Hillside, Conferences, and Baptisms!

Sunday morning, April 14, I dropped in on Pastor Gary Bingham and his team at Hillside Wesleyan Church. These have been exciting days of outreach and several people shared praise reports and testimonies in the service. Pastor Gary preached a powerful message from Psalm 51 on sharing our faith as an overflow of God’s joy in our lives.
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Before arriving at Hillside, I was able to stop in at College Wesleyan Church for their 9:15 service. Pastor Alex Sicilia from Mexico City was the guest speaker. He brought a challenging message from Matthew 9 on God’s holiness. One of his key points was, “God’s holiness doesn’t need to be defended. It needs to be unleashed.”
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Sunday evening, I brought greetings to the Local Church Conference at Eastview Wesleyan Church in Gas City. Pastor Noah Farmer chaired the meeting as they elected delegates and board members, reviewed the budget, and celebrated 76 professions of faith this conference year. They’ve also been rejoicing with 8 baptisms in the past two weeks!

Last Monday was historic for central Indiana with the first total solar eclipse since 1806. It was a remarkable moment as the sky grew dark, the air grew colder, and everything became silent. For many people, it was truly a once in a lifetime event and a magnificent reminder of God’s creative genius. Indeed, “the heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim His handiwork.” Psalm 19:1 (NIV)
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Tuesday, I was back on the road for coaching conversations. I met over lunch with Rev. Scott Ferguson, pastor of Harvest Church, and then with Rev. Theo Griffin, pastor of Greenfield Brown’s Chapel Wesleyan Church, later that afternoon.

Wednesday morning, I was in South Bend for coaching conversations with Rev. Greg Holmes, pastor of Sonlight Fellowship, and then with Rev. Don Bayne, pastor of New Carlisle Wesleyan Church. My last stop that day was sitting in with Rev. Jeff Luedtke, chair, and the Fairmount Camp Board as they finalized their updated standing rules for approval as an affiliate corporation of the Crossroads District.

Thursday morning I met with Rev. Andy Jellison, pastor of Lifeway Church in Fort Wayne, for a coaching conversation and then I connected with Rev. Aldean Pablo over lunch for an encouraging update on ARISE, our church planting project in Roanoke. Thursday evening, I signed in for the Marketplace Multipliers Conference and connected with friends at the opening reception hosted at College Wesleyan Church.
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Friday morning, I was blessed to host the Retired Pastors’ Fellowship at Wesleyan HQ in Fishers. We were also privileged to welcome George and Christy, Global Partners missionaries to Muslim people immigrating to Europe. Rev. Mark and Anna James brought inspirational music and a message from God’s Word. They were such a blessing that we have invited Pastor Mark and Anna to join us again at our retirees’ fellowship this fall in Marion.

Friday afternoon, I was back at College Wesleyan for Dr. Steve DeNeff’s presentation on Shepherding in the Marketplace. There was a great response to this initial conference called together by our General Superintendent, Dr. Wayne Schmidt. Lay leaders and pastors from across the US and Canada assembled to launch this mobilization initiative.
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Saturday began back at College Wesleyan in Marion as Dr. Schmidt invited district superintendents and key leaders to a 7:30 meeting before the main session began. Dr. Schmidt announced two more Marketplace Multipliers events in the coming year with the next one at LifePointe Church in the Washington, DC suburbs and the final one in San Antonio. The new website for this initiative will soon be launching at GodWorx.Live.
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Rev. Nathan Richardson and Rev. Neftali Lopez hosted OCHLOS, a conference for multicultural ministry development, at Southview Wesleyan Church in Indianapolis also on Saturday. I was able to join in for the opening session with Rev. Zach Szmara, CEO of Immigrant Connection. There was good representation from several churches and denominations across the greater Indianapolis area. Special thanks to Southview for hosting this event!
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Heaven rejoices and we join in on that celebration with every story of a life #MadeNew by the grace of God. Pastor Tony Bye and the team at Brookhaven Wesleyan Church have baptized four new believers in the past two weeks!
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Pastor Lyle Breeding shared the good news of seven baptisms at Sonlight Wesleyan Church in Bluffton on Sunday morning, April 14. Three of these have just recently started attending Sonlight and worship attendance has been over 240 for the past four weeks!
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Pastor Scott McDermid and the team at Six Points Church in Sheridan rejoiced this morning with two more new believers publicly professing their faith in Christ through baptism!
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Rev. Mark Atkinson has been serving as interim pastor at Central Wesleyan Church in Elwood. They had another great day on Sunday with 6 more baptisms, the Lord’s Supper, and a baby dedication. We’re praying with Central Wesleyan Church as they prepare for their pastoral interview and vote this coming Sunday.

Pastor Michael Hewitt and the team at Muncie Rising Hope Church had another victory celebration on Sunday with five more baptisms. Those being baptized ranged in age from 7 to 75. Praise God for these lives being #MadeNew!
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Calling on children’s ministry workers! Don’t miss the Crossroads KidMin Huddle, Saturday, April 20th, at Brookhaven Wesleyan Church in Marion. For $25, you’ll enjoy a full day of learning and networking with fellow children’s ministry leaders, volunteers, and pastors. A continental breakfast and lunch is included in your registration. Stephanie Rhyne, Kids Ministry Catalyst for The Wesleyan Church and content creator for David C. Cook (Wonder Ink), will be our guest speaker. Lead pastors who register to attend can bring two additional volunteers for free! Register at this link.
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Please continue to keep Rev. Nick Wilson, assistant pastor at United Wesleyan in Anderson, in your prayers. Pastor Nick was recently airlifted to IU University Hospital for specialized care following serious health challenges. For updates on his health and to support the family, please visit his CaringBridge page here. If you’d like to assist the family with meals, you can visit their Meal Train page here.

​Our prayers and sympathies are also extended to Dr. Sharon Drury, Dr. David Drury, and Dr. John Drury at the passing of Dr. Keith Drury, beloved husband and father. To many, Keith was a coach, mentor, professor, and ministry hero. I was one of many district youth leaders back in the 1980s who were blessed by Keith’s investment in our lives (Strategetics). There will be a celebration of life service at College Wesleyan Church in Marion on April 29. Dr. Drury’s obituary and funeral arrangements may be viewed at this link:
https://www.nswcares.com/obituaries/Keith-Drury?obId=31165113

​Like Coach Drury, let’s keep on making a difference in the cause that counts for eternity!
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Your servant in Christ,

​​Mark Gorveatte

​​Crossroads District Superintendent​​