Lakeview, Global Leadership Summit, and Baptisms

Sunday morning, August 9, I had the privilege of representing our Crossroads District team to install Rev. Chris Williams as the lead pastor at Lakeview Wesleyan Church. Lakeview was launched as a church plant back in 1960 by Pastor Gene Cockrell. This congregation has long been a vital ministry for Grant County with a global outreach.
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Rev. Williams, immediately after graduating from IWU, served on staff at Lakeview with Pastor David Terhune. Now, God has brought Pastor Chris back full circle to lead this ministry after gaining a wealth of experience in district administration, church planting, and revitalization leadership. We are excited to see what God has in store for Lakeview in this new season as Rev. Williams leads their team forward for Kingdom impact.

In addition to two ZOOM meetings with Dr. Schmidt and the General Board, last week’s calendar included two staff meetings on Tuesday, one with Crossroads District and another with Hartford City Wesleyan Church.

​Also on Tuesday, I received a call from Pastor Heath Croft to let me know that he had accepted a call to become pastor of Mentone Wesleyan Church in Alabama beginning in September. I met with the leadership team of Fort Wayne Level 13 Church on Thursday evening to work on transition planning. I will join the congregation for a family conversation on Sunday evening, August 16. Please pray with me that God will grant wisdom and unity in this transition.
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​The Global Leadership Summit was held online this year. Through the generosity of Pastor Mark Atkinson, I was able to join him and his team members at Gas City Eastview Wesleyan Church for some excellent sessions on Friday. In one of the helpful presentations, Lysa TerKeurst shared insights about the importance of forgiveness for creating innovation space in organizations. She cited this article from Forbes magazine titled “Forgiveness: The Secret to Innovation.” Christian organizations should be able to get this right. One of her helpful pointers was: “The best time to forgive is before we are offended. The next best time is now.”

​This week, I was able to catch up with Pastor Dan Van Cise (Marion 8th Street Wesleyan) on Thursday and Dr. Steve DeNeff (Marion College Wesleyan Church) on Friday just to drop off a gift and thank them for their leadership through this pandemic.

​Dr. DeNeff returned this week from preaching at the Brown City Camp Meeting in Michigan. He shared the beautiful response as the Holy Spirit settled in during their services. One of the key points he made was that we, the Church in America today, have lost our voice because we have lost our hearing. Here is the link to that Sunday evening message Pastor Steve preached: Brown City Camp Meeting.

​Pastor Alan Downing and the team at Frankfort Connecting Point Church linked up with the mayor and other community leaders to provide back-to-school supplies, gifts, and 600 hotdogs for children in their neighborhood. This year’s effort was a drive-thru event to support physical distancing requirements.

Congratulations to Greentown Wesleyan Church on the 100th Anniversary of the founding of their congregation on August 8, 1920. Reverend Anna Linville was appointed by the district conference to serve as their first pastor. The first quarterly conference of the Greentown church was held on September 3, 1920. Class Leader Harold Sloan recorded the following: “The Lord meets with us. We expect great things from the Lord.” Pastor Eric Roemer and his team have done a great job retelling the story of the past while casting a compelling vision for the future.
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I loved hearing from Mrs. Pat Breeding, wife of Pastor Lyle Breeding, about the two pre-teen girls who came to see her in the church office to give their lives to Christ. Bluffton Sonlight Wesleyan Church has a baptism service scheduled for August 30 and Pat is working with them to prepare for this next step of faith. Dr. Jim Lo, Assistant Pastor at Chesterfield Parkview Wesleyan Church, shared the news that a mother and two teenage daughters received Christ this past week as God used the church’s faithful prayer walks and door-to-door evangelism to touch their hearts.

Pastor Scott McDermid and the congregation of Sheridan Six Points Church celebrated four baptisms in one family on Sunday morning, August 9. Praise the Lord for lives being made new by the Gospel!
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Brookhaven Wesleyan Church also celebrated baptisms this week. Six youth and children stepped forward to publicly declare their new life in Christ in a beautiful outdoor baptism service. Thank you, Children’s Pastor Michele Henry, for sharing this exciting report!
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​Dr. Wayne Schmidt, General Superintendent, will lead our 2020 Crossroads District ordination service this Saturday, August 15, 1 p.m. at Lakeview Wesleyan Church in Marion. Ordained ministers will be gathering at 12:30 for a group photo and final instructions. Spatial distancing and face mask guidelines will be followed. The limited seating is available by reservation only. Please join us in praying that God will meet with each of our ordination candidates in a special way on this sacred occasion,

PASTORS ZOOM Connection – Just a gentle reminder that this Tuesday, August 11, we’ll be hosting our monthly ZOOM connection for Crossroads District Pastors. We’ll offer two options to connect, one at 10:00 a.m. and a second opportunity at 8 p.m. There will brief announcements, time for Q & A, and then breakout rooms for prayer. Thank you for prioritizing this team time!

Thank you for all you do to advance the Kingdom!

Your servant in Christ,

Mark Gorveatte

Crossroads District Superintendent