leadership at Shiloh Wesleyan Church this month. My next stop was with Rev. Greg Holmes, pastor of Sonlight Wesleyan Church in South Bend. Pastor Greg’s daughter lost her home to a fire last week so their family has been helping with the recovery process. Later that afternoon, I had coffee with Rev. Ben and Kristen Jones (North Liberty Beaver Creek Wesleyan). Ben was one of the 11 ministers ordained at district conference. My final stop of the day was at The Bridge Urban Church in Mishawaka. Pastor Terry and Lennaire Vaugh lead this exciting new church. They blessed four new neighborhood entrepreneurs with free equipment for starting a lawn care service. (Hunter, the youngest recipient, an 11-year-old boy, reported back on Thursday that he’d already earned his first $70.) Congratulations to the Sweetser Wesleyan Church Bible Bowl Quiz teams. They competed in the national competition held last week at Indiana Wesleyan University and came away with their three teams placing in the top 7 of all teams competing. If your church would like to learn more about the national Bible quizzing program sponsored by The Wesleyan Church, please contact Dr. Matthew Stewart, pastor at Sweetser Wesleyan Church. In case you missed conference, we’re praising God that professions of faith were up 35% (from 851 to 1148), and that we baptized 620 people last year (the highest number of baptisms since 2016). Praise the Lord that you also reported 156 people testifying to God’s call to the ministry. This is the highest number reported in more than a decade! We announced a special scholarship for PK’s (teenagers who have parents appointed to local church service) of $300 each from the Thrive Fund to help them attend this year’s FOLLOW Conference in Cincinnati (Dec. 28-30, 2023). We also announced an initiative from our Property Fund that will provide $50,000 in 5 challenge grants to match up to $10,000 for vital facility improvement projects in churches where the need is great. The church commits to raising 50% of the required funding. These grants will enable churches to better serve their community and to prevent costly repairs that might limit future ministry. The DBA welcomes competitive applications for these five grants. Frankfort Camp Ministries invites all to their annual Family Camp, July 9-16. Rev. Keith Hinton and Rev. Dale Freed are the featured speakers for this years camp. Services begin on Sunday evening at 6 p.m., and then at 7 p.m. through the week, concluding with the 4 p.m. closing rally on Sunday, July 16. That closing rally features a musical concert by Adam’s Voice. For more information, visit their website: https://www.frankfortcampministries.com/events.html Fairmount Camp Ministries also extends an invitation to all for their annual Family Camp, July 23-30. This years camp evangelists are Rev. Patty Bray and Rev. Nathan Metz. Camp begins at 10:30 on Sunday morning, July 23, with Rev. Jeff Luedtke, Chair of the Fairmount Camp Board preaching. Evening services continue at 6:30 through the week concluding with Rev. Nathan Metz preaching at the closing evening service on July 30. For more information, visit their website: https://www.fairmountcamp.org/family-camp.html We love sharing reports from our churches of lives being #MadeNew by the Gospel of Jesus Christ! Rev. Nicolas and Rev. Adriana Zarate, leaders of Rey de Gloria Iglesia Wesleyana, a campus of Circle of Hope, led by Dr. Rich and Rev. Carol Schenck, celebrated 7 more baptisms in June! Dr. Oliver Dongell has accepted a call to become the pastor of Brevard Wesleyan Church in North Carolina, but before leaving he concluded his 20-year ministry at Plymouth Wesleyan Church on a high note celebrating 5 more baptisms! The River Church in Marion continues to celebrate God’s moving. Nine more people stepped out in obedience to God’s Word last Sunday and publicly professed their faith in Christ! Cafe Con Dios, a campus of Muncie Rising Hope in Seville (Spain), celebrated 20 baptisms at the beach in June. Pastor Marcos and Banessa Cruz lead this campus. Rev. Mike Hewitt and a team of leaders will be back on site this fall to celebrate the first anniversary of this campus. (Please forward photos and notes from the baptism service that your church has this summer so we can celebrate with you.) Keep on making a difference in the cause that counts for eternity! Your servant in Christ, Mark Gorveatte Crossroads District Superintendent P.S. Please pray with us as our next generation of Wesleyan leaders gather in Cincinnati for Follow Conference this December. Seminars and workshops will be available for pastors and parents so make please every effort to attend! Saturday, June 24th, 356 lay and ministerial delegates registered their attendance at our 175th annual conference of Wesleyans ministering in Indiana, the 7th annual conference of the merged Crossroads District. What a joy to gather as God’s people on mission with Him. I shared this scripture passage from 2nd Samuel 5:24 “As soon as you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the poplar trees, move quickly, because that will mean the Lord has gone out in front of you...” We hear the sound of His marching in the tops of