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Sunday, July 23, I had the privilege of representing our district team and bringing the morning message at Monon Wesleyan Church. Rev. Dr. Bradford Snyder, though officially retired, has stepped up to lead this revitalization project. Pastor Brad and Peggy are not strangers to challenges in ministry having served in church planting projects in Alaska.  The highlight of the service was the presentation of a baptism certificate to a teenage boy and his family. After the service, I chaired a brief meeting with the LBA and then joined folks from the church for lunch at the Monon Whistle Stop Restaurant and Railroad Museum.  Sunday evening, Sherry and I joined hundreds who gathered at Fairmount Camp for the opening rally of Family Camp. Rev. Jeff Luedtke, chair of the board, and Rev. Rob Tippey, are doing a great job leading the camp forward. Rev. Patty Bray and Rev. Nathan Metz are the evangelists for this year’s camp. Rev. Dan Van Duyne, from LifeSpring Church, is leading the worship team. Rallies are held each evening at 6:30 and you’ll be blessed by attending!   I had a great week connecting with pastors and other district leaders, but the real action is on the frontlines in our local churches. Listed below are updates from just the past few days: Rev. Sam Maddox, Jr. leads the team at Albion Wesleyan Church. Saturday, they hosted their first Block Party as their first “Next Level” outreach initiative. The team of 30 volunteers provided free food, games, prizes, and gave away over 100 backpacks with back to school supplies for neighborhood children. They also had the joy of celebrating six baptisms this weekend, with three on Saturday and three more on Sunday. Pastor Sam wrote that “God is good and on the move in Albion!”  Pastor Dave and Suzanne Cox are officially retired from the marketplace but are ministering effectively at Laketon Wesleyan Church. Yesterday, the church gathered at the lake for a picnic fellowship and celebrated three baptisms. Pastor Dave also shared that some younger families have started attending Laketon Wesleyan in the past few weeks.  Pastor David Leitzel and the team at Hamilton Wesleyan Church also hosted their church picnic yesterday and capped it off with 5 baptisms and two more affirmations of baptism. The most special of those was Pastor David’s own daughter who spent some years away from the Lord but has come back to faithfully follow Jesus!  Praise God for lives being #MadeNew and for small town churches that are making a big difference! Here’s another idea from one of our pastors who is leading by example in going to “one more” place. Pastor Randy Yaryan coached T-ball this year. Yesterday, he welcomed and honored his team for what they called “Baseball Sunday” and they welcomed 15 visitors. He shared a message comparing baseball and the Christian life with the goal in both to make it “Home.” Where is the next place God may be calling you and your church to go?  We have pastors with serious health concerns. Rev. Dan Clark (Colfax Wesleyan) updated us on his cancer surgery now scheduled for August 28. You can follow Pastor Dan on Facebook for additional information. I also spoke with and prayed for Rev. Dr. Joe Harmon (New Castle Memorial Wesleyan Church) by phone last week. He had been hospitalized with a critical heart condition. Join me in praying for Dr. Harmon as he is now home awaiting open heart surgery. Rev. Emily and Rev. David Hines would welcome your prayers for Simon, their baby boy, who has an upcoming heart surgery on August 8. You can join their prayer team and stay updated at this site https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/simonathanasius  And we would be grateful for your prayers as our granddaughter Eden undergoes heart surgery in Michigan on August 2. We are blessed to serve our God who hears and answers prayer. He is still the Great Physician! We would also invite your prayers this week for more than 30 leaders from churches in our Crossroads District who will be traveling to Birmingham (Tuesday-Thursday) to attend the GROW Conference at Church of the Highlands. Pray that God will bless this time of learning and fellowship! Let’s keep making a difference in the cause that counts for eternity! Your servant in Christ, Mark Gorveatte Crossroads District Superintendent P.S. Please pray with us as our next generation of Wesleyan leaders gather in Cincinnati for Follow Conference this December. Seminars and workshops will be available for pastors and parents so please make every effort to attend!  Comments are closed.
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