Sunday morning, March 27, Pastor Tony Bye and the congregation at Brookhaven Wesleyan Church welcomed me to bring greetings from our Crossroads District team. It was a joy to worship with them in both services and Pastor Tony’s message was powerful. I was also able to attend Dave Tippey’s Bible class between the services. I was reminded once again how blessed our churches are to have so many gifted and committed lay leaders. The 11 a.m. gathering had a good group of IWU students attending. Brookhaven has been rebounding well and momentum is growing as they build toward Easter. I’m excited to see what God has in store as Pastor Tony and his team continue to make disciples who share the hope and freedom of Christ! Last week, Tuesday through Thursday, Sherry and I joined with more than 300 Wesleyan pastors, spouses, and children for the Heartland Gathering. This was the second event that our districts have collaborated to offer for ministers and their families in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. One of the best features of the Heartland Gathering is the programming track for children and the nursery staffed with registered nurses so that parents could relax and enjoy the services. Jordan Rife and her gifted worship team from College Wesleyan Church led us in anointed musical worship times. We also had a great lineup of speakers including Dr. Ed Stetzer, Carlos Whittaker, and Dr. Kevin Myers who shared from their hearts and brought words of encouragement. Our Crossroads team had a special seminar featuring Dr. Pete Benson on financial freedom for pastors that we offered as part of our Thrive initiative. I was encouraged that so many of our pastors and their spouses took advantage of the Heartland Gathering as an opportunity to laugh, learn, and grow together. The Heartland Region is currently comprised of Crossroads, Greater Ohio, Indiana South, and the Kentucky-Tennessee districts. Dr. Mark Eckart, recently deceased DS for Indiana South, was honored in our first rally for his contribution to this event and to our partnership. I want to say special thanks to Rev. Les Crossfield, Greater Ohio District Superintendent, who has chaired our regional leadership team for the past 4 years. Rev. Crossfield, Rev. Aaron Sherman, and I are committed to continuing our collaboration over the next 4 years and are working on plans for our next Heartland Gathering in 2024. The Wesleyan Church will be hosting the national gathering in Orlando on January 4-7, 2023. We hope you’ll make plans to be part of this special event! Here’s the link for more information: https://www.wesleyan.org/event/the-gathering-2023 I love hearing stories of lives being changed by the Gospel! This past Sunday, Pastor Matthew Trexler and the team at The River Church in Marion celebrated 3 more baptisms. Praise God for these lives #MadeNew! Pastor, if you’ve not yet planned a baptism service for April, you still have time to provide that opportunity in the Easter season. Thank you to each one who has been praying for peace and helping with relief efforts for Ukraine. The Wesleyan Emergency Relief Fund received $154,000 last week from Wesleyan churches and individuals to resource our ministry teams serving with refugees in Poland and the Czech Republic. Would you prayerfully consider what gift you can give to bring relief and hope to Ukraine? Donations can be made online here. Checks should be made payable to The Wesleyan Church with a note in the memo line for WERF Ukrainian Refugee Relief. Gifts should be mailed to The Wesleyan Church Corporation, c/o General Treasurer’s Office, 13300 Olio Road, Suite 100, Fishers, IN 46037. Please remember Rev. Craig Thurmon, our district treasurer, in your prayers. Pastor Craig and Tiffany are church planters with us leading the Encounter Assembly in Lawrence, Indiana. Craig was at the Heartland Gathering and had to be hospitalized for what turned out to be a heart attack. After a successful procedure on Saturday, Craig is hoping to return home today. Please join us in praying for Pastor Craig’s full and speedy recovery! Thank you for all you do to advance God’s Kingdom! Your servant in Christ, Mark Gorveatte Crossroads District Superintendent Sunday morning, March 20, Rev. John and Beth Hannan welcomed me to worship with them and bring the morning message at CrossRoads Church in Union City. CrossRoads is one of our newest churches having launched on September 27, 2020. Some of you may know the story, but John and Beth had returned to Union City, their hometown, from Virginia to care for aging parents with declining health. John had done some interim ministry in the area but really wanted to be back in pastoral service in The Wesleyan Church. Rev. Hannan considered openings that would have required moving away from their hometown but he became increasingly convinced that God had a better plan. He and Beth accepted the challenging call to plant this new church not knowing that a pandemic was coming. Confident of God’s call, they stepped out in faith as bi-vocational church planters with a vision to start a church “Where Everyone Matters.” They averaged 38 in worship last year with 12 baptisms. Praise the Lord! God has blessed their ministry in so many wonderful ways, the most recent of which was