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Sunday morning, April 13, was a special day at Mt. Etna Community Life Church, north of Marion and south of the Salamonie Reservoir on Hwy 9. This congregation joined The Wesleyan Church in 2022 with Rev. Michael Gallant, an ordained Wesleyan minister, who then served as their pastor. The church grew under Pastor Mike’s leadership to average 67 in worship last year with five baptisms.  Rev. Gallant announced his retirement and concluded his service this spring. Mt Etna called Rev. Dr. Scotty Murphy to join their team. I had the honor of installing him as their pastor yesterday morning. The ushers reported 130 in attendance yesterday. Please join me in welcoming Pastor Murphy and his family.  Last week was originally scheduled for Rev. Kyle Horton and I to make a recruiting visit to Houghton University. The recovery process from the tornado’s damage to our house required me to stay in Indiana but God’s timing was providential. I am so glad that I was here to visit and pray with Rev. Richard Cole in his hospital room on Tuesday morning and again on Wednesday morning before he passed away on Wednesday evening. Thank you for your prayers and support for Mrs. Debbie Cole, his beloved wife, Rev. Andy Cole, his son and successor at Lapel Daybreak, and his beautiful family. The celebration of life for Rev. Richard Cole will be held at Daybreak Church on Monday, April 14, 12 noon.  Tuesday, I joined Rev. Duane Seitz for a meeting at Silver Lake Wesleyan Church with the two remaining members of the Local Advisory Council. Pastor Duane is semi-retiring this year at the age of 90. Having served the church since 2016, Rev. Seitz holds the record for the longest tenure in the 100-year history of the church. Wednesday evening, Pastor Joseph Park and the team at Evergreen Wesleyan Church in Lafayette were continuing their spring revival services. Rev. Keith Hinton was the evangelist and it was a blessing to sit under his preaching again. Pastor Keith and I served together for 10 years when I was his district superintendent in West Michigan.  On my way to Evergreen, I dropped in on Rev. Ben Thomas and the team at The Branch on Schuyler Avenue. This congregation has been rebounding under the leadership of Pastor Ben. I found him encouraging the team of leaders that is preparing to relaunch their midweek ministry to children. They are also seeing growth in their ministry to teens under the direction of Cole Thomas, IWU student and son of Pastor Ben. Exciting days ahead at The Branch!  Thursday morning, I was in Fishers to meet with Michael Wood for the final edits on a grant proposal to the Lilly Foundation and then dropped in on Dr. Joe Sawyer at Westminister Village. The Education and Clergy Development department hosted a Zoom call for district superintendents on Thursday afternoon and Rev. Carla Working provided an update on our chaplaincy endorsing process.  Saturday morning, I was back on the road to connect with the leadership cohort that Dr. Chris Williams has been leading for pastors in our northwest region. It was good to hear how God is moving in our churches along the Hwy 30 corridor. Rev. Chris Taylor, pastor at Plymouth Wesleyan Church, has been hosting this cohort and he led this session with a focus on “Small Circle.” This one-on-one discipleship ministry was his primary role in his previous ministry in New York and God has been blessing as he’s launched “Small Circle” in Plymouth. If you’d like to learn more about this discipleship movement, here’s the website: https://www.smallcircle.com/  We received word that Rev. William Babb, Jr., (102 years old) passed on to his eternal reward on Thursday evening. Rev. Babb was a World War II combat veteran, having served in the South Pacific theater. He graduated from Frankfort Pilgrim College in 1950 and would serve in pastoral ministry for 67 years. Seven of the 8 congregations that Rev. Babb pastored were here in the Crossroads District. You are invited to the memorial service to be held on April 17, 12 noon, at Chapel Pike Wesleyan Church in Marion. www.churchfuneralsdirect.com.  Pastor Scott McDermid and the team at Six Points Wesleyan Church in Sheridan are welcoming Rev. Skyler Norton and his family to join the pastoral staff. Pastor Skyler and Erin, his wife, will be moving their family from Tuscaloosa, Alabama, where they were serving on staff with Rev. Scott Moore at One Hope Church.  Our friends at Fairmount Camp have opened registration for the 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  Let’s lift each other in prayer this week as we prepare to celebrate another triumphant Resurrection Sunday with our congregations. This may be the Sunday that someone who hasn’t been in church for years, or maybe never, will walk through your doors for the first time. Let’s lift Jesus high as The Way, The Truth, and The Life! Let’s preach with fresh anointing and a sense of urgency as we proclaim our Risen Lord, the only hope for our world. Richard Baxter, the 17th-century Puritan, put it this way, “I preach as a dying man to dying men, never sure to preach again.” Keep on making a difference in the cause that counts for eternity! Your servant in Christ, Mark Gorveatte Crossroads District Superintendent Save the Date: Crossroads District Ordination and Conference will be at Lakeview Wesleyan Church in Marion on Friday-Saturday, June 27-28. Comments are closed.
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