Praise the Lord for the many ways by which our churches in the Crossroads District are taking full advantage of Christmas to serve their communities and share the Gospel. I’m hearing stories from our churches generously giving gifts to imprisoned parents who were then able to give to their children, to providing entire Christmas meal packages for needy families, to hosting creative events that encourage members to bring unchurched friends. Thank you for sharing the Good News of Christmas!
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Friday night, I was able to drop in on Pastor Steve Arnett and the team at New Castle Mt. Zion Wesleyan Church for their musical drama “Blue Christmas.” Pastor Steve is a gifted communicator and played the lead role in the drama. Mt. Zion offered this program on Friday evening and again on Sunday morning.

I was scheduled to be with Rev. Gary Bingham and his team at Marion Hillside Wesleyan Church on Sunday morning but, in what I can recall as one of only a few Sundays in more than 20 years as a DS, I had to cancel due to illness. Hillside streams their worship service so I joined them online and appreciated Pastor Gary including me in his prayers for the congregation. I am grateful for the faithful way in which Pastor Gary and Karen Bingham have lovingly served Hillside since 1992.
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Monday is when our district office team meets in Marion. It was also the monthly meeting day for Rev. Carla Working and her cohort of women leading in ministry. In addition to her responsibilities serving in the Education and Clergy Development Department at Wesleyan headquarters, Rev. Working leads the Crossroads District Board of Ministerial Development. She’s the mother of four, she’s happily married to Pastor Zack Working (Huntington Hope Rising), and, in her spare time, is completing her doctoral degree at Wesley Seminary.
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Last week’s calendar included annual coaching conversations with Rev. Noah Farmer (Gas City Eastview) and Rev. Kory Christensen (New Haven Impact). One of the actions at our last DBA meeting was to approve a request from the Impact Church leadership team to conclude their ministry and allow them to be adopted by Pastor Andy Jellison and Lifeway Church. That motion was approved and Kory will join Pastor Andy’s staff as part-time Assistant Pastor for Outreach. We are grateful for the significant influence that Kory, Becky and their team have had in New Haven through the ministry of Impact Church since 2013. It’s encouraging to see that their influence will continue as they become part of Lifeway Church.

It was good to catch up with Rev. Sam Maddox (Albion Wesleyan Church) on Tuesday afternoon and then share supper with Pastor Terry and Lennaire Vaughn in South Bend (The Bridge Urban Church). Wednesday afternoon, I met with one of our ministerial students for coffee in Marion as she is exploring chaplaincy. Wednesday evening, I met with Pastor Zack Working, Executive Pastor Angela Spangler, and the LBA at Huntington Hope Rising Church.

I was back on the road Thursday to meet with Pastor Jarod Osborne (Warsaw Pathway Church) in preparation for his upcoming vote this spring. Esther, Jarod’s wife and assistant pastor, was able to join us for lunch. My last appointment of the week was for lunch on Friday with Rev. Jordan Baker in Marion. Jordan and his family have recently returned to Marion after serving for several years at Hayward Wesleyan Church in Wisconsin. It was good to welcome Pastor Jordan home and we’re excited to see what God has in store for this next season.
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Congratulations to graduates from Indiana Wesleyan University and Wesley Seminary who were awarded their diplomas at the commencement ceremonies this past weekend. These are special milestones, not just for the graduates but also for their family members. Rev. Dr. Theo Griffin (Greenfield Brown’s Chapel) is pictured above with his grandson. Dr. Griffin completed a Doctor of Ministry degree from Wesley Seminary earlier this year and his family joined him for the celebration this weekend.
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The Christmas season is a great time to celebrate new life in Christ. Pastor Mike Hewitt and Faith Strand (assistant pastor for youth ministry) are pictured above with just three of the nine people who were baptized yesterday at Rising Hope Church in Muncie. It was a bittersweet weekend for the Hewitt family. They celebrated their son’s graduation from Ball State University on Saturday and later that evening received word that Kim Hewitt’s ailing mother had passed away in Iowa. Our prayers for God’s grace and comfort go with Kim and her family as they travel to Iowa for the funeral.
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Rev. Joe and Jennifer Jackson (Anderson United Wesleyan) have been faithfully discipling Ava and Emily for the past three years. Yesterday, this mother and her daughter publicly professed their faith in Christ through water baptism. Pastor Joe reminded me that they have celebrated three baptism services over the past six weeks. Praise the Lord for lives being #MadeNew!
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​Carey Nieuwhof posted this reminder last week on his social media feeds. I’m praying that this Christmas season, the Crossroads District team will make the most of every opportunity (Colossians 4:5) to invite friends and neighbors to learn the real reason for the season!