the unexpected donation of a handicapped-accessible van that will enable them to bring up to three persons in wheelchairs. Pastor John made the first run on Sunday bringing two members of their church family and has recruited a driver who will care for this ministry going forward. It was a joy to join hands around the van for a prayer of thanksgiving and consecration. Please remember Pastor John, Beth, and the CrossRoads team in your prayers! Sunday afternoon, I joined Pastor Claudia Silva and the growing congregation at Richmond Casa del Alfarero (The Potter’s House) for their worship service. In addition to leading this ministry, Pastor Claudia also leads a Hispanic congregation in Union City which has Saturday evening and Sunday morning services. She has been praying that God would raise up a campus pastor to work with her in Richmond. God has answered her prayer and I was pleased to participate with Rev. Silva in the consecration service for Carlos and Yesy Cruz who will be leading the Richmond campus under her direction. Rev. Silva is praying that God will continue to provide wisdom as more ministry doors are opening in the area. Last week began with our district office staff meeting in Marion followed by a District Conference planning committee meeting led by Rev. Carla Working. Monday evening, I met with Dr. Wayne Schmidt, General Superintendent, and the other members of the General Board’s Executive Committee of The Wesleyan Church in preparation for our General Board meeting. The full General Board of The Wesleyan Church met last week on Tuesday and Wednesday. Among other items of business, the General Board nominated general officer candidates for the next quadrennium. Incumbent general officers Anita Eastlack (Church Multiplication and Discipleship), Dennis Jackson (Global Partners), and Janelle Vernon (Communication and Administration) are being recommended to the 14th General Conference for reelection to their current posts. General Treasurer Kevin Batman is elected directly by the General Board and continues serving his present term. The most exciting development in nominations was that Rev. Johanna Rugh, The Wesleyan Church’s Director of Spanish Ministry Education and Formation, has been recommended as the new Executive Director of the Education and Clergy Development (ECD) Division. When elected, Rev. Rugh will be the first Hispanic Executive Director in the history of The Wesleyan Church. The final recommendations on proposed memorials (resolutions) to be considered at the 14th General Conference will be made available on April 1 at this website: www.wesleyan.org/unleashed/memorials On Wednesday afternoon, I connected with Pastor Barry Dixon at Indianapolis Calvary Family Church and then met with Pastor Andy Riemersma at Westfield ONE Church. Thursday’s schedule included coaching conversations with the pastoral staff at Marion Lakeview Wesleyan Church. My final two meetings of the day were with ministers from outside The Wesleyan Church who were interested in exploring pastoral opportunities in the Crossroads District. On Friday, Sherry and I had the joy of hosting three of our pastoral couples for an evening of fellowship and encouragement. We have a great team and evenings like this are a wonderful reminder that we are stronger together! More than 300 Wesleyan pastors and their families from across Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee will be meeting in Pigeon Forge, TN, on Tuesday through Thursday this week for the Heartland Gathering. I am grateful for our partnership with the leadership teams in Indiana South, Greater Ohio, and KY-TN districts that collaborated to provide this event. Pray that God will make this a powerful time of refreshment and spiritual renewal for our frontline leaders! Speaking of prayer, for those of you who live within an hour or so of Marion, please make plans to join us on Sunday, April 10, for our next Crossroads District prayer meeting as we prepare our hearts for Easter weekend. Thank you to Rev. Matthew Trexler, Assistant DS, and the team at The River Church for their willingness to host this gathering. We will begin promptly at 6 p.m. and plan to conclude the scheduled service by 7 p.m., with time available for those who want to continue in prayer or fellowship. The Wesleyan Emergency Relief Fund (WERF) has been activated to respond to the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine. You can assist our Global Partner missionaries and partners in the Czech Republic and Poland. To read more about Wesleyan engagement, access this most recent update from HQ which includes a link for you or your church to donate: https://www.wesleyan.org/werf-activated-for-ukrainian-refugees Our prayers and sympathies are extended to the family and friends of Mrs. Bonnie Weinmann who went to be with the Lord this past Thursday, March 17. Bonnie was mother to Rev. Jim Weinmann who pastors our Evanston Avenue Wesleyan Church in Indianapolis and works with the Wesleyan Pension Fund. Jim pastors this same church that his father and mother pastored for many years. Visitation will be at Flanner & Buchanan in Broad Ripple tonight, Monday, March 21, from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. The funeral will be at Evanston Avenue Wesleyan