the poplar trees and see God going out before us in many ways. An event like this doesn’t happen without a dedicated team of volunteers. Rev. Dr. Chris Williams, our Assistant DS, assembled a terrific team. We were blessed by the staff members at Madison Park Church of God who went the second and third mile to host our gathering. Daybreak Lapel provided golf carts to assist people to their parked cars. Volunteers from Anderson North and Anderson United welcomed attenders and helped us register. We worshiped in song led by Nancy Pike and the powerful ministry team from LifeSpring Church. We received the Lord’s Supper together under the guidance of our four circuit riders, Rev. Mark Atkinson, Dr. Jim Lo, Rev. Neftali Lopez, and Dr. David Smith. We were blessed by the anointed preaching of Dr. Jo Anne Lyon, our retired General Superintendent, who performed the ordination of 11 new Wesleyan ministers. The ordination council led by Rev. Carla Working, chair of the DBMD, also affirmed the ordination of three ministers transferring into The Wesleyan Church. We did the expected by electing officers and receiving annual reports, but we also enjoyed refreshing fellowship around tables over lunch and respectfully debated resolutions. We celebrated 8% growth in worship attendance (from 10,492 to 11,339) and the fact that 60% of our churches (64 of our 105) reported increases in their worship attendance. Some of that growth was dramatic. For example, attendance at ReThink Church in Merrillville grew by 60% last year (from 50 to 80). Rising Hope in Muncie and Hillside in Marion both reported 50% growth in their weekend worship services. LifeSpring Church, our oldest congregation (planted in 1843) grew by 131 (17%) and The River Church, one of our younger churches (planted in 2007) grew by 204 (28%). Last year, we recorded 1148 professions of faith. That’s up from 851 in the previous year, an increase of 35%. Together, we baptized 620 people last conference year. That’s up 27% from the previous year (488) and the highest number of baptisms since 2016. Larger and smaller churches, newer and older churches, rural and city churches, can all testify that God is on the move! Praise God for lives being transformed by the power of the Gospel!
Sadly, thirty of our churches reported no baptisms last year and 17 of our churches reported not a single new believer won to Christ in the past 12 months. May God never allow us to grow comfortable with empty altars and dry baptistries. Your faithful USF contributions made it possible for the DBA to announce three positive initiatives:
The DBA recommended and the conference approved a change in our standing rules to reduce our combined USF assessment rate from 10% to 9% with the directive that each church use that 1% to create their own Church Multiplication Fund. That 1% fund will be maintained by each local church. Your board will determine which DBA-approved church plants you want to help fund. You’ll decide whether to invest in a new campus. If your church chooses to invest in DBA-approved projects, that investment will be matched by dollars from our Great Commission Fund. For each of the next five years, we are budgeting $200,000 from that fund for matching grants. With 3 million people unreached in Indiana, we need every Crossroads District church to be passionately engaged in church multiplication. Here are two resources to share with your team: 1. Dr. Bud Bence captured our Wesleyan history in Indiana in this video that you can use on a Sunday morning or in membership classes: 2. The full conference handbook with annual reports and statistics is available for download by clicking below: Special thanks to Michael Wood and Kalina Carlson, our district office team, who invested countless hours and energy into making our time together such a positive experience. I can‘t wait for next year’s Crossroads District Conference, June 29, in Marion. Your servant in Christ, Mark Gorveatte District Superintendent P.S. - We have one more iPad giveaway sponsored by Marv Miller and our friends at American Church Group, our Brotherhood Mutual agency. We have spun the wheel one more time and congratulations goes to newly ordained Rev. Nicholas Reynolds! Sunday morning, June 18, I had the privilege of worshiping with Dr. Matthew Stewart and the team at Sweetser Wesleyan Church. It was a special day as they held their first worship service back in their newly remodeled worship center. Over the past few years, the church has tackled every space, including the parking lot, to make their campus as welcoming as possible to the people they’re inviting. Congratulations were extended, not just for the beautiful remodeling project, but for the even more exciting news that Sweetser Wesleyan baptized 6 new believers last year (more than 10% of their worship attendance). On my way to Sweetser, I dropped in on Pastor Matthew Trexler and the team at The River. They were celebrating spiritual progress among their 130+ teenagers who attended Never The Same (NTS) Camp at IWU last week. Initial reports included 27 first-time decisions for Christ and 9 young people responding to God’s call to full-time ministry. Crossroads District students