Sunday morning, August 25, Sherry and I worshiped at Westview Wesleyan Church in Jonesboro. Mr. Steve Armes, vice-chair of the LBA, led the worship service and I brought the message. It was good to connect with Westview’s lay leaders, including Elvin Weinmann who has faithfully led our district’s audit team for several years. Pastor Budde and Westview Wesleyan have a goal of 30 baptisms for the coming year! They’ve placed their 30 “#madenew” T-shirts on hangers around the auditorium as a visual reminder to pray and work toward this faith goal.
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Pastor Ryan Budde was away on Sunday with his family caring for his mother. Sue, his mother, suffered a major heart attack and doctors do not expect her to recover. Our prayers are with Rev. Roger Budde, Ryan’s father, and the family members in this difficult time.

Sunday afternoon, I was able to join Pastor John and Beth Hannan in Union City as they met with members of the launch team for CrossRoads Church. They’ve already done two community outreach projects and this week they’ll be participating in a “grace-sharing challenge” that Pastor John learned from Professor Mark Wilson. Pray with Pastor John and his team as they reach out with God’s love to lost people in Union City.
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Sunday evening, I led an online DBA meeting (via ZOOM) to deal with an important and time-sensitive matter. Special thanks to Chris Williams for managing our logistics and for each of the DBA members who were able to carve out time to join us late in the day.

Pastor Paul VanCise sent in this great picture from the baptism celebration at Bryant Wesleyan Church. Pastor Paul and his team have set a goal of 10 baptisms for this conference year. There’s nothing more exciting than celebrating changed lives!
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Last Monday, I worked out of our Fishers office. Dr. Wayne Schmidt hosted a GS-DS Zoom call in the morning for his monthly check-in with us. Monday afternoon, I met with Benjamin Tuimuk, the supply lay pastor, who leads our Shalom Church serving Burmese refugees on the southside of Indianapolis. He reported a wonderful youth camp this summer in cooperation with other Burmese congregations at Frankfort Camp that hosted 174 total registrants and celebrated 52 decisions for Christ, including 4 from Shalom.
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Tuesday morning, I joined Pastor Matthew Trexler and the team at The River Church in Marion for their 6 a.m. prayer gathering before heading to Indianapolis. Pastor Mike Colaw, Region 2 Assistant DS, hosts a monthly leadership development connection for Region 2 pastors and staff at Trinity Wesleyan Church. Steve Becker, Trinity’s LBA vice-chair, shared his keen insights into handling high-stakes conversations in the church. The other highlight of the morning was having the pastors and staff of Region 2 lay hands on and pray for Pastor John Miller as Way City Church moves to their launch Sunday, September 15. We really can be stronger together to reach our 3 million!
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Pastor Eric Roemer and I met in Greentown on Tuesday afternoon for our annual coaching conversation. Pastor Eric was excited about the addition of Mason Rosado to their team at Greentown Wesleyan. Mason will continue as a student at Wesley Seminary while leading the youth ministry and serving as assistant pastor.

Wednesday morning, Pastor Judy Hatt and her team welcomed me to Hope Wesleyan Church in Fowler. I was there for our annual coaching conversation but we also enjoyed a light lunch with their leaders, including John Paul Godbey (pictured here with Pastor Judy), the long-time treasurer for the church. Fowler is a small farming community of 2200 people located 30 miles northwest of Lafayette, close to the Illinois state line.
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Hope Church was about to close its doors when Pastor Judy volunteered to help out. She brings joy, vision, and energy to the team. They’re now seeing as many as 20 in worship, they’ve caught up on all their bills, remodeled the church building debt-free, and are preparing to launch a Sunday morning outreach to children called “The Breakfast Club.” Fowler Hope set a faith goal this year for 8 baptisms. I drove home reminded once again that no person is too old and no place is too small for God to be glorified!

