Sunday morning, April 28, the congregation at The Branch Wesleyan Church (former Schuyler Avenue) hosted a special celebration recognizing 100 years of ministry in Lafayette. Dr. Tom Kinnan, serving as interim pastor, welcomed a full house of members and friends. Indiana Wesleyan University was well represented by “Rejoice” leading the worship. Special greetings came from Dr. Ed Hoover and Mrs. Ruth Landis. Both were PKs (preacher’s kids) when their father pastored the church. Ruth later returned with her husband to pastor the church and Dr. Hoover returned to serve as an active lay leader for many years. Former pastors Logan Patriquin (now a PhD student at the University of Notre Dame) and Justin Neier (pastoring in Jackson, Michigan) shared memories. Rev. Tom Schmidt, another former pastor and now retired district superintendent, brought a challenging message from God’s Word. I was honored to represent our Crossroads District team and celebrate the wonderful turnaround at the church this year, including the six baptisms earlier this month. April 28 was the last Sunday of our conference year so year-end reporting and annual local church conferences (LCC) are in full swing. Sunday evening, Hartford City Wesleyan Church had their LCC and I was encouraged to hear the reports of how God is on the move. Pastor Josh Fox received unanimous support to continue in his extended call to the church. Ministry reports were received, budgets were reviewed, and leaders were elected. Your LCC may not be the highlight of your calendar but it is important to pause at least once a year to reflect on what God has already done and to cast vision for the coming year. Sherry and I were invited to join Pastor Matthew Trexler and his leadership team at Church of the Highlands in Birmingham, Alabama for the annual ARC (Association of Related Churches) conference. The speakers and musicians were anointed. Dino Rizzo, Executive Director of ARC, took the occasion to recognize Dr. Craig Dunn, CEO of Wesleyan Investment Foundation, for their partnership with the church planting and building initiatives of ARC churches. Next year’s ARC conference will be at Milestone Church in Dallas. I was back in time to join Rev. Carla Working and the DBMD as they met at Brookhaven Wesleyan Church on Friday for their annual interviews with ministerial students and ordination candidates. One of the highlights was the orientation that Rev. Working led for the newest students joining the ministerial preparation process. Special thanks to every member of the DBMD as they go above and beyond to serve our ministerial students! (Next DBMD will be held Nov. 1) Coaching conversations were on the agenda for Saturday. My first stop was with Rev. John Miller in Speedway. Pastor John and Heather (and their three beautiful children) have been leading our church planting project called Way City Church since 2018. They survived the pandemic and are rebuilding their team as they continue to minister in this growing community. My last stop of the day was with Rev. Randy Yaryan in Winchester. Winchester was the community most impacted by the recent tornados. Several district churches took special offerings and your giving enabled this smaller congregation to have a big impact in serving their neighbors in need. Lord willing, the Winchester church will celebrate 100 years of ministry in 2027 with Rev. Yaryan serving as pastor for 30 of those years! What happens when your church decides to “Bless the BLOC”? Pastor Terry and Lennaire Vaughn have been leading The Bridge Urban Church in focused ministry to their immediate neighborhood with powerful results. Yesterday, they baptized 14 new believers with at least 2 more commitments for next Sunday. Praise the Lord! Rev. Chris Taylor and the team at Plymouth Wesleyan Church are rejoicing in the way that God has been moving in their congregation. Yesterday, their pastoral team baptized 13 new believers in their morning services! Circle of Hope Network, based in the former Noblesville Lakeview Wesleyan Church, is led by Dr. Richard and Rev. Carol Schenck. Yesterday, the Schenck’s had the joy of baptizing six new believers in the morning service. The oldest of the six baptized was 74 and the youngest was their own granddaughter. Rey de Gloria, Circle of Hope’s Hispanic congregation led by Rev. Nicolas and Rev. Adriana Zarate, celebrated two more baptisms that afternoon. That is a combined total of 15 baptisms in the network this conference year. That’s remarkable for a network that averaged 96 in worship attendance last year. God is on the move! Rev. Mark Atkinson has served effectively as the transition pastor at Elwood Central Wesleyan since January. Yesterday was his final Sunday and Rev. Cary Sanders will begin leading the team beginning in May. They celebrated new life again yesterday with four more baptisms! Rev. David Shafer and Rev. Scott Stamper also concluded the conference year on a high note at North Anderson Wesleyan Church with three more baptisms yesterday. After the baptism service, the church family celebrated God’s goodness with a fellowship meal. Pastor Sam Maddox and the team at Albion Wesleyan Church are celebrating the testimony of a man who came to Christ last Sunday and publicly professed his faith in Christ through baptism yesterday. Praise God for lives being #MadeNew! Fairmount Camp, Inc. (an affiliate corporation of the Crossroads District) has released their schedule for this year’s events. They have some exciting ministries planned for campers in the Crossroads District and beyond. Special thanks to Fairmount Camp Board Chair Rev. Jeff Luedtke and Mrs. Krista Brown, the new Executive Director, for their commitment to keeping the camp focused on its historic mission. For more information or to register, visit the camp’s website: https://www.fairmountcamp.org Don’t miss this exciting opportunity to bring your middle school students to Indiana Wesleyan University for Never2Young! For more information and registration, click here. Can’t wait to see our leadership team members gathering for the Crossroads District Conference on June 29 at Lakeview Wesleyan Church in Marion. We are “CALLED!” Thank you for making a difference in the cause that counts for eternity! Your servant in Christ, Mark Gorveatte Crossroads District Superintendent P.S. Here’s a ministry assessment tool from Chad Brooks (@revchadbrooks) that could generate an insightful discussion with your staff and board members. Comments are closed.
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