Learning Together, Changes, and Baptisms!

I’m grateful for the opportunity to travel with Dr. Dennis Jackson and be part of the 25th anniversary celebration of the New Zealand Wesleyan Methodist Church. New Zealand is a beautiful country but the spiritual need is undeniable. It was encouraging to see how the Lord is working through our Wesleyan churches in powerful ways. One special highlight for me was reconnecting with Dr. Richard and Jane Waugh. Dr. Waugh, now retired, served as pastor of East City Wesleyan Church in Auckland for more than 2 decades and led the NZMWC through its formative years. He also hosted two of our sons, John and Joel, who had the privilege of completing internships under his supervision at East City Wesleyan. Thank you, Dr. Waugh!
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Dr. Dennis Jackson and I wrapped up our quick trip to New Zealand on Tuesday, November 11 with an overnight flight back to the USA. With the crossing of the dateline, we ended up with two Tuesday nights. The first night was spent in a Boeing 777 traveling around 600 mph at 37,000 feet from Auckland to LAX. The second Tuesday night was back home in Indiana,  gratefully landing before midnight on Tuesday. 
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I was glad to be home in time to join Michael Wood on the road Wednesday for the next in our ongoing series of Lunch & Learn meetings. The Indy crowd was enthusiastic although we missed a few pastors who had scheduling conflicts. The Thursday crowd in Fort Wayne was just as enthusiastic, but we had our strongest turnout for the month as Michael Wood led our discussion around effective and ethical uses of AI for ministry.
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Thursday night, I was able to join Pastor Ben Parker and the team at Back Creek Wesleyan Church as they welcomed back Dr. Joe Harmon for their fall revival. Dr. Harmon was Ben’s pastor when Ben answered God’s call to ministry. If you need an anointed revival speaker, you can’t do better than Dr. Harmon!
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Friday morning, I was back in Indianapolis for two coaching conversations. My afternoon connection was with Rev. Seth Bye who leads the 317Church restart project in Avon. My morning appointment was with Pastor Gawin (Jerome) Anderson who leads the ministry at SoBro (South Broad Ripple) Community Church. There are many things I’ll miss about serving as district superintendent but the one I’ll miss most is working alongside pastors who are taking big risks for God’s Kingdom.
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Sherry and I attended Saturday morning prayer meeting together at The River and then sat in on a vision conversation about the exciting renovation project planned for the south campus. Saturday evening, Pastor Jacob Gibson and the team at Richmond LifeSpring Church welcomed Dr. Jim Dunn, president of Oklahoma Wesleyan University, as guest speaker. Dr. Dunn and I go back a few decades working in the Wesleyan youth movement. I was glad to catch up with Pastor Gibson and to hear Dr. Dunn preach the Word. It is inspiring to see how God is blessing his leadership at OKWU!
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Sunday, I began the day with Rev. Nicholas Hect and the team at Tipton Trinity Wesleyan Church. Pastor Hect announced his resignation, effective December 31. I was present to walk the congregation through our next steps and to lead in prayer. Following the service, I met with the LBA and we’ll begin the pastoral search process in the next few weeks. Our prayers for God’s blessing are with the Hect family as they head back to South Dakota. Please also remember Trinity Wesleyan in your prayers as they adjust to this unexpected transition. God is still on the throne!
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Across town, Pastor Jerry Smith leads the smaller but faithful congregation at Ash Street Wesleyan. I was able to drop in on their worship service. Pastor Smith graciously welcomed me to bring greetings and I enjoyed singing a trio with Jerry and Beth, his wife. Never forget that it takes all kinds of churches to reach all kinds of people. Every church matters.
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Sunday evening, I had the joy of joining Rev. Jerome Bell and the team at Autumn Hills Church (Pendleton). Pastor Jerome and Anita (his wife) launched this new church in 2021 while we were still emerging from the worst of the pandemic. They hold their services around tables on Sundays at 5:30 PM but recently began a Sunday morning Bible study that has already grown from 4 to 14.
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Last night, they celebrated two more baptisms! One was a young man who was reaffirming his baptism as an infant. The other was a man who came to the Lord through the faithful witness of Kevin, a faithful lay leader in the church. Praise God for changed lives!

This had been another exciting month of baptisms across our district. Pastor Eric & Amanda Roemer and their team at Greentown Wesleyan Church baptized 8 new believers on November 16. They also welcomed a recent high attendance of 145 for worship. God is on the move in Greentown!
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Pastor Andy Riemersma and the team at ONE Church in Westfield continue to make good use of the largest baptismal tank in our district. (They meet in the YMCA). Praise God for two more baptisms this morning at one of our newest congregations!
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Pastor Mark Wooten and the team at Memorial Wesleyan Church in New Castle are rejoicing with four new believers who publicly professed their faith in Christ through water baptism on November 9. Praise God for lives being #MadeNew!
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Pastor Mike Colaw and the team at Indianapolis Trinity Wesleyan Church continue to see young people coming to Christ and moving forward in discipleship. Four more new believers were baptized at Trinity last weekend (November 9). Amazing grace!
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Pastor Ryan Budde and the team at Westview Wesleyan Church in Jonesboro celebrated 4 more baptisms yesterday. Praise the Lord!
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Please remember key meetings in your prayers this week. The General Board of The Wesleyan Church will be meeting at IWU this Tuesday through Thursday in preparation for General Conference. Our own Crossroads District Board meets in Pendleton on Thursday and will be working with Dr. Chris Williams in preparation for his service as our interim DS from January through June.
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Then, on Friday, Sherry and I will host our Retired Pastors and Spouses Fellowship Brunch at Gas City Eastview Wesleyan with Dr. Jo Anne Lyon as our guest speaker. It will be a full week, so join us in seeking God’s will for every moment and every meeting. Your prayers matter!

Keep on making a difference in the cause that counts for eternity!

Your servant in Christ,

​Mark