Wednesday afternoon, Dr. Bud Bence met with Chris, Seth and I to work on plans to offer a unique Crossroads District seminar experience of “Wesleyan Church History and Discipline.” There are many convenient options to take this core course for ordination but Bud is leading us in exploring ways to make this a team-building, culture-shaping experience for our students and ministers transferring to us from other denominations.

Thursday morning, Pastor Dave Leitzel and I met via technology for our annual coaching conversation. Pastor Dave has been experiencing back pain so this was a more convenient option for him. I appreciate the renewed focus Pastor Dave has been giving to one-on-one discipleship. Hamilton Wesleyan set a faith goal for 6 baptisms this year!

Rev. Aldean Pablo, church planter for SEND Church in southwest Fort Wayne/Roanoke, met on Thursday afternoon. It was encouraging to hear about the doors that God has been providentially opening as Pastor Aldean reaches out into this new community.
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In addition to building a launch team, Pastor Aldean and Jessie are also adjusting to their healthy baby. Special thanks to our pastors in the Fort Wayne area who are supporting SEND Church with their prayers and financial investment.

Friday morning, Assistant DS Chris Williams and I met for our weekly briefing. Chris is doing an incredible job balancing family life and ministry while tackling a Ph.D. program in organizational leadership. I am grateful for his partnership in district leadership!

Pastor Neftali Lopez met me in Fishers for lunch and an update on his ministry at Carmel Iglesia Amistad Cristiana. Amistad celebrated their 19th year of ministry this past weekend. This has been the flagship multiplying church that helped launched other Hispanic congregations in our district. We are grateful for their impact for Christ!

Friday afternoon, I had the honor of hosting Dr. Morris and Sonia Liana for their visit to Wesleyan headquarters and visit with Rev. James Winn (Global Partners). Dr. Liana is the President of the Union Biblical Seminary in Myanmar (formerly Burma) and also serves as the General Secretary for the Evangelical Christian Alliance of Myanmar.
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General Secretary Janelle Vernon and her team also gave the Liana’s a very warm welcome and generously passed along some Wesleyan resources to share with the Bible college students in Myanmar. Dr. Liana and I first met nearly 20 years ago when he was studying at Asbury Theological Seminary. We were blessed to have Dr. Liana preach in both of our district’s Burmese congregations during his visit.

With summer vacation over, Sherry and I are looking forward to resuming our schedule of zone fellowships for pastors and spouses at Thornapple. Our first gathering of the fall will be on Friday (6:30-9:00), September 6, as we host Rev. Dan Fisher and the team from Region 3 South Zone. Our second gathering will be on Friday, September 20 (6:30-9:00), with Rev. Don Bayne and the team from Region 3 North Zone. Rev. Seth Bye will be sending reminders.

Thank you for all you do to advance God’s Kingdom in our district and beyond!

Your servant in Christ,

Mark Gorveatte

Crossroads District Superintendent
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​Don’t miss the International Wesleyan Youth Conference (Dec. 28-31, 2019)

​Pastors and youth leaders can sign up now at www.followconference.org to get free resources and updates on all FOLLOW details.

Sherry and I were privileged to worship with Rev. Lyle Breeding and his team at Bluffton Sonlight Church on Sunday morning. Rev. Lane Sander, our District Youth President, is a key member of the staff and he led in the altar prayer time during the service. It was a joy to bring the message and then to meet with the LBA following the service.
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Pastor Lyle and his team have been hard at work implementing their Maximizing Impact prescriptions from last year and preparing for their StratOp planning consultation this fall. Sherry and I enjoyed hosting Pastor Breeding and his team for lunch.

Angela Spangler, Executive Director, and her team at Fairmount Camp hosted another successful Old Time Camp Meeting this past week. I was able to take in the Thursday morning Bible study session led by Rev. David Vardaman and the closing rally on Sunday evening. Rev. Alex Mandura did a great job leading the services.
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Pastor Ken Dykhoff brought his enthusiasm in leading the music, and Rev. Joe Kelly preached a helpful series on the faithfulness of God. Rev. Ashlyn Luttrell rounded out the team by leading the afternoon prayer studies. Mark your calendar for next year’s “Old Time Camp Meeting” (August 12-16, 2020) with Dr. Bud Bence as the camp evangelist.

