Becoming a Multiplying Church – January 13-14 at Wesley Seminary

This is the week for Mike Hilson’s “Discipleship and Multiplication” seminar that will be co-sponsored by Wesley Seminary and the Crossroads District this Friday and Saturday, January 13-14. Because of our co-sponsorship we’re able to offer this event at no charge to Wesley Seminary students and Crossroads District team members. We do need you to reserve space for you and your team so that we have adequate seating and refreshments ready for you! Here’s the link: CLICK HERE TO RSVP

​The seminar has 3 sessions. On Friday morning, January 13 from 10 until noon, Pastor Mike Hilson presents New Life’s map for making disciples. This is a vital conversation as we roll out our denomination’s membership reaffirmation process. Friday afternoon (from 1:30-4:00), Pastor Mike is presenting Moses’ model of leadership as he prepares to release a new book.
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​On Saturday morning, from 9 until 12 noon, Pastor Mike will teach on “Becoming a Multiplying Church.” The Friday sessions are specifically targeted for pastors and seminary students. The Saturday morning session is designed for pastors, staff and their leadership teams to share together.
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Many of you will know that Pastor Mike Hilson cast a vision for becoming a multiplying church when New Life Church was running less than 100 in worship and deeply in debt. Today, New Life is ministering to more than 3000 people each weekend in multiple venues and church plants. I look forward to sharing this learning experience with you as we build capacity to impact the 3 million unreached people in Indiana!

If you don’t know the New Life story, check out this link: New Life Network

I flew to Florida on Monday evening and on Tuesday joined my family and a wonderful group of Mom’s friends for her memorial service at Brooksville Wesleyan Church. Dr. Jerry Pence and his team provided wonderful hospitality to those who gathered. Mother loved having Dr. Pence as her pastor and he brought an encouraging message from God’s Word.

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​On Wednesday – Friday, I joined with our General Superintendent Dr. Wayne Schmidt and the other district superintendents for our annual institute in Orlando. These sessions included a variety of topics related discipleship and church multiplication. The focused vision is that The Wesleyan Church celebrates every time a disciple makes a disciple and a church multiplies itself until we are a transforming presence in every zip code. With 30,000 plus residential zip codes in the US, we have a great challenge before us but God is stirring across The Wesleyan Church. Focused prayer is bringing unity and clarity. There are exciting days ahead!

Among the items we considered were details of the next Gathering, January 9-12 , 2019 at the Caribe Royale Resort in Orlando. Please put these dates on your calendar and begin budgeting for you and your leadership to participate in this life-changing event.
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​One of the action items for this new year is to lead your congregation in our first reaffirmation of membership. As many of you will know, General Conference 2016 approved a new model of membership which included the responsibility of members to reaffirm their commitment to discipleship within their local church. There are a number of resources available to assist you at this site: Wesleyan Membership and Discipleship

I was encouraged to receive this email report from Pastor Steve Sparks at Monon Wesleyan Church on the response in his congregation:

“Just finished our Covenant Renewal Service! What a powerful time in the Lord! While our member attendance was not great (some illness, etc), we had 6 visitors with us today! Praising God for His goodness and mercy!” – Pastor Steve Sparks

I look forward to hearing the reports from all of our Crossroads District churches as we complete this first round of membership reaffirmation and deepen our commitment to making disciples.
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Keep on making a difference in the cause that counts for eternity!

Your servant in Christ,
Mark Gorveatte

P.S. On a personal note, Sherry and I moved to Upland this weekend. We’ve been looking for a home in the country with some acreage. This one fit the bill (with a small stream running through it) and this puts us halfway between Fishers and Fort Wayne. We’re excited to begin hosting pastor and spouses fellowships beginning in February. We’ll be working through a 10-month rotation so stay on the lookout for your emailed invitation!
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Here’s my office view: