Monte de Sion, Christmas Fellowship, and Baptism!

Sunday morning, December 17, I had the honor of representing our Crossroads District at Monte de Sion as the congregation honored Sister Tomasa Granados for her faithful service to the church. Sister Tomasa Granados and Jose, her husband, moved from California to plant a new Hispanic church in partnership with Indianapolis Trinity Wesleyan Church. That congregation was Iglesia Wesleyana Amistad Cristiana, now meeting in Carmel.
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Pastor Jose and Sister Tomasa handed off that ministry and stepped out in faith again to plant Monte de Sion in the Eagledale neighborhood. Sister Granados, about 2 years ago, took a leave of absence from leading the church to care for her son in Arizona in his recovery from a stroke. Chris Granados, another son, and Tamara, his wife, have filled in during her absence.
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During the past few months, it became clear that Sister Tomasa would need to remain in Arizona. Chris and Tamara have decided to also move to Arizona after this school year, so a new leader will need to be identified. Today, more than 80 people gathered to honor their founding pastor and this family that has been such a blessing to their congregation. Please join us in praying for the pastoral search at Monte de Sion and for God’s blessing on the Granados family as they move to Arizona.

Sherry serves as local church treasurer for The River Church, so I was invited along as her “plus one” for their Monday evening Christmas party. Pastor Matthew Trexler shared snapshots of how God has been blessing this ministry in recent days, including serving Christmas dinner packages to more than 1000 families during their annual “Big Give.”
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Tuesday morning, I had the opportunity to film an introduction video to the Wesleyan Discipline for ministerial students taking the course online through Campus.edu and Kingswood University. Rev. Jeff Luedtke hosted us at the historic Fairmount Wesleyan Church. Pastor Jeff and I were able to catch up on encouraging developments under his leadership at Fairmount Camp, where Jeff chairs the board, and at Fairmount Wesleyan Church.

Tuesday evening, our district staff hosted the Marion area pastors and spouses for our annual Christmas gathering. Thank you to Dr. Chris Williams and his team at Lakeview Wesleyan Church for hosting this well-attended time of fellowship.
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Participants had a chance to compete for $50 gifts cards from Starbucks and Amazon. We also had parting gifts for every pastor as modeled here by our friends Rev. Tony Bye, Dr. Matthew Stewart, and Rev. Michelle Henry. The food was good but the fellowship was even better!
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Wednesday, I was able to connect with Rev. Duane Seitz (Silver Lake), Rev. Dan VanCise (West 8th Street), and Rev. Gary Bingham (Hillside) for coaching conversations in Marion. Later that afternoon, I had coffee with an IWU student who is prayerfully considering church planting. Pray that God will continue to send laborers into His harvest field. (Matt. 9:38).

Thursday morning, I connected with two of my treasured prayer partners over breakfast and then hit the road for Anderson to meet with Rev. Dan Clark (Colfax Wesleyan) for our annual coaching conversation. Both Dan and Amanda Clark have been battling serious health concerns and would welcome your prayers. Rev. Ron Ferguson (Grant City Wesleyan) and I met in New Castle for our annual coaching conversation.
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Thursday evening, our district staff joined Pastor Scott Ferguson and his team at Harvest Church (Greenfield) in welcoming pastors and spouses from Richmond to Indy for a Christmas fellowship. We had another fun group and a delicious meal. Thank you to Pastor Scott and his team for hosting this wonderful evening.

Friday morning, Dr. Wayne Schmidt and I met for breakfast. It is always good to catch up with our General Superintendent. Please keep Dr. Schmidt in your prayers as he leads our denominational ministries. Dr. Michael Brown and I met for coffee in Marion later that morning. Dr. Brown is making a difference sharing the Gospel on the frontlines in the Ukraine conflict zone. He will be stateside for a few months and would be glad to connect with you and your church to share about this impactful ministry.
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Our last of the four district Christmas gatherings was held at Plymouth Wesleyan Church. Rev. Chris Taylor and his team did a terrific job of hosting our gathering of South Bend area pastors and spouses. Pastor Chris and Lisa, his wife, are new members of our district team this conference year. It was exciting to hear how God is blessing their ministry in Plymouth.

Thank you to all of our host churches for their generous hospitality. Thank you also to each of the pastors and spouses who made it a priority to join us for these fellowship gatherings. We really are stronger together!

Nothing brings us more joy than celebrating the stories of lives being made new by power of the Gospel! Pastor Mike Henry shared this photo and an amazing story of answered prayer that resulted in this young mother’s public profession of faith at Level 13. Praise the Lord!
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In just 10 more days, thousands of Wesleyan students and their leaders will be gathering in Cincinnati for the Follow ‘23 Conference. Please pray that our next generation leaders will powerfully encounter God at this dynamic event!
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Don’t miss the 2024 Heartland Gathering, April 2-5, 2024, in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee! The 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. If you are a lead or solo pastor and did not receive that email, please reach out to us at [email protected]. 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,
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Mark Gorveatte

Crossroads District Superintendent

P.S. The district office will be closed between Christmas Eve and New Year’s Day. Our next Team Update will be released on January 2. Pastors, in cases of emergency, you can reach Michael Wood, District Administrator, or Mark Gorveatte, District Superintendent, by cellphone.