It is always encouraging to be able to share reports of spiritual victories. Pastor Dale Munsell shared this photo of their first baptism celebration for this conference year at Albion Cornerstone Wesleyan Church. They are believing God for 15 baptisms this year!
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Dr. Craig Dunn and the Wesleyan Investment Foundation team generously provided an exceptional learning opportunity for our Wesleyan district superintendents last Tuesday and Wednesday at Church of the Highlands in Birmingham, Alabama. We heard from the executive leadership of the church, from an expert in counter-terrorism and church safety, and from Lee Domingue, the point leader for the Legacy Team at Highlands. Lee shared some key insights from the strategic funding at COTH. Their Legacy Team has 901 members (about 2% of their worship attendance of 50,000+) but contributed 25% of their financial resources. Lee talked about their intentionality in developing a sustainable culture of generosity. One of the principles he shared was that “the pastor determines the vision, the business leaders determine the speed.”
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Highlands owns approximately $300 million of facilities and property debt-free. Pastor Chris Hodges and Highlands Church helped to create ARC (The Association of Related Churches) and they have helped plant 900 churches in the past 18 years. Highlands is fueled by a culture of prayer with 1500 people gathering at 6:00 a.m. in the Birmingham location as part of their 21 Days of Prayer to launch into the fall season. They also generously provide their resources free of charge at this website: www.growleader.com

Summer is a great time for our churches to "get ready for company." Good stewardship includes not just maintaining the facilities with which we’ve been entrusted, but also improving them to create the most welcoming environment possible for our guests. Pastor Jeff Luedtke invited me to Fairmount Wesleyan Church last week to see the wonderful improvements they’ve made to the children’s ministry areas and the auditorium. They’ve done a great job preparing to welcome guests!
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Please continue to pray for Grace, the daughter of Pastor Jon and Katie Wiest (Indianapolis Trinity Wesleyan Church), who has been diagnosed with leukemia. The family has created a webpage where you can lend them your support and prayerfully follow their journey: Caring Bridge link for Grace

Thank you for all you do to advance the Kingdom!

Your servant in Christ,

Mark Gorveatte
​

​Don’t miss the International Wesleyan Youth Conference (Dec. 28-31, 2019)

​Pastors and youth leaders can sign up now at www.followconference.org to get free resources and updates on all FOLLOW details.

Sherry and I will be attending a Wesleyan Investment Foundation training event in Birmingham, Alabama on Tuesday and Wednesday this week so we left a few days early to connect with Josiah, our 2nd oldest son, who leads worship at Crosspoint Church in Niceville, Florida. We enjoyed being with him yesterday as he led his team and the congregation in worship.
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Crosspoint Church is a strongly-evangelical, multi-site UMC congregation of about 4,000. This dynamic ministry is led by Pastor Rural Ausley, who serves with Dr. JoAnne Lyon on Asbury Seminary’s Board of Trustees.

Last Monday morning, Sherry and I were with Pastor Wes and Claudia Dupin at Daybreak Church in Michigan. Sherry has been the CFO at Daybreak for more than 10 years and I had the privilege of doing staff development with Pastor Wes and his team on the leadership concepts from “Lead Like Wesley.”
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Tuesday morning, I met with our Crossroads District staff for our weekly connection. I am thankful for Mrs. Roxene Lo, Rev. Seth Bye, and Rev. Chris Williams, Assistant DS. They serve our district team with diligence and grace. They love God and they love our pastors. I am grateful for the blessing it is to serve you with this team.

On Tuesday afternoon, I met with Dr. Jim Lo, Pastor Armiger (Chesterfield Parkview) and Pastor Steve Binns (Anderson Lone Oak). It was good to be with them as they entered into a conversation about ways that their congregations might collaborate to more effectively serve their respective communities.