were involved in at least three camps last week including Camp Hanging Rock (west of Lafayette), NTS Camp at IWU, and Fairmount Camp. Special thanks to every youth leader and volunteer staff member that made these life-changing experiences possible for our students. On Monday evening, I attended Camp 180 at Fairmount Camp where Brent Dongell was serving as camp evangelist. Brent and I go back to our time together in Michigan and then we served together at Kingswood University. Brent is now on the faculty at Southern Wesleyan University and is completing his doctoral studies. Some of you may know Brent through Dr. Ollie Dongell, his father, who has been pastoring at Plymouth Wesleyan for the past 20 years. The leadership team at Camp 180 was doing a great job of ministering to a “sold-out” week. I was able to connect with several of our district pastors who were volunteering including Rev. Dave Cox, Rev. Emily and Rev. David Hines, Rev. Andrew Kinney, and Rev. Rich Van Vuren. Tuesday evening, Sherry and I connected with John & Lindsey Gorveatte at IWU where John was serving on the leadership team for NTS Camp Week One. Wes and Claudia Dupin, long-time friends from Michigan, were also in attendance to pray for and encourage leaders. Pastor Jacob Gibson (LifeSpring) and Pastor Steve Arnett (Mt. Zion) were two of our pastors that we found with their students before the evening rally. Wednesday afternoon, I traveled over to the west side of our state to join Rev. Seth Merrill and his team at Hanging Rock Camp. While attendance was down slightly from previous years, the leaders and students were excited to share how God was working. Among others, I connected with Rev. Joe Jackson, Rev. Andrew Colaw, Rev. Alexander Henry, and Rev. Brent Kirby. I enjoyed a day off with our family on Friday. Having three of our four grandchildren staying with us made the Father’s Day weekend very special! On Saturday, Pastor Mike Colaw and the Indianapolis Trinity Wesleyan Church LBA were meeting at Shunem House in Noblesville for a planning retreat. Pastor Mike was kind enough to invite me to sit in with their team as they had significant conversations about stewarding God’s favor on their ministry. They’re experiencing wonderful spiritual momentum and believing God for even greater days ahead! Dr. Chris and Marrieta Williams graciously invited Sherry and me to witness the wedding of their son Sean to Jenna Dawson. Dr. Chris did a masterful job of wearing both his father and pastor hats for this beautiful wedding ceremony. Congratulations and prayers for God’s blessing on this amazing couple as they begin their new life together! Pastor Scott McDermid and a youth missions team from Sheridan Six Points Church spent last week serving in Nashville, Tennessee. Pastor Scott enjoyed sharing this experience with his older son Caleb, and they also celebrated a baptism as one of their one teenagers publicly professed her faith in Christ! Rev. Rob Tippey and the team at Wabash New Journey Community Church continued to give God praise for the powerful ways in which He is changing lives. They celebrated two more baptisms on Sunday as Nick and Xander publicly professed their faith in Christ. Finally! This is the week of our annual Crossroads District Conference. We will gather this Saturday in Anderson at the Madison Park Church of God. Registration opens at 8:00 am and the first session begins promptly at 9:00 am. This year, we’re hosting our ordination service as part of conference proceedings beginning at 10:30 am. We’re delighted that Dr. Jo Anne Lyon has agreed to bring the ordination sermon on this special occasion. In addition to elections and recommended items of business (including lowering USF from 10% to 9%), we will be celebrating 175 years as a district conference since the very first gathering in 1848. The District Conference Handbook is available for review at the following link: https://bit.ly/dc23booklet If you can’t join us in person, please do remember us in prayer! Your servant in Christ, Mark Gorveatte District Superintendent Please pray with us as our next generation of Wesleyan leaders gather in Cincinnati for Follow Conference this December. Seminars and workshops will be available for pastors and parents so make please every effort to attend! Sunday morning, June 11, I had the privilege of bringing greetings and worshiping with Pastor Andy & Leanza Riemersma at ONE Church in Westfield. This is an exciting new congregation led by a passionate team of young adults. They averaged 89 last year in worship with 20 professions of faith and 8 baptisms. Plans are coming together for a big transition next year as they relocate their worship services from their current facility into the new YMCA being built in Westfield on the Monon Trail. Following the service, I hosted the Riemersma family over lunch and an encouraging conversation about what God is doing at ONE Church. Be praying as Andy and Leanza count down less than four weeks to the due date for their second child and continue to lead ONE Church in reaching their community for Christ. Sunday afternoon, I met with Rev. Jon Noggle and his leadership team at Elwood Central Wesleyan Church. This has