Sunday morning, May 24, I had the privilege of dropping in on two of our congregations who were taking next steps in gathering. Pastor Barry Taylor and the team at Hartford City Wesleyan Church created space to welcome their congregation back to the building by adding a second service. They marked off alternating rows for the first service and then used the opposite seats for the second service to allow for social distancing.
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Greeters wore masks for the safety of guests and helped direct people through separated entries and exits. Hartford City Wesleyan Church will continue to offer their worship online with new equipment purchased with help from the Connect with Tech grant from the Lilly Foundation.

My second stop of the morning was at Lakeview Wesleyan Church in Marion. Pastor Chris Williams and his team offered online worship again this weekend but also added a live event for leaders in the congregation. It was good to hear Pastor Chris preach in person and to visit with their staff after the service. This live gathering with limited attendance allowed them to test their systems for welcoming congregants in the safest way possible. Lakeview was also able to do a test run with the equipment they were able to purchase because of the Lilly grant.
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Last week’s Zoom meetings included a General Board Exec Committee meeting on Monday and then a call with district superintendents on Wednesday.

I enjoyed connecting with pastors in person for prayers in person last week. Tuesday’s road trip allowed me to meet briefly and pray with Pastor Aldean Pablo (SEND Church), Pastor David & Carol Leitzel (Hamilton Wesleyan), Pastor Heath Croft (Level 13), Pastor Aaron Lee (Cultivate Church), Pastor Kory Christensen (Impact Church), Pastor Andy Jellison (Lifeway Church), Pastor Dave Dignal (Edgerton Wesleyan), Pastor Kyle Horton (Three Rivers), Pastor Lyle Breeding (Bluffton Sonlight), and Pastor Paul Van Cise (Bryant).

Wednesday morning, I met with Pastor Lee Miller (Memorial Drive Wesleyan) in Muncie for our annual coaching conversation. Pastor Michael and Kim Hewitt (Muncie Rising Hope) were home when I stopped by to check on them and have prayer. District Secretary Carol Schenck and I met at Wesleyan HQ in Fishers to sign legal documents for one of our churches. The Heartland Region district superintendents met via Zoom on Wednesday afternoon and then I finished out the day meeting with Rev. Barry Taylor in Hartford City for our annual coaching conversation. Thursday, I met with and had prayer with Pastor Matthew Stewart (Sweetser Wesleyan) and Rev. Jarod Osborne (Warsaw Pathway). My final meeting of the day was with the LBA at Wabash New Journey Community Church as they continue in their pastoral search process.

On Friday, Sherry and I were blessed to host the Region 2 North Zone pastors and spouses for supper and fellowship. Pastor Johnnie Blair chairs this zone and four couples were able to join us. We had a fun time sharing a meal and some competitive games of bean bag toss (watch out for Pastor Carol Schenck). We regretted having to cancel these fellowship gatherings for the past two months but look forward to welcoming more of our pastoral couples this summer.
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This coming Sunday, May 31, we invite you and your congregation to join our General Superintendent Dr. Wayne Schmidt and Wesleyans from around the world for an online prayer event. “Wesleyans are people of prayer,” said Dr. Schmidt. “We live and minister daily knowing that prayer is foundational to any work of the Holy Spirit. May 31 is an important time for us to be together and continue building our Kingdom Force foundation.” Pastors can find more information at: https://www.wesleyan.org/event/together
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Church Multiplication and Discipleship (CMAD) has provided free resources for your use to participate on Church Multiplication Sunday (CMS) this coming Sunday, May 31st. Promotional materials, including sermon resources, video bumpers, kids and youth ministry curriculum, and Winfield Bevin’s FREE EBOOK “Multiplying Disciples” are available here:
www.wesleyan.org/cms
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​We received word on Monday afternoon (May 25) that Mrs. Faith Watkins, wife of Rev. Joe Watkins and mother of Pastor Marc Watkins (Kokomo Trinity), had been hospitalized in critical condition. Family members have been called to her side. Please join us in prayer for Mrs. Watkins and her family.

Keep on making a difference in the cause that counts for eternity!