On Tuesday evening, I met with Pastor Duane and Cindy Summitt over supper in Noblesville for Duane’s annual coaching conversation. Pastor Summitt (Lapel Fishersburg) is another one of our committed bi-vocational pastors who works more 40+ hours per week outside of his ministry calling.

I met with Pastor Brent Miller (Gas City Southside) on Wednesday morning for our annual coaching conversation. We also did a walk-through of their building and the kitchen remodeling project that is close to completion. It was good to stop and celebrate the progress they’ve made under Pastor Brent’s leadership. They are also praising the Lord for spiritual victories with 8 baptisms so far this conference year!
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Our Crossroads District StratOp facilitators met over lunch on Wednesday in planning for the coming year. I’m grateful for the leadership that Chris Williams gives to our team that also includes Rev. Matthew Trexler and Rev. Jason Tash. If your congregation is hoping to engage in this planning process, there are still a few weekends left but the schedule is filling up fast. Please contact Rev. Chris Williams to book your team.

Sherry and I have been hosting Rev. Bryon Scott, pastor of Engage Church in California, for the last few sessions of his M.Div program at Wesley Seminary. It was good to have supper with him and hear his testimony of God’s calling and faithfulness in his church planting journey.

Thursday, August 8, marked the 10th anniversary celebration for Wesley Seminary at Indiana Wesleyan University. President Colleen Derr and her team put together a wonderful day of memory and vision-casting. Dr. John Perkins, founder of the Christian Community Development Association, was the featured guest in both the morning service and the concluding evening event. Wesley Seminary announced a new partnership with the Perkins Family Foundation that will continue Dr. Perkin’s legacy of Christ-centered ministries of justice and compassion.
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The Global Leadership Summit, hosted by Pastor Craig Groeschel, was live on Thursday and Friday. Pastor Mark Atkinson and his team at Eastview Wesleyan Church in Gas City made it possible for me to join them for several sessions on Thursday and again on Friday. (Fountain City Wesleyan Church also hosted the GLS simulcast.) The sessions I took in were outstanding. One of the most challenging talks came from Todd Henry, author of Herding Tigers. He reminded us that we have to earn the right to lead every single day. He closed by asking: “How are you growing?” “How are you changing?”

Pastor Albert Tate helped to host the GLS and we’re excited to announce that he’ll be joining us for the Heartland Regional Gathering in Pigeon Forge, March 10-12, 2020.
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We’re always excited to pass along baptisms updates! Brookhaven Wesleyan Church celebrated the baptism of several teenagers last Sunday evening. Pastor David and Pastor Emily Hines led the service and passed along this great picture with their students.
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Lifeway Wesleyan Church celebrated baptisms this Sunday. In addition to two of their teenagers being baptized, Pastor Andy Jellison had the incredible joy of baptizing Kate, his daughter. We celebrate with Pastor Andy and Sarah as they mark this significant milestone in their daughter’s spiritual journey. Here’s the link to the video from this special occasion: Video link to Kate Jellison’s baptism

Please continue to pray for Grace, the daughter of Pastor Jon and Katie Wiest (Indianapolis Trinity Wesleyan Church), who has been diagnosed with leukemia. The family has created a webpage where you can lend them your support and prayerfully follow their journey: Caring Bridge link for Grace

Fairmount Camp is hosting their “Old Time Camp Meeting” this week, August 14-18. There is a morning Bible study at 10:30 and the evening rallies begin at 6:30. For more details, you can follow Fairmount Camp’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/FairmountCamp/

​Thank you for all you do to advance God’s Kingdom!

