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Sunday morning, January 14, Sherry and I had the privilege of worshiping with Rev. Tim Becker and the team at Elwood Main Street Wesleyan Church. This welcoming congregation continues to reach out to their community with God’s love and celebrated 14 baptisms last year in a church averaging around 100 in worship. An enthusiastic group gathered yesterday in spite of the cold weather. Following the service, the members shared a family meal and then worked together to put away the Advent decorations for another year.  Later in the day, I made my way to Trinity Wesleyan Church in Indianapolis as they partnered with God’s Grace Community Church to host “ONE Together” on Sunday evening. Trinity is an increasingly multi-ethnic church and God’s Grace Community is predominantly African-American. It was an expression of Dr. King’s dream of the “beloved community” as they gathered for worship and fellowship over a shared meal. Participants also brought food items that could be distributed at God’s Grace food pantry on MLK Day. There was a full house with people from these two congregations and some other area churches coming together for this event.  This partnership was birthed in the friendship that developed with Pastor Mike Colaw and Rev. Dr. Bishop Steve Thompson while they were students together at Wesley Seminary. This event was sponsored by the multi-ethnic ministry initiative grants announced at the Crossroads District conference last year.  The next mult-ethnic ministry event sponsored by these grants will be the Ochlos seminar coming up at Southview Wesleyan Church in April. Speakers include Santes Beatty, Director of Next Gen for the Wesleyan Church; Yamil Acevedo, Executive Vice President of Wesley Seminary; Zachary Szmara, Executive Director for Immigrant Connection and Pastor of the Bridge Church; and Meg Puello, Executive Director of ASPYRE Inc. Click Here for more information and registration.  My final stop of the day was in Anderson at Restoration Church. Pastor Michael and Elizabeth Weller brought a team together to launch this inner-city ministry during the pandemic with their first service on January 3, 2021. They regularly minister to as many as 50 people on Sunday evenings with a free meal, Bible study and prayer. God put it on their heart to use their space as a warming shelter for homeless people during this time of severe weather. Pray for the Wellers as they lead this important new ministry in downtown Anderson.  Last Monday included our regular district staff meeting in Marion and then I traveled to Fishers to meet with Rev. Grace and Rev. Neftali Lopez at the restaurant where Neftali is general manager. Pastor Grace leads our FLAMA Hispanic ministerial education courses and has also been supervising ministry at Monte de Sion. Pastor Neftali was excited to share more about the upcoming Ochlos conference mentioned earlier. Tuesday, I was in Indianapolis to meet with Rev. Cary and Cindi Sanders who have begun ministering in the Fountain Square community. My last stop on Tuesday was with Rev. Clifton Ashlock and the LBA at Parkview Wesleyan Church in Chesterfield for a discussion about some proposed changes they are considering. Wednesday was a day of coaching conversations beginning with Rev. Tony Bye (Marion Brookhaven) in the morning, Rev. Dr. Mark Rennaker (Kokomo Southdowns) over the lunch hour, and then with Rev. Noah Farmer (Gas City Eastview) in the afternoon. My last stop of the day was with Rev. Johnnie Blair (Tipton Trinity) as we met with a group about the possible purchase of the former Kokomo Trinity building. I worked from home on Thursday doing sermon prep, catching up on emails, and returning phone calls.  Friday morning, Pastor Matthew Trexer invited me to speak at their 21 Days of Prayer gathering. The River Church, along with many other district congregations, has been calling people to three weeks of focused prayer and fasting as we begin the new year. I was encouraged by the strong attendance for a 6 a.m. prayer meeting, especially with so many high school students participating. If your church is not hosting 21 Days of Prayer, you can download the “Pray First” app from Church of the Highlands and connect with their live stream each morning at 7 a.m. The Pray First app (https://prayfirstapp.com) has a wealth of resources to enrich your prayer life. I’m grateful that Pastor Chris Hodges and this team make this freely available.  Saturday morning, I was back on the road to connect with the leadership team at Monte de Sion on the west side of Indianapolis. Chris and Tammy Granados have served the church well in the many months since Pastor Tomasa Granados moved to Arizona. They announced to the church that they will also be moving to Arizona after school is out in May. This was an important meeting to map out the process of transition to a new leader.  Don’t wait! Register now and bring your teens to this year’s Crossroads District All-Nighter in Fort Wayne on February 16! The early bird price is $50 until January 31 ($55 starting February 1) so register soon! This year we will be enjoying Crazy Pinz, Canlan Ice Rink, laser tag, and the YMCA! Here is the registration link: https://districtallnighter2024.eventbrite.com  *** PLEASE NOTE THE LOCATION CHANGE FOR RALLY! The rally will be held at Pine Hills Church in Fort Wayne (about 5 minutes down the road from our previous location).  Pastors and spouses, please join us for the 2024 Heartland Gathering, April 2-5, 2024, in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee! Our DBA has approved one $300 scholarship for each district church, designated to cover a significant portion of the registration cost for one pastoral family per church. Details regarding the scholarship were sent to lead and solo pastors. For more information and registration, visit gathering.heartlandregion.org. 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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