Hamilton, Baptisms, and District Conference Preview

Sunday morning, June 23, Pastor David Leitzel and the team at Hamilton Wesleyan Church welcomed me to bring greetings from our district team and to bring the message from God’s Word. Pastor David and Carol have served this church twice with 21 years in this second term. They lovingly lead this rural, multi-generational congregation that has baptized 18 new believers in the past two years. Average attendance increased 11% last year, from 62 to 69. The church hosts the town’s pickle ball league in the church's community center and has an active schedule of musical concerts drawing people from several counties, even into Ohio.
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Following the worship service, I met with the LBA (local board of administration) and then hosted Pastor David and Carol for lunch at the new Panda Express in Auburn. I’m grateful for these faithful servants of God who are making a big difference in a small community!

Last week began with an opportunity to check in with Pastor Matthew Trexler and the pastors that he leads in two coaching cohorts. They joined together for a combined session on Monday morning and then took the afternoon for a golf outing. The star of the show that morning was definitely Wrenn, Pastor Matthew’s first grandchild.
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I met with our district office staff for lunch and an afternoon meeting in Marion. Then, Rev. Jeff Luedtke and I met at The Branch coffee shop in Fairmount for our annual coaching conversation. Pastor Jeff does an incredible job balancing responsibilities between leading Fairmount Wesleyan Church, coaching golf, managing The Branch, and chairing the board of directors for Fairmount Camp!

On Tuesday, I was back in Indy to meet with Rev. Ervin Webster (St. Stephen’s Church) for our coaching conversation. Michael Wood and I met at Wesleyan HQ for continuing conference prep. My next stop was at Autumn Hills Church in Pendleton. Rev. Jerome Bell and his team have offered an art camp for children that continues to grow from the 50s in 2022, to the 70s in 2023, and this year they welcomed more than 90 children!
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My last stop of the day was to drop in for an update and prayer with the LBA at Parkview Wesleyan Church in Chesterfield as they continue to search for a new pastor. The church grew in attendance last year and baptized 7 new believers. Pray that God will direct them to the right woman or man to lead this church forward in reaching their community for Christ.
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Rev. Ryan Budde (Westview Wesleyan) and I met on Wednesday morning for our coaching conversation. Congratulations to the Budde family on the marriage of their daughter Alyssa to Mr. Anthony Drewer. Wednesday afternoon, I met with Dr. Bradford Snyder at Monon Wesleyan Church for an update. Dr. Brad and Peggy have announced to the congregation that they’ll be completing their time of service there at the end of September. Wednesday evening, I was back in Marion to drop in on the Never The Same Camp. It was encouraging to hear how God has been moving among our students. It was fun to reconnect with long-time ministry friends and I even found one of our family members, Christie Gorveatte (mother of Thea and wife of Joel), who was at camp last week serving as a counselor.
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Thursday’s coaching conversations included Pastor Ben Parker (Fairmount Back Creek), Pastor Matthew Trexler (Marion The River), and Pastor Barry Dixon (Indianapolis Calvary Family Church). Each of these churches made gains last year and again reminded me that “it takes all kinds of churches to reach all kinds of people.” Remarkably, Calvary Family Church baptized 11 new believers, equivalent to 28% of their worship attendance of 39.

Friday was a day of rest and then on Saturday morning I headed over to Frankfort for a coaching conversation with Pastor Rodriguez. Rev. Calimerio and Maria Rodriguez have pastored Templo de Poder Iglesia Wesleyana for more than 20 years, since 2001. Worship attendance this year grew by 35% (from 68 to 92) and they celebrated 8 baptisms. Praise God for these victories and the growth of this ministry.

Thank you for sharing your praise reports of how God is working in your local church. Pastor Theo Griffin (soon to be “Dr” Griffin) passed along the good news from Greenfield Brown’s Chapel Wesleyan Church. They completed another successful sports camp outreach to children last week with an average of 96 students present. Sunday’s celebration included 2 baptisms and a mortgage-burning ceremony. God is on the move in Greenfield!
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Pastor Allen Gross shared the story from Cicero United Family Church creatively reaching out to 50 neighbors on Saturday night and then celebrating another baptism on Sunday morning. Last year, Cicero’s worship attendance grew by 23% (from 65 to 80) with 8 professions of faith and 4 baptisms. Praise the Lord for lives being #MadeNew!
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Dr. Matthew Stewart has pastored Sweetser Wesleyan Church since 2013 and for the past 10 years has led their Bible Bowl quizzing team. Last week they competed in the national level contest at Houghton University. Congratulations on a strong finish as the 2nd place team. Pastor Matthew received a unanimous call to become the pastor of Howard-Miami Church (formerly Mennonite) and will begin his ministry there in July. We pray for God’s blessing on the Stewart family in their new assignment and join in prayer for Sweetser as they begin their pastoral search process.
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The day we’ve been waiting for is almost here! This Saturday, more than 300 lay leaders and clergy will convene at Lakeview Wesleyan Church in Marion for our annual Crossroads District Conference. We’ll hear from our General Superintendent, Dr. Wayne Schmidt, and other special guests. We’ll share communion and be led in worship by Janiel Caraballo. Janiel, Leana, his wife, and their family are planting Exit Church, our newest church in Anderson. We’ll be encouraged by the progress of the past year and challenged by the growing mission field around us. Pray for the delegates and the decisions that we’ll be making.
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Keep on making a difference in the cause that counts for eternity!

​Your servant in Christ,

Mark Gorveatte