Your servant in Christ,

Mark Gorveatte

Crossroads District Superintendent

Sherry and I had the joy of worshiping with Pastor Kory and Becky Christensen at New Haven Impact Church. There was a full house this morning including some first-time guests. I was privileged to bring greetings from our district team and to share the morning message. After the service, Pastor Kory and I met with the LBA.
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We enjoyed lunch together with the Christensen family before heading north for a family gathering in Grand Rapids. We were able to surprise Jordan, our daughter, and Sam, her fiance at a Sunday evening dinner to congratulate them on their engagement. Sam is a graduate of Calvin College and his parents are church planters in San Jose, California. We are happy to welcome Sam An to our growing family and pray for God’s blessing as they make plans for a bright future.
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Pastor John Hannan and the team at CrossRoads Church in Union City had a busy weekend. They haven’t met yet for their first Sunday morning worship service but the launch team decided to enter a float in the community’s Heritage Days parade on Saturday. They gave away 600 bottles of water and 400 cups with their name and theme “CrossRoads Church: Where Everyone Matters.” Sunday afternoon, they welcomed 34 people for a vision casting fellowship and cookout in the park. Continue to pray with Pastor John and Beth as they build a team to launch this new church in the fall.
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Last Monday, I was pleased to join with Angela Spangler, Executive Director of Fairmount Camp, and the dedicated team who helped her lead this year’s youth camp. Angela is providing strong leadership to the camping ministries at Fairmount and it is always encouraging to sit in with a group of leaders who are committed to pouring into the next generation.

Tuesday morning, I met briefly with the Lakeview Wesleyan Church staff before connecting with the district office team. I was in Anderson on Tuesday afternoon for two more meetings. On Tuesday evening, I joined Dr. Norman Wilson, Rev. Neftali Lopez and Rev. Eliorgy Guerrero via Zoom to thank them for the leadership they are bringing to our growing team of Hispanic leaders and their congregations.

Wednesday morning, I joined Dr. Ed Love and a cohort of Wesley Seminary students for a class on Church Multiplication that he was teaching at Trinity Wesleyan Church in Indianapolis. I enjoyed the questions and interaction with the students.
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It was a special delight to hear from Pastor Bernie Hadad and learn more about the work she is doing multiplying disciples in our prison system. Pastor Hadad was excited to share about a breakthrough at the prison in New Castle where she’s been granted permission to plant a church among prisoners. Pray that God will send more laborers into His harvest field!
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​Wednesday afternoon, I met with Pastor John Miller in Speedway. We toured the rental facility that he’s been able to secure for the fall launch of Way City Church and spent time in prayer for God’s blessing on this new work.

On Thursday and Friday, I joined representatives from the four districts of the Heartland Region in a strategic planning retreat at Wesleyan HQ. Doug Slaybaugh, the former executive pastor with Rick Warren at Saddleback Church, led our two-day retreat to consider a range of possibilities for more intentional collaboration between our districts.
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It is an honor to serve alongside DS Les Crossfield (Greater Ohio), DS Mark Eckart (Indiana South) and DS Aaron Sherman (KY-TN). Our next step is a combined meeting of our four district boards of administration in November. This will also be in preparation for the Heartland Region Gathering, a retreat for pastors and their families, to be held in Pigeon Forge, March 10-12 2020. Please mark your calendars and plan to join us.

Baptism reports keep coming in! This week’s picture of people being #madenew comes from Pastor Lee Miller and the Muncie Memorial Drive Wesleyan Church. Pastor Miller also had the joy of dedicating two children in their morning service yesterday.
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Please pray for Grace, the daughter of Pastor Jon and Katie Wiest (Indianapolis Trinity Wesleyan Church), who has been diagnosed with leukemia. The family has created a webpage where you can lend them your support and prayerfully follow their journey: Caring Bridge link for Grace

Prayer is also requested for Rev. Seth Bye’s grandfather, Amy’s dad and Pastor Tony Bye’s father-in-law, who was hospitalized last week in critical condition but has begun to show some signs of recovery.

Thank you for all you do to advance the Kingdom!

Your servant in Christ,

Mark Gorveatte

Crossroads District Superintendent

P.S. Wesley Seminary at Indiana Wesleyan University is celebrating its 10th Anniversary this Thursday, August 8. Many of you will have already received announcements directly, but I want to remind you of the special opportunity to hear Dr. John Perkins on Thursday evening, 7:00, at College Wesleyan Church. Here’s the link for additional information:
Wesley Seminary’s 10th Anniversary