been a year of transition and adjustment with a new pastor but there is a growing sense of momentum at Central Wesleyan with 7 baptisms last month! Sunday evening, I joined the team at Tipton Trinity Wesleyan Church for a town hall meeting. The LBA has approved a two-month sabbatical for Pastor Johnnie Blair and it was helpful to brief the congregation on the journey ahead. We’re excited that Rev. Jim and Jerolyn Bogear will be ministering to the Trinity Church family for six of the weeks while Pastor Blair is on sabbatical. Jerolyn and Jim (originally from Fairmount, Indiana) will be teaching from their Faith Legacy resources for families. You can learn more about their ministry here: https://www.legacyc3.com Last week’s schedule started out with our office staff meeting in Marion on Monday followed by a district conference planning session led by Dr. Chris Williams. Tuesday’s calendar included coaching conversations with Rev. David Dignal (Edgerton Wesleyan), Rev. Mike Henry (Fort Wayne Level 13 Church), and Rev. Kyle Horton (Fort Wayne Three Rivers). On the way back home, I dropped in at Huntington Hope Rising Church to catch up with Assistant Pastor Rev. Angela Spangler and Assistant Pastor Mason Yopp, who were leading a great team of volunteers in offering their first team VBS in several years. It’s fun to see the creative ways in which our churches reach out and serve the next generation. Rev. Phil Carder, pastor at The Branch in Lafayette sent along this photo from their Foam Party last Tuesday night that connected with 40 children in addition to extended family members, almost all from their neighborhood. Tuesday closed out with a DBA meeting via ZOOM. We decided on some exciting initiatives for presentation at our district conference and the DBA also graciously approved my sabbatical request for this coming fall (October 15 through November 20). Wednesday morning, I interviewed prospective church planters in Marion and then represented our district family at the celebration of life for Mrs. Brenda Dykhoff. Continue to remember Rev. Ken Dykhoff, Ms. Heather Dykoff, and Rev. Shawnda Dykhoff in your prayers. Rev. Jim Bogear, Rev. Johnnie Blair, and I met for lunch on Thursday to prepare for the ministry schedule at Tipton Trinity this summer while Johnnie is on sabbatical. Saturday morning, I was in Indianapolis to meet with Rev. Grace Lopez and the team at Monte de Sion. Rev. Lopez leads our district FLAMA program for Spanish-language ministerial education, but has also stepped up to provide effective leadership to this congregation through a season of transition. From Monte de Sion, I jumped over to Divine Direction Church where Pastor Gawin Anderson and his leadership team were engaged in a ministry planning day facilitated by Rev. Johnnie Blair. This planning event was a follow-up to the Next Level Experience training that Pastor Gawin attended in Marion earlier this year. I was encouraged by the conversations they are having about future growth and Kingdom impact. We are always glad to receive and pass along reports of how God is working in our churches. While 29 of our churches reported no baptisms last conference year, praise the Lord for the 76 churches that celebrated at least one baptism. Twenty of our churches reported 10 or more baptisms. Wabash New Journey Church was one of those with 13 baptisms in the last conference and this year is off to an even stronger start. We’re rejoicing with Pastor Rob Tippey and New Journey Church as God continues to change lives in Wabash! The River Church is another of those churches with 73 baptisms recorded last year. During the first 6 weeks of this new conference year, they have already celebrated with more than 30 people who have publicly professed faith in Christ. This week, I invite you to join me in praying for the hundreds of students who will be ministered to by our youth leaders gathering both at “Never The Same Camp” on the IWU campus and the sold-out “180 Camp” meeting at the Fairmount Camp. These camping experiences have seen so many students commit their lives to Christ and even commit their lives to full-time ministry. Pray that Holy Spirit will move powerfully once again! We’re less than two weeks away from our Crossroads District Conference. Doors open for registration at 8:00 a.m. and the conference will begin at 9:00 a.m. For friends and family of the ordination candidates who want to join us for the celebration of ordination, please note that seating will begin at 10:15 a.m. The service will begin at 10:30 a.m. Lunch will be served onsite for all registered delegates. We’re believing God for a great day together. Keep on making a difference in the only cause that counts for eternity! Your servant in Christ, Mark Gorveatte Crossroads District Superintendent Pray with us for a fresh move of God among our next generation of Wesleyan leaders who will be gathering in Cincinnati for Follow Conference this December. Seminars and workshops will be available for pastors and parents so make please every effort to attend! Sunday morning, June 4, Sherry and I had the privilege of worshiping with Dr. Craig and Tiffany Thurmon at The Encounter Assembly (TEA) in