Church, tomorrow, Tuesday, March 22, at 11:00 a.m. Congratulations to Rev. Duane Cragun who has accepted the initial two-year call to lead the ministry at Marion Brinker Heights Wesleyan Church. Please pray for several of our churches who are continuing their pastor search process. For a listing of these and other ministry opportunities in The Wesleyan Church, check out: https://www.wesleyan.org/jobs Keep on making a difference in the cause that counts for eternity! Your servant in Christ, Mark Gorveatte Crossroads District Superintendent P.S. You still have time to register your youth and children ministry leaders to be part of this important gathering on April 21-22 in Muncie, Indiana at Union Chapel Church. More info: Fuel Sunday morning, March 13, I had the privilege of worshiping with Pastor Brad LeRoy and preaching at Harvest Community Church. Harvest is another one of our district churches that is regaining ministry momentum after the challenges of the past two years. Brad and the Harvest team have been blessed in this season by their new partnership with 12Stone Church, especially the coaching of Dr. Dan Reiland. Pastor LeRoy continues to battle with health concerns and is grateful for the many prayers on his behalf. Sunday afternoon, the LBA at Carmel Amistad Iglesia Wesleyana invited me to join them for consultation as they prepare to launch the search for their next pastor. Rev. Neftali Lopez has resigned after a very effective tenure as their lead pastor. Neftali will continue to serve in his chaplaincy role with IWU National and Global. He will also continue his growing prayer ministry on Facebook Live. The church is well-positioned for this transition and we’re praying with them that God will bring us another excellent leader for this dynamic bi-lingual and multi-cultural ministry. Sunday evening, Pastor Dan Fisher and the team at Delphi Wesleyan Church hosted the quarterly prayer gathering for Region 3. The largest group joined us from South Bend Sonlight with their pastor Rev. Greg Holmes. Pastor Marc Ulrich (ReThink Church) came the farthest, driving 90 minutes from Merrillville. Pastor Don Bayne, Pastor Ulrich, and Pastor Dan Clark (Monon) joined me in leading this one hour prayer service. We’d love to have you join us next month, April 10, at The River Church in Marion. Last Monday, Dr. Wayne Schmidt, General Superintendent, convened a session with the district superintendents who were in Orlando for the Exponential Conference. Dr. Schmidt and his team from HQ shared about upcoming events including, most notably, General Conference. It is always good to connect with these colleagues who serve our district, but we were conscious of the absence of Dr. Eckart who was such a good friend and encourager to so many of us. Tuesday morning, Dr. Ed Love and the CMAD team hosted a pre-conference for nearly 500 Wesleyans who gathered from across the US and Canada to attend Exponential. Dr. Love’s sessions featured church planters who had launched during the pandemic, including Rev. Andy and Leanza Riemersma’s work planting ONE Church in Westfield. We were also blessed to hear from Dr. Ralph Moore, founder of the Hope Chapel network that has planted more than 1700 churches in the past 30 years. The Exponential Conference started on Tuesday afternoon and continued through Thursday. The event was sold out again this year with 5000 on site and many more joining online. The conference has a terrific balance of inspirational rallies and practical breakout sessions for leaders of every size and style of ministry. The uniting theme of the conference was ministering in the power of the Holy Spirit. We had a good representation from the Crossroads District this year but we’ll have an ever stronger group next year. If you’ve never been to Exponential, let me encourage you to make plans now to attended next year’s conference, March 6-9. Before heading to Monon on Saturday afternoon to meet with Pastor Dan Clark and his LBA, my first stop of the day was with Rev. Mike Hewitt (Muncie Rising Hope) and his new ministry partner Marcos Cruz who is a church planter from Spain. We had a great conversation, with help from an interpreter, as Marcos and Banesa, his wife, shared about the churches they’ve already planted and the vision that God has given them for their next project in Seville. Marcos and his family joined Mike for the Exponential Conference and then came to Muncie to lead worship and share their testimony at Rising Hope on Sunday. It was a blessing to fellowship with this passionate family and to be be reminded of the many ways that God is on the move around the world. One of the special joys of being a pastor is to celebrate spiritual mile markers in the lives of your congregation. Nothing is better than having the opportunity to celebrate the spiritual birth and baptism of your own children. Rev. Noah Farmer, assistant pastor at Gas City Eastview Wesleyan Church, had that privilege on Sunday as he baptized Caleb, his youngest son. Praise the Lord for lives #MadeNew! Are you looking for a resource that your church could use to help people discover and live out their God-designed missional calling? Jon Wiest and his team have partnered with Dr. Ed Love and CMAD to create a resource that any church can