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Sunday, June 15, was a significant milestone in the stories of Lakeview Wesleyan Church and The River Church. By a vote of 107 to 57, the members of Lakeview voted to merge with The River. Lakeview was planted by Dr. Gene Cockrell back in 1960 with a vision to reach the lost in Grant County. Within 20 years, Lakeview would grow to become the largest Wesleyan church in the state of Indiana and a flagship church for our denomination.  One young man impacted by Lakeview’s youth ministry was Matthew Trexler. Charlie Alcock, then Lakeview’s youth pastor, prayed with Matthew to receive Christ in September 1991. Matthew would later return to serve as youth pastor at Lakeview before stepping out in faith to plant The River in 2007. Beginning with just 17 people (including Pastor Matthew’s five family members), The River launched with the same vision that compelled Rev. Cockrell to plant Lakeview 57 years earlier. With the approval of the DBA and the consenting vote of each congregation, today begins a new chapter in the story of redemption that God has always been writing. Here’s the video announcement: Sherry and I took a few days off to visit our son in Florida for Father’s Day. Josiah serves on staff at Destiny Church (Destin campus) but his most important assignment is father of Layton and Isaac. I’d not seen these two grandsons since Thanksgiving so it was delightful to reconnect and see how fast they’ve grown. We were able to worship with Josiah who came off the platform to sit with his dad through the sermon.  Last Tuesday, I met with Pastor Brian Williams (Sims Wesleyan Church) and Rev. Ben Jones (Beaver Creek Wesleyan Church – North Liberty) for coaching conversations. On my way to the coaching conversations, I dropped in on the team at Fairmount Camp. It was fun to connect with leaders and students from our district who were attending the new middle school camp that Fairmount launched this year to accommodate strong growth in the ministry. I stopped when I came to this group and saw Rev. Mike Colaw’s son leading the Bible study. Some of you will know that Pastor Mike (Indianapolis Trinity) is a third generation Wesleyan pastor and now there’s a fourth generation of Colaws answering the call.  Wednesday morning, I dropped in at IWU to connect with some of our students and leaders attending week #1 of NTS (Never the Same) camp. This summer marks the 25th anniversary of NTS. Special thanks to Rev. Darren Campbell and Rev. Geoff Eckart who shared the founding vision for this ministry. Now, two generations of the Eckart family continue to provide leadership to this ministry that impacts thousands of students attending from more than a dozen states each summer.  This week, NTS hosts their second week at IWU and Fairmount Camp hosts their senior high camp. Please continue to pray for these camping ministries that provide the opportunity for students to make decisions for eternity. Pray for the speakers and counselors who play such a key role in these moments and remember the dozens of volunteers who make camp happen.  Wednesday also included a coaching conversation with Dr. Mark Rennaker (Kokomo Southdowns Wesleyan Church) in Marion. I met with Rev. Andy Riemersma (Westfield ONE Church) at Wesleyan HQ in the afternoon to prep for the organizing session this Friday, June 20, that will enable ONE Church to become officially established. My last stop of the day was at Autumn Hills Church in Pendleton where Rev. Jerome Bell and his team were hosting another Art Camp. This has been a key outreach for this new church and over half of the children last week were new attenders.  Thursday morning, I started in Marion with an interview of a military chaplain candidate then made my way to Greenfield for coaching conversations. I met first with Rev. Ben Wade (the incoming pastor) and then with Dr. Theo Griffin (the outgoing pastor) who have served well together at Brown’s Chapel Wesleyan Church. My last stop of the day was with Rev. Mike Weller who leads Restoration Church in Anderson. Restoration Church continues to provide daily meals for 50-70 homeless people in addition to their weekly worship gatherings.  We continue to celebrate the way that God is moving and changing lives across our district. Rev. Skyler Norton, the newest member of our district team serving as assistant pastor at Sheridan Six Points Wesleyan Church, had the privilege of baptizing a new believer last Sunday!  The Wesleyan Church is hosting regional youth events this fall with the closest one coming to Grand Rapids on Friday and Saturday, October 24-25. Our own Andy Riemersma is one of the featured artists. For more information, here’s the link: wesleyan.org/empoweredtour2025 We’ll be seeing many of you soon!
Keep on making a difference in the cause that counts for eternity! Your servant in Christ, Mark Gorveatte Crossroads District Superintendent Comments are closed.
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