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Sunday morning, June 1, Pastor Jacob Gibson and his team gathered both their north and south campus families together for a morning of celebration. They combined worship, communion, local church conference, and vision casting into one big event followed by an all-church picnic!  Pastor Gibson invited me to lead in communion, chair the Local Church Conference portion of the service and bring greetings from our district. LifeSpring holds a special place in our movement as the first Wesleyan church in Indiana. It’s also a special place for me with childhood memories from when my father pastored here in the 1960s. They had another strong year of ministry with 111 professions of faith, 52 baptisms and over 1700 for Easter!  Sunday afternoon, I met with Pastor Jerry Alexander and the LBA at Living Hope Church in Anderson before heading over to Frankfort Camp. Phil and Rhonda Foley continue to do an outstanding job leading Frankfort Camp in this new chapter of its 120+ year history. They hosted the Guardian Quartet for a gospel concert last night to kick-off to their camping season. Several of our district pastors generously help with the Family Camp program (July 13-20).  Last Monday, Sherry and I were able to spend time with our Michigan family for Memorial Day. We’ve welcomed two new grandchildren there in the past four weeks and it was so much fun to enjoy these blessings along with their big sisters! (For those keeping score, that’s 7 grandchildren.)  After a scheduled medical procedure on Tuesday, it was good to be back on the road Wednesday. My day started off with Dr. Jeff Clark (IWU coach and author) to hear how God continues to bless “Praying on Offense.” https://a.co/d/3ohMQvl  The team helping with our Lilly research grant met with the Catapult Consulting Group via Zoom on Wednesday morning as part of the design phase for our assessment. Then, on Wednesday afternoon, Michael Wood and I met on Zoom with Kristy Shotwell from the Gloo Network about using their “The State of Your Church” church health assessments in our churches and collectively. We’ll have some exciting news about this at District Conference. Wednesday evening, I joined Pastor Nicholas Hect and the team at Tipton Trinity Wesleyan Church. Pastor Nicholas took several Wednesday evenings for an all-church study on building a Christian worldview. He followed his presentation with an energizing time of Q&A.  Tipton Trinity also had a baptism celebration on Sunday, June 1, with six new believers publicly professing their faith in Jesus Christ. Praise God for changed lives!  Thursday morning, I met with Dr. Ed Love, Executive Director of Church Multiplication and Discipleship for The Wesleyan Church. It’s always encouraging to hear how God is at work in new churches being planted across our denomination. My next stop was in Indianapolis with Rev. Ervin Webster, pastor of St. Stephen Church in Warren Park. I’m grateful for Pastor Ervin and Karen as they faithfully serve this inner-city congregation. My last stop Thursday was with a minister in Muncie who is exploring taking steps to transfer into The Wesleyan Church Saturday, I was able to attend the visitation and celebration of life service for Dr. Joe Sawyer at Trinity Wesleyan Church in Indianapolis. Rev. Gary Sawyer, Joe’s son, led the joy-filled service that honored Joe’s life of Kingdom ministry. It was encouraging to hear the stories of so many who were impacted by Dr. Sawyer’s life and legacy. Please continue to remember Mrs. Lois Sawyer in your prayers.  Rev. Tony Bye and Rev. Alexander Henry, grandson, conducted the funeral service for Mr. Delbert Surfus at Brookhaven Wesleyan Church in Marion. I was able to extend our district sympathies to Rev. Michele Henry, Delbert’s daughter and a member of our DBA. Del was a faithful layman and beloved member of the Brookhaven congregation. My last stop on Saturday was in Elkhart for my annual coaching conversation with Pastor Jose Cardenas who leads the ministry of Cielos Albiertos, our Hispanic congregation. These are uncertain times for their members, many of whom are refugees from Venezuela. Pray that God will grant wisdom as Pastor Cardenas ministers faithfully.  We celebrate every baptism but some are uniquely significant. Pastor Noah Farmer, assisted by Rev. Mark Atkinson, held a special baptism midweek for a gentleman with whom they have been sharing the Gospel for months. He recently prayed to receive Christ and though his body is ravaged by cancer he wanted to be baptized by immersion. Noah and Mark lifted him in and out of the water as he publicly professed the new life he has found in Jesus. #MadeNew!  The calendar for the fall is filling up fast. We are planning three ReEquip Saturdays on September 27, October 25, and November 22. There will be workshops for children’s and youth ministry leaders, worship leaders, church treasurers, small group leaders, and pastors. One of the breakouts will be focused on the ethical and practical uses of AI technology. IWU announced that they will be hosting the Wesleyan Holiness Connection for a Pastors & Church Leaders Day on Tuesday, September 23. Hold the date and stay tuned for more information as it becomes available.  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  Fairmount Camp has opened registration for this year’s exciting summer youth camps. This year, Fairmount Camp will offer separate camps for middle school students (June 9-13) and high school students (June 16-20). For more information or to register, check out their website: https://www.fairmountcamp.org/teen-camp.html  SAVE THE DATES:
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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