Your servant in Christ,

Mark Gorveatte

Crossroads District Superintendent
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P.S. HERE ARE HELPFUL RESOURCES AS YOU PREPARE FOR GATHERING AGAIN:

• Wesleyan Resource Hub for Covid-19​
• ReOpening Church: Leading After COVID-19 – Vanderbloemen
• 24 Questions Your Church Should Answer Before People Return – Ken Braddy
• AVOID THIS BIG MISTAKE: STEPPING BACK INTO THE PAST WHEN YOU STEP BACK INTO YOUR BUILDING – Carey Nieuwhof

Eastview Wesleyan Church in Gas City hosted a special service for graduates and their families on Sunday morning, May 17. Pastor Mark Atkinson and his team were diligent in providing masking, hand sanitizer, and social distancing. The doors were opened for us by a greeter with smiling eyes behind a mask. The chairs were arranged for households to sit together but with generous spacing from others. At the close of the service, people were released one row at a time to alleviate crowding in the foyer. I was glad to be part of this service and to see how Eastview took prudent steps to care for the health and safety of those who were able to gather. It is clear that all of us will be in learning mode as our churches carefully move toward reopening for gathered worship.
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Before heading to Eastview, I dropped in on Assistant DS Matthew Trexler and the team at The River Church for their 8:45 service. They offered three live morning worship experiences with social distancing. During the 11:15 service they celebrated what may have been the first baptism in the Crossroads District for our new conference year (When you have baptism services, please pass along the good news and photos so we can celebrate with you.)!

Several of our churches held services in their buildings this week with many more planning to be open for Pentecost Sunday, May 31. Others took the opportunity to use their parking lots for drive-in services. Not every church has a parking lot that is conducive for this but, for those who do, it does provide a next step to regathering as a church family. United Wesleyan in Anderson and Six Points Church in Sheridan were two of our congregations meeting outdoors yesterday.
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Last week’s schedule included coaching conversations with Pastor Zach Szmara (Logansport Bridge) and Pastor Greg Holmes (South Bend Sonlight). On Tuesday afternoon, about 50 of our district pastors gathered online for some brief announcements and then moved into breakout rooms for sharing and prayer. Dr. Wayne Schmidt, our General Superintendent and member of our district, was able to join us for this Zoom call. I was blessed to connect with Rev. Theo Griffin (Greenfield Brown’s Chapel), Rev. Dave Leitzel (Hamilton Wesleyan), and Rev. Mark Atkinson (Gas City Eastview) in our breakout room. I am always encouraged to hear of God’s faithfulness in the lives and ministries of our district team.
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Seth Bye and I had the opportunity to visit with Pastor Alan Downing and Brett Todd, Pastor Alan’s partner, on Friday to see the amazing remodeling project that is almost complete at Connecting Point Church in Frankfort. They’ve completely redone the auditorium and created two new classroom spaces near the entry to the building. The final project they’ve been working on is remodeling their kitchen and fellowship hall to expand capacity to serve needy families in their neighborhood.
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The elderly congregation at Michigantown Mt. Hope Chapel voted last week and made the difficult decision to bring their gathered ministry to a close. Seth and I met with three of the 7 remaining members on Friday to walk through next steps. The building and parsonage will be sold with the proceeds to be reinvested in church planting that perpetuates the legacy of this faithful congregation. Dr. Max Kingsolver has been diligently serving this church in his retirement years until recent health complications made it impossible for him to continue. This is a difficult decision for any congregation, but the good news is that the members with whom we met are planning to connect with area Wesleyan churches. We had a time of prayer together with thanksgiving for these leaders and for all the people who have come to Christ through the ministry of this church over the many year. Their labor in the Lord has not been in vain!

Two of our pastors graduated from seminary in the past few weeks. Pastor Dan Clark serves our Monon Wesleyan Church and graduated with the Master of Divinity degree from Anderson University’s School of Theology. Rev. Ryan VanMatre pastors the south campus of LifeSpring Church in Richmond. Ryan graduated from Wesley Seminary at Indiana Wesleyan University with the Master of Divinity degree. Congratulations to both of these pastors (and their families) who completed this academic journey while also faithfully serving their congregations!
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We are praising the Lord for answered prayer. On Tuesday, Pastor Calimerio Rodriguez shared the wonderful news that both he and Sister Maria are both testing negative after 6 weeks battling the coronavirus. Rev. Carol Schenck continues to provide positive updates on the slow but steady recovery of her brother, Ron. David and Michele Henry shared pictures of the Henry family worshiping together at Brookhaven Wesleyan Church on Sunday morning. We join these families in praising God for answered prayer!
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Things are slowly moving back toward normal in Indiana, at least a new normal, with the governor allowing stores and restaurants to reopen. For the first time since February, Sherry and I will be welcoming pastors and spouses back to Thornapple for a Friday evening fellowship. Our guests this week will be the pastors and spouses of the Region 2 North Central Zone led by Pastor Johnnie Blair. We are grateful for the opportunity to invite our lead pastors and their spouses to join us each year for one of these evenings of fellowship, food, laughter, and prayer. We hope to see you soon!