Lawrence. Pastor Craig and Tiffany launched the church from their living room in 2019, just before the pandemic. They quickly developed their online ministry which continues to be a vital part of their ministry today. The church currently rents space for Sunday morning gatherings but continues to offer discipleship and prayer ministry through the week via ZOOM. Following the service, we enjoyed catching up over lunch. Pastor Craig, in addition to working full-time for the US Department of Defense, coaching, and leading the church, recently completed his PhD in organizational leadership from Columbia International University. We’re also grateful for Dr. Thurmon’s service to our team as District Secretary. Last week’s shorter schedule included coaching conversations with Rev. Josh Bowlin (Marion Chapel Pike), Rev. Eric Roemer (Greentown Wesleyan), Rev. Theo Griffin (Greenfield Brown’s Chapel), and Rev. David Shafer (North Anderson Wesleyan). With the Monday holiday, our district staff meeting took place on Wednesday and I also met with Rev. Johnnie Blair (Tipton Trinity) that afternoon to work on details for his sabbatical this summer. Thursday evening, I met with Dr. Joe Harmon and the LBA at New Castle Memorial Wesleyan Church. Dr. Joe is retiring but has agreed to continue part-time while the LBA continues the search for their next pastor. If you know of a great pastor to lead this church, please pass along this link: https://secure.wesleyan.org/job/frame/9062 On Saturday afternoon, Plymouth Wesleyan Church honored Dr. Oliver and Reata Dongell for their 20 years of fruitful ministry. Pastor Ollie has served the church effectively since 2003 and is moving toward retirement, although he won’t be slowing down too much. The church has experienced growth, facility expansion, and community impact under Dr. Dongell’s leadership and I’ve enjoyed the privilege of serving with him here in the Crossroads District. Rev. Chris Taylor, formerly the teaching pastor at Crosswinds Wesleyan Church (Canadaigua, NY), has accepted the call to serve as Plymouth Wesleyan’s new pastor beginning this summer. Rev. Scott and Erin Ferguson have come home to the Crossroads District and will be leading Harvest Church after serving at Southland Church in Lexington, KY for the past several years. Prior to that, Rev. Ferguson served on staff at LifeSpring Church in Richmond. Yesterday was his first Sunday preaching at Harvest and we’re glad to welcome the Ferguson’s back home! Pastor Barry Dixon and the team at Indianapolis Calvary Family Church are celebrating changed lives. They baptized 4 new believers on Sunday, May 28, and then baptized three more yesterday, June 4. Pastor Barry and Joyce have been working and praying for a breakthrough coming back from the pandemic. Pastor Barry shared this good news and photos via text along with this scripture promise that the Holy Spirit had dropped in his spirit: “Wait on the Lord, be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart. Wait, I say, on the Lord.” Psalm 27:16 Pastor David Dignal and the team at Edgerton Wesleyan Church are rejoicing with five new believers who were baptized on May 28, including one entire family of four! Good things are happening at Edgerton Wesleyan with 15 professions of faith recorded last year. Pastor Sam Maddox and the team at Albion Wesleyan Church are celebrating another baptism as God continues to bless their ministry. Albion Wesleyan grew by 11% last year in worship (from 46 to 51) and celebrated 9 baptisms last conference year. Praise the Lord! Pastor Ryan Budde and the team at Jonesboro Westview Wesleyan Church had the joy of baptizing two more new believers last month. This past conference year, Westview grew by 17% in worship attendance (from 132 to 155) and baptized 19 new believers! Praise the Lord for lives being #MadeNew! Our prayers and condolences are extended to the family and friends of Mrs. Brenda Dykhoff, wife of Rev. Ken Dykhoff and mother of Rev. Shawnda (Dykhoff) Bilbee. Brenda was promoted to glory last week after an extended illness that could not overshadow a life of ministry and service to others. The memorial service will be held this Wednesday, June 7, at Gas City Eastview Wesleyan Church. You may access her obituary and arrangements here: https://www.nswcares.com/obituaries/Brenda-R-Dykhoff?obId=28048191 We’re just three weeks away from our Crossroads District Conference. Door opens for registration at 8:00 a.m. and the conference will begin at 9:00 a.m. For friends and family of the ordination candidates who want to join us for the celebration of ordination, please note that seating will begin at 10:15 a.m. The service will begin at 10:30 a.m. We’re believing God for a great day together! Keep on making a difference in the only cause that counts for eternity! Your servant in Christ, Mark Gorveatte Crossroads District Superintendent Please join us in praying for a fresh move of God among our next generation of Wesleyan leaders who will be gathering in Cincinnati for Follow Conference this December. Seminars and workshops will be available for pastors and parents so make please every effort to attend! |
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