Sunday, July 17, I had the privilege of ministering with Dr. Keith Loy, a long-time friend, at Celebrate Church in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Keith and I first served together at New Hope Church in Williston, North Dakota, back in 1998. It’s been a joy to see how God has blessed his life and ministry. Celebrate Church is one of the leading church-planting congregations in The Wesleyan Church with more than 20 daughter churches. Dr. Lyon and I were invited by Dr. Loy to help teach “Wesleyan Church History and Discipline” as part of their ministerial education program. Dr. Lyon taught in June and I taught on Saturday with 30 leaders in the room, including several prospective church planters. Camping ministries continued to make a difference for churches in our district last week. I dropped in at Fairmount Camp on Tuesday morning to thank several of our pastors and volunteers who were serving for Fairmount’s camp for children. Pastor John Hannan (Union City CrossRoads), Rev. Michelle Henry (Marion Brookhaven), and Rev. Carol Schenck (Noblesville Circle of Hope) were some of our pastors serving there and making a difference. Tuesday afternoon, several of our district pastors joined us for the funeral service for Rev. Mike Cloud, one of our district’s most respected leaders. Rev. Martin Furrow (Rochester The Cross) assisted in leading the service. Please continue to pray for Brenda and her family as they grieve their loss. Wednesday morning, I was in Indy for a coaching conversation with Rev. Benjamin Tuimuk who leads Shalom Church, the Chin (Burmese) congregation that worships at Southview Wesleyan Church. It was also good to catch up with Southview’s pastor, Rev. Nathan Richardson. I’m excited that Pastor Nathan will be joining us for the GROW conference. Wednesday evening, I was able to worship with our friends at the Family Camp hosted by Frankfort Camping Ministries. Phil and Rhonda Foley have done a marvelous job leading the turnaround at Frankfort Camp. Several of our pastors serve on this team. Notably, Rev. Allen Gross (Cicero United Family) provides leadership to the youth track for the camp. The camp evangelists were Rev. Dale Freed and Rev. Keith Hinton (one of our own retired ministers). That evening, I was pleased to connect with several Crossroads District friends including Rev. Ernest Batman (our retired district superintendent). One of the fun connections was with Martha Blackburn, Grace Chitty, and Mrs. Haines who taught together at Frankfort Pilgrim College in the late 1960s. I’m grateful for these women and their investment in students that still is bearing fruit today. Before I flew to South Dakota on Thursday, I met with Rev. Lyle Breeding (Sonlight Wesleyan Church) in Bluffton. It was encouraging to hear how God has been moving and bringing new families to the church this summer. Pastor Lyle has been recovering from one surgery and has another upcoming so please join us in praying for his recovery to full health and mobility. God is on the move during these summer months. Sunday, July 16, was the first worship gathering for Casa de Esperanza, the new Hispanic campus led by Rev. Claudia Ruiz and Rev. Joe Schmit. Church leaders from Casa de Alfarero, the main campus in Richmond, and from Casa de Oracion, in Union City, joined with the first contacts in Portland for a combined worship and prayer experience with nearly 60 people present. God is changing lives at Monon Wesleyan Church. Dr. Brad Snyder and the congregation celebrated 4 baptisms in the past month. This is a congregation that averaged 17 last year with no baptisms. Praise God for progress! Pastor Matthew Trexler and the team at The River Church in Marion reached out in a day of service to Gas City on Saturday. They closed out the day with an evangelistic service that included another baptism. Praise God for lives being #MadeNew! Dr. Joe Harmon has officially retired but continues to serve New Castle Memorial Wesleyan Church while they are in their pastoral search process. He was excited to report two more baptisms yesterday. Let’s rejoice with them and pray as they seek God’s best for their future. Fairmount Camp is excited about their upcoming Family Camp, July 23-30, featuring Dr. Patty Bray and Rev. Nathan Metz as camp evangelists. Plan to attend if possible and join in praying for God to continue to move in the hearts of His people! Thank you for making a difference in the cause that counts for eternity! Your servant in Christ, Mark Gorveatte Crossroads District