May God fill you with His unspeakable joy as you worship and serve Him this Christmas!

Your servant in Christ,
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Mark Gorveatte

Crossroads District Superintendent

Sunday, December 1, Pastor Dan Fisher and the team at Delphi Wesleyan Church welcomed me to worship with them and bring the morning message. Pastor Dan and Amy have served this congregation since 2007 and the past few years have been some of the most fruitful. Last year, with an average worship attendance of 54, they baptized 11 new believers. Pastor Dan’s ministry focuses is on practicing prayer and preaching holiness.
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On Monday, December 2, I was back in Marion for a planning meeting with our district staff. I dropped in at Muncie Rising Hope Church on Monday night as Pastor Michael Hewitt and their growing young adult ministry hosted an evening of worship and prayer for Ball State University students. It’s encouraging to see our churches ramping up their ministry with young adults.
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​Tuesday, I was on the road to meet with Rev. Aldean Pablo in Fort Wayne and then traveled on to Hamilton to connect with Pastor David Leitzel for our annual coaching conversation. Then, on Wednesday morning, Rev. Steve Arnett (New Castle Mt. Zion) and I met in Muncie for our coaching conversation. It was good to hear about Pastor Steve’s recent well-deserved sabbatical.

The homegoing celebration for Rev. Herb Mohler was held in Marion at noon on Wednesday. Rev. Mohler was a beloved pastor for 26 years and our District Secretary for the Indiana North District for 20 years. Pastor Ron Forsythe conducted the service and Pastor Steve Colter brought the comforting message from God’s Word.

My last stop on Wednesday was a coaching conversation with Rev. Michael Gallant, pastor of Mt. Etna Community Life Church. Pastor Mike has announced his retirement and is leading well in this year of transition. Here’s the job posting if you know of candidates:
​https://secure.wesleyan.org/job/frame/9494

​Thursday morning, I dropped in on Dr. Chris Williams and the monthly leadership cohort for area pastors that he hosts at Lakeview Wesleyan Church. I was reminded again of the truth that “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” (Proverbs 27:17) Pastor, if you’re not yet in a leadership cohort but want to take advantage of these growth opportunities, please reach out to our district office.
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Thursday afternoon, your Crossroads District Board of Administration met for our last quarterly meeting of the calendar year. We had a full agenda but the highlight was hearing from our Pastor Janiel Caraballo who leads The Exit Church in Anderson, our most recent church plant.

It was exciting to hear how God is at work changing lives through this new congregation. Thank you to each of our pastors and churches that are investing financially and supporting our Crossroads District church planters in prayer.
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More than 150 pastors and their spouses joined us at Indiana Wesleyan University on Saturday morning for our district Christmas fellowship. In addition to a tasty brunch and encouraging fellowship, we enjoyed a private concert with Conductor David Chin and the IWU Chorale. Another highlight was the awarding of seven $1000 scholarships for pastoral couples to attend the Harvest Foundation Retreat in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic next October.
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Sunday morning, December 8, I had the opportunity to worship with Rev. Matthew Trexler and the team at The River Church in Marion. This has been our home church since we moved to Upland back in 2017 and Sherry serves on their local board of administration. These are exciting days at The River Church with attendance at their two campuses (Chesterton and Marion) regularly surpassing 1600 this fall.
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This coming Saturday is their annual “Big Give” which provides a Christmas meal and all the trimmings for 1250 families. They continue to rejoice in changed lives with eight more baptisms on the previous weekend. The next big step of faith at The River Church is opening a new campus on the east side of Grant County where they’ve had over 1200 people attend at least once in the past 7 months.
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We love to share baptism stories as they come in from across our district team. Pastor Rob Tippey and the team at New Journey Church in Wabash celebrated five more baptisms on the first Sunday of December!
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Pastor Joe Jackson and the team at Anderson United Wesleyan Church celebrated two more baptisms yesterday. These are two more young men who came to Christ through United Wesleyan’s Upward Soccer program. Praise the Lord!
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Pastor Nathan Richardson and the team at Indianapolis Southview Wesleyan Church were also celebrating yesterday as two more new believers stepped out to publicly declare their faith in Jesus Christ through obeying His command to be baptized. God is on the move!
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​Make plans now to join with hundreds of churches across America in the upcoming 21 Days of Prayer and Fasting hosted by the Church of the Highlands. The dates are set for January 5-25. They have freely provided an incredible treasure of resources for churches and individuals who will be joining in this annual prayer focus. Here’s the link:
​https://21days.churchofthehighlands.com/resources
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May God’s goodness overwhelm you, your church, and your loved ones in this Advent season!

​Your servant in Christ,

Mark Gorveatte

Crossroads District Superintendent