Keep on making a difference in the cause that counts for eternity.

Your servant in Christ,

Mark Gorveatte

Crossroads District Superintendent

P.S.  – May 31, Pentecost Sunday, is the Sunday that The Wesleyan Church sets aside to focus on congregations multiplying to reach new communities and people groups. Dr. Ed Love has provided a great resource website to help your congregation prepare for this emphasis. The challenge is to raise awareness and financial support for the power of local church multiplication. Here’s the link: Church Multiplication Sunday
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​​On Sunday evening, May 31, Pentecost Sunday, Wesleyans around the world are gathering online to worship and pray for the fresh infilling of the Holy Spirit. This hour-long event begins at 7 p.m. (EST). “Wesleyans are people of prayer,” said General Superintendent Wayne Schmidt. “We live and minister daily knowing that prayer is foundational to any work of the Holy Spirit. May 31 is an important time for us to be together and continue building our Kingdom Force foundation.” Pastors can find more information at:
​https://www.wesleyan.org/event/together

Mother’s Day 2020 was certainly different than most of us would have expected. Self-quarantining and social distancing guidelines meant that many families were not able to be together as they normally would. So families improvise. Some gathered outside the windows of nursing homes. Others connected online.

Churches also had to improvise. I had the joy of seeing three of our congregations innovate to provide opportunities to share the Gospel and serve people. My first stop of the morning was at Parkview Wesleyan Church in Chesterfield. Parkview’s team, led by Pastor Jeremy Armiger and Assistant Pastor Dr. Jim Lo, made a careful plan and yesterday morning moved back into worshiping in their facility.
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To provide for social distancing, they offered two services (9 and 10:30) with every other row taped off. They disinfected thoroughly before each service. They provided hand sanitizer. They did not pass out items and provided a basket for people to drop in their offerings. No one shook hands but there were plenty of smiles and warm words of greeting. Dr. Jim Lo brought an encouraging message from Hannah’s faith journey in motherhood (1 Samuel 1-2).
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Noblesville Circle of Hope Wesleyan Church is led by Dr. Rich and Rev. Carol Schenck. I joined them for the drive-in service they offered for this Mother’s Day. The service also included greetings and prayer in Spanish with Pastor Nicolas Zarate who leads the Gloria del Rey congregation. In addition to sharing the service through their sound system, Circle of Hope also provided a low-power FM transmission that allowed you to listen in your car. Pastor Carol brought the message from 1st Peter 2:1-10 and challenged us to be living stones that reflect Jesus. Several people responded to Pastor Carol’s invitation at the close of the service and stood beside their car for the closing prayer.

My last stop of the day was at Daybreak Community Church in Lapel. Pastor Andy Cole and his team were going to host a drive-in service but the forecast prompted them to keep their worship service online. Instead, after the online service, they honored mothers with a special gift and prayer time by driving through their parking lot.
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Reopening may be one of the most challenging leadership experiences in your ministry. As you are planning, praying, and dialoguing with your leaders, may I recommend these two guiding principles:

1) Don’t hurry. Plan.

You may have already heard me say that I’d rather you open two weeks later than one week too soon. Do everything you can to get this right. Trust your community leaders. Consult with your congregation’s healthcare workers. No one ever has all the information. No human effort is ever 100 percent. You’ll never be able to keep every person perfectly safe from others, or from themselves. But you can plan your work and work your plan. Do the very best you can, in your context, with your resources. And don’t hesitate to ask for help. (Proverbs 20:18, Proverbs 21:5)

2) Don’t judge. Pray.

I am trusting that every Crossroads District church leader will make the best decision and lead the best process they can, in their context, with their resources. We will learn from each other, but please don’t judge others. Please don’t judge or criticize the pastor in your community or our district who goes slower than you do in reopening. Please don’t judge or criticize the pastor in your community or our district who goes faster than you think is wise. (Luke 6:37 and Romans 14:12-13). Your prayers will make a bigger difference than your criticisms.

Congratulations to Greentown Wesleyan Church as they celebrate 100 years since their conception in a 1920 revival meeting led by Rev. Jesse Whitecotten, assisted by Anna Linville (who became their first pastor). The revival services were held in a borrowed church building in May and lasted four weeks. Sinners were converted. Backsliders were reclaimed. Believers were sanctified holy and a church was organized on August 6, 1920. As part of the conception celebration yesterday, Pastor Eric Roemer and the team hosted a drive-in service in their parking lot that also featured a baby dedication!
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The highlight of last week’s schedule was the two days I spent with our District Board of Ministerial Development (DBMD) conducting the final interviews for ordination candidates. Dr. David Smith chairs this team with grace and wisdom. We are working with Dr. Wayne Schmidt, our General Superintendent, toward an ordination service later this summer (tentatively on Saturday, August 15, 1 p.m.).

