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What an amazing day at Cultivate Church in LaOtto as Pastor Aaron Lee and his team hosted their 175th anniversary event. The beautiful service began with video greetings from Dr. Lyon and a video highlighting the core values of the church woven through its history. What an amazing legacy!  This compassionate congregation helped hundreds of slaves escape north through the Underground Railroad and continues to be a beacon of hope for their community. Many guests were present including Rev. Lois and Rev. Jim Watkins who served the church for a decade and led the church through its largest building program (completed debt-free). It was an honor to bring greetings from our district team and to share the message from God’s Word. Pastor Lee closed the service with communion and a blessing. Following the service, we gathered for the group photo and enjoyed a fellowship meal.  Our monthly leadership development cohorts led by Dr. Chris Williams (Assistant DS) and Rev. Matthew Trexler met together at The River on Monday. Rev. Yunio Gonzalez, national superintendent of The Wesleyan Church in Cuba, shared an encouraging update from the move of God in his country.  Tuesday, Dr. Jon Kulaga and the team at Indiana Wesleyan University welcomed Bishop John Mark Richardson and the Wesleyan Holiness Connection to campus for a regional gathering. More than 200 leaders from 14 sister denominations and networks gathered for a day focused on our commitment to living holy lives in the power of the Holy Spirit. I’ll be heading to Los Angeles this week to attend the national gathering of the Wesleyan Holiness Connection. If you’d like to learn more about their work, they do weekly video podcasts and recently featured Dr. Lyon. Here’s a link that will take you to their homepage: https://wesleyanhc.org/  Last week’s calendar included stops in Lafayette on Wednesday and Anderson on Thursday for our new “Lunch and Learn” gatherings with pastors. We provide free lunch and free books. The pastors provide great fellowship and their shared wisdom from their learning experiences. The discussion for this round was focused on leading change. The upcoming round will focus on pastors as shepherds. There’s still time to sign up for the upcoming sessions at a convenient time and location near you.  It’s been a few years since we offered ReEquip, a one-day training event for pastors and lay leaders. Pastor Noah Farmer and the team at Gas City Eastview Church graciously opened their doors for more than 80 leaders from across the district on Saturday. We enjoyed workshops on church finances, AI in ministry, youth outreach, and children’s ministry.  Our largest group came for the workshop led by Assistant DS Grace Lopez and Dr. Norman Wilson. Thank you to every presenter and to each leader who took time from their weekend to invest in their church. When leaders get better, everyone is blessed!  Pastor Scott and the team at Waterline Church celebrated four more baptisms on Sunday. Every baptism is special, but nothing is more precious to a minister than baptizing their own children. Dr. Joe Harmon attends Waterline when he’s not on the road preaching as one of our district “Circuit Riders.” He was in his home church this Sunday and had the privilege of baptizing his son and daughter-in-law!  Pastor Paul Van Cise and the wonderful congregation at Bryant Wesleyan Church are rejoicing with 10 baptisms yesterday. They held the baptism service in the community park with around 85 people gathering for this celebration of lives being #MadeNew!  Rev. Steve Arnett and the team at Mt. Zion Wesleyan Church in New Castle had a record-breaking celebration with 18 baptisms yesterday. More than 200 people gathered one hour early for the baptism service and then stayed for worship. Pastor Steve reports: “God is moving in a powerful way at MZ! We have been inundated with new families with so many kids!” Praise the Lord! Rev. Nicholas Hect and the team at Tipton Trinity also had an amazing baptism celebration at the close of their morning worship service. They already had 10 people scheduled to be baptized and then two more new believers stepped out to follow Christ in this step of public testimony. Worship attendance has been trending upward with 275 gathering yesterday. God is on the move in Tipton!  Pastor Noah Farmer and the team at Eastview Wesleyan Church have seen a number of children come to the Lord this year under the leadership of Assistant Pastor Maddie Delgado. They baptized 6 yesterday for a total of 9 young people this month alone. Praise the Lord!  Our last two churches in the pastoral search process, Chapel Pike Wesleyan (Marion) and Community Life Church (Mt. Etna), are sharing exciting news. Rev. Michael Hofer has accepted the call to pastor Chapel Pike and Rev. Jorden Green accepted the call to pastor Community Life. Jorden and his family currently live in Indianapolis but will be moving to Mt. Etna as soon as possible. Pastor Hofer and his family have been serving in Georgia so they’ll have a longer move. Please keep both of these families and congregations in your prayers as they begin a new season of ministry together.  Rev. C.K. Chitty and the team at our Crossroads District Senior Adult Ministry (SAM) are inviting you to join them for their Christmas fellowship at Beef & Boards on December 5. If you’re retirement age, they’d love to have you come along. This will be my first time to join them and I can’t wait to see Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” performed live. Here’s the link for more information and registration: https://crossroadsdistrict.churchcenter.com/registrations/events/2957874  Keep on making a difference in the cause that counts for eternity! Your servant in Christ, Mark Gorveatte P.S. – The Wesleyan Church is hosting a regional youth event in 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: https://wesleyan.org/empoweredtour2025  Comments are closed.
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