Farewells and Fairmount Family Camp

The highlight of this past week was experiencing the ministry of Dr. David Drury and Rev. Patty Bray as they preached at Fairmount Family Camp. The messages were anointed and well-received in each of the main services but David’s sermon illustration with the axe may be remembered longer than most.
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​Special thanks to the Family Camp Committee led by Dr. Richard Schenck that created the programming and for the gracious hospitality of the Fairmount Camp team led by Angela Spangler and the Camp Board chaired by David Tippey. There are two more big events on the Fairmount Camp schedule this year to which Crossroads District has been invited, 1) the Old Time Camp Meeting (August 16-20) and 2) the Married Couples Retreat (September 8-10). For more information on these or other happenings at Fairmount Camp, check out their website: www.FairmountCamp.org

Jon Wiest and I were privileged to represent Crossroads District church multiplication in the “Missions Moment” during the Friday evening rally. It was encouraging to see folks responding to the challenge to be part of the home missions effort here in Indiana as we reach out to the 3 million+ unreached people in our great state.

​The new project in Muncie received special focus because of its proximity to Grant County. Pastor Mike and Kim Hewitt will be on site in August. They’ve opened a new e-mail account for you to pass along names of prospective contacts (friends, relatives, BSU students, co-workers) in Muncie or to simply let them know you’ll be praying for them:
MuncieChurchPlant@gmail.com
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Farewells across the district yesterday as Rob Tippey and Jason Tash completed their pastoral ministry service at Fort Wayne Level 13 and Columbia City New Hope. We join their congregations in expressing our appreciation for their faithful and effective ministry. The pastoral search teams in both locations are making good progress and welcome your prayers as they seek the next leaders for these churches.

​Rev. Timothy Witte announced his resignation as pastor of Countryside Chapel. He will continue to serve the North Wabash congregation. I’ll be meeting with the folks from Countryside to explore future direction. Your prayers are appreciated for Tim and the church.

​Jordan Kizewski also bid farewell yesterday from his time in residency with Pastor Tony Bye at Brookhaven Wesleyan Church. We’re excited to announce that Jordan has accepted a new position as Senior High Youth Pastor at Holland Central Wesleyan Church. One of the things we celebrate here in the Crossroads District is our opportunity to invest in and send out next generation leaders to bless the church.

​Other serving opportunities this past week included meeting with the leadership for the new daycare opening this week at Anderson Central Wesleyan, meeting with Pastor Darian Jones and the remaining trustee to wrap up details around the closing of Lynn Lighthouse Wesleyan Church, and connecting with one of our district ministerial students who is considering chaplaincy.

Last week I also had the privilege of visiting with Pastor Mark Atkinson and his mother during her final hours. Our sympathies are extended to the Atkinson family as they bid farewell to Mrs. Dorothy E. Atkinson, 86, who is survived by her sons Maurice Atkinson, Rev. Mark Atkinson (also her pastor at Gas City Eastview Wesleyan), and Rev. Myron Atkinson (pastor at Penn Forest Wesleyan Church in Roanoke, VA). She leaves a lasting legacy of faith.
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Sherry and I are on vacation over the next week. We drove to Florida on Saturday to connect with Josiah, our son who serves on the worship staff at Crosspoint UMC in Niceville (near Destin/Fort Walton Beach), and celebrate his 24th birthday. Josiah joined the staff here full-time in January after completing his worship residency at 12Stone. The greatest joy of our life is to have all four of our children following Jesus.

​We’ll be back from vacation in time for the Global Leadership Summit hosted at Marion College Wesleyan Church (August 10-11) and would love to see you there. Rev. Chris Williams, our full-time Assistant District Superintendent, will be leading the team while I’m on vacation and will file next week’s team update. If you need anything from our district office, feel free to contact him through our website: www.crossroadsdistrict.org

Your servant in Christ,

Mark Gorveatte
Crossroads District Superintendent