use at any time. “Live Sent” helps people clarify who they are in Christ and how they can use their gifts to pioneer a new mission that will reach people who are far from God. (https://www.groundswellmovement.net/) In this five-session course, participants learn how to discover their calling and discern the voice of God for their lives and ministries. Jesus told his disciples in John 20:21, “As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” Every true follower of Jesus Christ has a desire to discover their calling and “live sent!” This DIY resource is FREE for individuals and groups within a local church setting. Simply download the PDF leaders guide, personally invite your participants, craft a timeline for connection/coaching, and link your participants to the online platform. The Leaders Guide and details can be found here: https://resources.wesleyan.org/live-sent-discover-your-calling Keep on making a difference in the cause that counts for eternity! Your servant in Christ, Mark Gorveatte Crossroads District Superintendent Nothing is more exciting to our Crossroads District family than celebrating lives #MadeNew by the gospel of Jesus Christ. We’re rejoicing this week with Pastor Shane Wilson and the team at New Hope Wesleyan Church in Columbia City as they baptized four more new believers. Praise the Lord! Sunday, March 6, I was in Orlando, Florida for a GS/DS meeting preceding the Exponential church planting conference. The schedule allowed for me to worship at Brooksville Wesleyan Church where I once again had the privilege of sitting under the preaching ministry of Dr. H.C. Wilson, General Superintendent Emeritus. It was an unusual event in that Dr. Jerry Pence, former General Superintendent, is the pastor of the church and Dr. Wayne Schmidt, our current General Superintendent, closed the service in prayer. I also had the joy of sitting with my father in the worship service. After the service, it was good to connect with Crossroads District friends like Jim & Martha Blackburn, Mrs. Kathy Benson, and Bob Vardaman. Please remember Suzanne Vardaman, Bob’s wife, in your prayers for continuing health concerns. Sunday afternoon, Sherry and I joined Dr. Wayne Schmidt for the first session of the GS/DS meeting in Orlando. This was the first time many of us had been together since the outbreak of Covid just after Exponential 2020. We will continue in a working session on Monday and then, on Tuesday join with approximately 500 Wesleyan leaders who have traveled to Orlando for this church planting conference. Monday morning, I dropped in on Pastor Matthew Trexler’s cohort meeting at The River Church. I’m looking forward to the leadership that this team is going to bring to our Crossroads District prayer gathering at The River Church on Sunday evening, April 10. Consultant Mark Meyer and I connected via Zoom on Monday afternoon. Mark is part of Tony Morgan’s Unstuck Group and their team has been been a trusted partner with our district for the past 7 years. (www.theunstuckgroup.com) Tuesday, I was in Richmond for coaching conversations with members of the LifeSpring staff and then stopped in Hartford City Wesleyan Church to check in with interim minister Rev. John Davey. My coaching conversations on Wednesday were with Rev. Scott McDermid (Sheridan Six Points) and Rev. Tim Becker (Elwood Main Street). Wednesday evening, I was able to make it back in time to join Pastor Steve DeNeff and the team at College Wesleyan Church for their Ash Wednesday service. Thursday morning, I joined Dr. Matthew Stewart (Sweetser Wesleyan Church) for the Wesleyan Church History and Discipline class he is teaching at Indiana Wesleyan University. It was fun to connect with Dr. Stewart and his students to discuss developments in our district and the denomination. Pastor Jose Cardenas (Cielos Abiertos Iglesia Wesleyana) and I met in Elkhart for our coaching conversation on Thursday afternoon. Friday morning, Sherry and I traveled first to Paoli Wesleyan Church for the funeral of Dr. Mark Eckart before driving on to Atlanta. The service for Dr. Eckart was a moving tribute to this humble servant of God. Dr. Wayne Schmidt, our General Superintendent, was one of the key speakers. Dr. David Wright, president of IWU, closed the funeral service with a compelling invitation and prayer for those who had not yet put their faith in Jesus Christ. Please continue to remember Mrs. Debbie Eckart and the family in prayer. Our next Crossroads District Prayer Gathering will be held this coming Sunday, March 13, 6:00 p.m., at Delphi Wesleyan Church, (508 N Union St, Delphi, IN 46923). We are grateful to Pastor Dan Fisher and his team for hosting this prayer gathering. Please plan to join us. Thank you for making prayer a priority in your church! If you are a retired minister in the Crossroads District, we would love to have you join us for our Retired Ministers and Spouses Gathering on Friday, April 8. This spring we will be meeting at Wesleyan World Headquarters in Fishers at 10:30. Your RSVP can be sent via email ([email protected]) or you may leave a voicemail reservation with Rev. Carla Working at (260) 224-7252. Your servant in Christ, Mark Gorveatte Crossroads District Superintendent |
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