DBA, Retirees, and Baptisms!

The 2025 conference year (fiscal year) is coming to a close. The record books close on April 30 and the LCSR (local church statistical report) online portal opens on May 1. Thank you to the pastors and local church leaders who will compile statistics and financial reports as part of our mutual accountability and stewardship of the ministries entrusted to us.
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Your Crossroads District Board of Administration met at Autumn Hills Church in Pendleton on Thursday. In addition to reviewing reports, we had an engaging conversation with a consulting team from the Catapult Group. They have consulted with national ministries including Compassion International and Exponential. We have been invited to apply for a Lilly Foundation planning grant and Catapult would be a partner in our assessment and planning phase.
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Waterline Church hosted our spring fellowship brunch for retired pastors and their spouses. Rev. Mark and Anna James ministered to us in Word and song. We were also delighted to have Dr. Steve Emery, retired DS from Indiana Central, join us and lead in prayer. Most of these faithful pastors continue to serve in their local churches and as other doors of ministry open for them. You can’t help but leave these meetings inspired by these dedicated soldiers of the Cross.

I was in Marion on Monday for our district staff meeting and also had the chance to drop in on the two monthly leadership cohorts Pastor Matthew Trexler has been hosting at The River. It was exciting to hear the reports of Kingdom victories in these churches.
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Last week included coaching conversations (on Tuesday and Wednesday) and a meeting on Tuesday evening with the leadership group at Davis Wesleyan Church near Hamlet, IN. Pastor Matthew Ohime shared his resignation with the group earlier this month so we met together to prayerfully explore next steps. They’ve done a commendable job of updating their facilities and are committed to moving forward together. Pray with us for God’s leader for this team.
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Grandparenting duties called this past weekend. I was scheduled to bring greetings at College Wesleyan Church but Dr. Steve DeNeff graciously allowed me to take a raincheck. Rev. Lindsey Gorveatte, our daughter-in-law, was admitted to the hospital unexpectedly on Friday night so Sherry and I made it to Grand Rapids (MI) in record time. While we were with their two children at home, Rev. John and Rev. Lindsey welcomed Haven Aletta (their third daughter) early on Saturday morning. We welcomed them home on Sunday afternoon.
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Congratulations to our many Crossroads District students and families who celebrated graduations this weekend at Indiana Wesleyan University and Wesley Seminary. Pictured below is Reagan Tippey Ott with her husband and her proud parents. Reagan graduated with her M.Div from Wesley Seminary and has accepted a call to serve on staff in a growing Wesleyan church in Delaware.
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Pastor Joe Jackson shared the good news of two more baptisms at United Wesleyan Church in Anderson on Sunday. This makes 10 baptisms for the conference year (compared with 3 last year). Praise the Lord!
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Pastor Dan Fisher shared the good news of another baptism at Delphi Wesleyan Church this week. God is definitely moving in Delphi!
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Three young adult women showed up for their first time at Three Rivers Wesleyan Church in Fort Wayne on Ash Wednesday. Pastor Kyle Horton had the joy of baptizing all three as new believers this past Sunday. Praise the Lord!
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Pastor Lyle Breeding and the Sonlight Wesleyan team in Bluffton are celebrating ten more baptisms yesterday, bringing their total to 24 baptisms since January!
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Pastor Jacob Gibson and the LifeSpring team in Richmond reported in with 16 baptisms on Easter weekend from their North and South campuses!
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Pastor Ben Thomas and the team at The Branch in Lafayette are rejoicing with three more baptisms on Sunday. Praise God for lives being #MadeNew!
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Pastor Aldean Pablo was encouraged by the response as their “under 30” team led the worship service at ARISE Church in Roanoke. They also celebrated 2 more baptisms!
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Pastor Seth Bye had the joy of baptizing three members of the same household at 317Church in Avon on Sunday, April 27. Another of the family has already spoken to Pastor Seth about taking this step of discipleship.
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Fairmount Camp has opened registration for their summer youth camps. This year, Fairmount Camp will offer separate camps for middle school students (June 9-13) and high school students (June 16-20). For more information or to register, check out their website:
​https://www.fairmountcamp.org/teen-camp.html
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​Save the Date! Crossroads District Ordination – June 27, Lakeview Wesleyan Church!

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

Your servant in Christ,

Mark Gorveatte

Crossroads District Superintendent

P.S. If you have had baptism reports and photos to share that we’ve not yet featured, please pass them along to Michael Wood at the district office. We will compile those for our district conference at Lakeview Wesleyan Church on June 28.