The journey to ordination in The Wesleyan Church is intense and begins with a local church discerning the calling of a woman or man and recommending them to the DBMD. Educational coursework and supervised experiences are evaluated each year, first by zone DBMD committees and then regional teams. Finally candidates come before the district board for one more conversation about theology, ministry philosophy, character, and calling. What a joy it was to see how God has been at work in forming them for life and ministry. The future of The Wesleyan Church is in good hands!
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Just a gentle reminder of this week’s deadlines. Final grant requests from the district Covid-19 pandemic response for the 2020 conference year must be submitted before 5 p.m., Tuesday, May 12. The DBA will be monitoring ongoing developments but the initial round of grants was only funded in the last conference year.

May 15 is the deadline for Center for Congregation technology grants applications. Several of our churches have already received notification of their grant approvals.

Annual Service Reports (ASR) and Local Church Statistical Reports (LCSR) are also due, along with your annual ministerial staff requests. For those who are reporting online attendance, General Secretary Janelle Vernon provided the following clarification: When using the Premiere feature (Facebook and YouTube), a Peak Live/Concurrent Viewer statistic for the initial play period of the video is provided and that number may be treated as the equivalent of the same on a “Live” video for reporting on line 8 [Local Church Statistical Report]. This information provides churches an industry standard metric that will ensure consistency within TWC statistics.
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​On Sunday evening, May 31, Pentecost Sunday, Wesleyans around the world are gathering online to worship and pray for the fresh infilling of the Holy Spirit. This hour-long event begins at 7 p.m. (EST). “Wesleyans are people of prayer,” said General Superintendent Wayne Schmidt. “We live and minister daily knowing that prayer is foundational to any work of the Holy Spirit. May 31 is an important time for us to be together and continue building our Kingdom Force foundation.” Pastors can find more information at:
​https://www.wesleyan.org/event/together

Keep on making a difference for eternity!

Your servant in Christ,

Mark Gorveatte

Crossroads District Superintendent

Sunday morning, May 3, I had the privilege of worshiping with Pastor Duane Seitz and the congregation of Silver Lake Wesleyan Church as they gathered for their fourth drive-in service. They’ve been blessed with clear weather for each outdoor service and today the parking lot was nearly full. It was good to see the neighbors who came out on their porches and yards to hear Pastor Seitz preach a wonderful message on peace.
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Pastor Seitz was encouraged to report three individuals who professed faith in Christ, one who testified to being entirely sanctified and three new believers who were baptized in this past conference year. He shared that they have eight people who are looking forward to being baptized this summer and six individuals who are preparing for membership.

Sunday afternoon, I joined in with Pastor Matthew Trexler and a team of leaders at The River Church in Marion for a planning session led by Mark Meyer of the UnStuck Group. This was the first UnStuck consultation that we’ve done by Zoom.
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Jason Tash, Chris Williams, Matthew Trexler and I are certified StratOp facilitators trained by the UnStuck Group to serve our district. We do have a limited number of weekends available in the new conference year. Let us know as early as possible if your leadership team would value hosting a StratOp planning conversation for your church.

Last week’s ministry calendar included coaching conversation with Pastor Allen Laws (Warren Wesleyan) and Pastor Ben Thomas (Avon Nehemiah Church). We hosted a Zoom connection event for 50 district pastors on Tuesday afternoon. Our Crossroads District Board of Administration met via Zoom on Thursday morning with a full agenda, including approving a conservative budget (reduced 25%). Dr. Jim Lo joined us to share an update on the prayer initiative he leads. Twelve of our retired pastors have accepted the responsibility to become prayer partners for our active pastors.

The DBA voted to approve “real-time tithing” as full participation in the FY2021 United Stewardship Fund. The goal is for churches to have financial flexibility in this emergency season while fully participating in the denominational support plan that we have adopted. Annual assessment for FY2021 USF apportionment will still be based on 10% of the previous year’s income (with exemptions or cap limitations). Each local church will receive a report of the annual and monthly USF apportionment based on that calculation.
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The change approved by the DBA is that the local church may pay either the monthly portion of the USF assessment or may contribute 10% of the actual tithes, offerings, and unrestricted gifts received by the church each month. (Since there can be significant variation in monthly receipts, it will be prudent for the church to select one method for the year, rather than switching back and forth.) At the end of the year, every church that has paid 100% of their USF assessment or 100% of a real-time tithe of their receipts will be recognized as having fully participated in the United Stewardship Fund.

*** Pastors and church treasurers will be receiving direct communication about this opportunity and the steps for implementation.

On Saturday, I joined in with Assistant DS Mike Colaw’s Region 2 online connection for pastors and then dropped in on Dr. Rich Schenck and the Region 2 DBMD as they interviewed ministerial candidates.

Many of you have been praying for David Henry, Pastor Michele Henry’s husband, and joined us in celebrating last week as he returned from Fort Wayne to continue rehabilitation in Marion. We’re also encouraged by the recovery progress of Rev. Calimerio and Sister Maria Rodriguez (Frankfort) and Rev. Carol Schenck’s brother Ron. Another exciting praise note last week came from Pastor David Cox (Laketon Wesleyan) who shared that their grandson just celebrated 100 days free from leukemia.

Two of our pastors shared reports of people coming to their offices this week in tears desiring to get their lives right with God. Isn’t it wonderful to see how God is moving and lives are being changed for eternity!

Rev. John and Danielle Freed, founding pastors of Waterline Church, publicly announced that they have accepted a call to become multiplication leaders in the Great Lakes Region District beginning next month. We are deeply indebted to John and Danielle for the way they have led by example in personal evangelism and multiplication efforts here in Indiana. I was honored to have Pastor John Freed serve as my first Assistant DS when I moved to Indiana in 2015. We know they will be a blessing in this new role. Pray for the Freed family and for Waterline Church in this challenging season of transition. You can hear their full announcement here: Freed announcement to Waterline
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​In other developments last week, Governor Holcomb released a reopening plan for Indiana that includes Guidance for Churches. Permission to reopen is not the same as having a plan to reopen. In addition to following all necessary protocols for disinfecting and protecting individuals, churches will need to be prepared to communicate with everyone who may be exposed to the virus during one of your gatherings so that they can self-quarantine (contact tracing). Leaders will want to ensure that their team is prepared to conscientiously follow the cleaning and physical distancing guidelines of the CDC:

CDC Reopening Guidelines

As your team considers a timeline for reopening, you may want to hold some “pre-launch” or practice services before your launch or reopening Sunday. Training your team, preparing your facility, communicating with your congregation (and prospects), and praying fervently are key ingredients to preparing for re-launch. It might be possible for some of our congregations to gather in limited numbers on May 31, Pentecost Sunday, but even that timeline could be too aggressive for many of our churches.

Please allow me to repeat this again, it is far better to open two weeks later (and get it right) than to open one week too soon and not be prepared to provide excellent care for your congregation (especially for the children).

Leaders, your mission is not to see how quickly you can get people back into your building. Your mission is to make disciples who make disciples and multiply Kingdom communities to reach millions of lost people. We are relearning that we can stay on mission without a building. Regrettably, we know that it’s possible to gather people in a building without multiplying disciple-makers. Let’s keep the main thing the main thing.

HERE ARE HELPFUL RESOURCES AS YOU PREPARE FOR RE-OPENING:

• ​ReOpening Church: Leading After COVID-19 - Vanderbloemen
• 24 Questions Your Church Should Answer Before People Return - Ken Braddy
• AVOID THIS BIG MISTAKE: STEPPING BACK INTO THE PAST WHEN YOU STEP BACK INTO YOUR BUILDING - Carey Nieuwhof
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May 31, Pentecost Sunday, is also the Sunday that The Wesleyan Church sets aside to focus on congregations multiplying to reach new communities and people groups. Dr. Ed Love has provided a great resource website to help your congregation prepare for this emphasis. The challenge is to raise awareness and financial support for the power of local church multiplication. Here’s the link: Church Multiplication Sunday
​

​On May 31, Pentecost Sunday, Wesleyans around the world are gathering online to worship and pray for the fresh infilling of the Holy Spirit. This hour-long event begins at 7 p.m. EST. “Wesleyans are people of prayer,” said General Superintendent Wayne Schmidt. “We live and minister daily knowing that prayer is foundational to any work of the Holy Spirit. May 31 is an important time for us to be together and continue building our Kingdom Force foundation.” Pastors can find more information at: ​https://www.wesleyan.org/event/together

Keep on making a difference in the cause that counts for eternity!

Your servant in Christ,

Mark Gorveatte

Crossroads District Superintendent