Superintendent 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! Sunday morning, July 9, I had the joy of welcoming East Liberty Church (just north of Decatur) as the newest congregation in our Crossroads District service. This former EUB congregation, originally founded in 1845, completed the disaffiliation process with the United Methodist Church and voted to join The Wesleyan Church. Our DBA approved their reception so I was present to bring the morning message and lead an organization meeting after the service. They do not have a pastor but Rev. Dennis Croy, an ordained Wesleyan minister in our district, has graciously agreed to preach for them this summer as they make plans for the remainder of the conference year. Please keep East Liberty Church in your prayers as they begin this new chapter in their 178-year history. Since the service at East Liberty began at 9, I had time to check in with Pastor Aldean Pablo and the team at ARISE Church in Roanoke. Pastor Aldean and Jessie Pablo are doing a great job leading this new ministry and reaching out to their community. After celebrating July 4th with family, I was back on the road Wednesday for coaching conversations. I met with Pastor Randy Yaryan for lunch in Winchester and met with Pastor Andy Cole (Lapel Daybreak) later that afternoon. Thursday, I was in Marion for our office staff meeting. We had a productive time debriefing on district conference and planning for next year’s conference (June 29 at Marion Lakeview). We were able to present Rev. Nicholas Reynolds with his new iPad, a door prize provided through the generosity of Marvin Miller, our Brotherhood Mutual agent. Congratulations, Pastor Nick! Our last stop on Thursday afternoon was in Elwood Central Wesleyan Church where we presented Rev. Jon Noggle with his certificate of ordination affirmation as he completed his transfer into The Wesleyan Church. We are delighted to have Pastor Jon and his family serving with us in the Crossroads District. Friday morning, Rev. Wayne and Dr. JoAnne Lyon welcomed me to their home. On behalf of our district, I was honored to present Dr. Lyon with her official retirement award (although she’s still on the fly) and to thank her for her ministry at our ordination service. Pastor Wayne closed our time together with a powerful prayer. He also introduced me to one of his newest hobbies, boxing. If you ever need someone to pray with you or for your church, you’ll be blessed if you reach out to Pastor Wayne! Saturday morning, I met with Pastor Phil Carder and the LBA at The Branch in Lafayette. They’ve just added Rev. Naomi (Umfleet) Small to their team and are making plans for growth this fall. From Lafayette, I drove on to Shunem House in Noblesville to check in with Pastor Mike Hewitt who was providing “relaunch” training for the team at Anderson Living Hope. My last stop on Saturday was at Daybreak Church in Lapel. Pastor Andy Cole and the team at Daybreak do a great job hosting events like this car show that was part of the community fair. If you look closely, you can find four ordained Wesleyan ministers in this photo (Rev. Dan Clark, Rev. Andy Cole, Rev. Richard Cole, and Rev. Joe Jackson). We love hearing reports of lives being changed by the Gospel so please pass along your praise reports and pictures. One of the best stories this week was Pastor Josh Bowlin (Marion Chapel Pike Wesleyan Church) baptizing his son in the very same baptism pool as he was baptized in many years ago! Pastor Michael Hewitt, Muncie Rising Hope, passed on the the good news that Cafe Con Dios, a part of the Rising Hope’s multi-site network, held two more baptism services (in Madrid and Chiclana, Spain) for a total of 35 new believers baptized in these new sites in four weeks! Please pray for the leaders and teams at Frankfort Family Camp and Fairmount Children’s Camp as they minister this week! Let’s keep making a difference in the cause that counts for eternity! Your servant in Christ, Mark Gorveatte Crossroads District Superintendent Sunday morning, July 2, I had the privilege of representing the Crossroads District at Silver Lake Wesleyan Church. In addition to sharing an update and preaching the sermon, it was my joy to honor Rev. Duane Seitz with a certificate and medallion in recognition of his 60 years of ordained ministry in The Wesleyan Church. Pastor Duane and JoEllen Seitz have been faithfully serving the Silver Lake congregation since 2016. We are grateful to God and appreciate their faithful and effective ministry for six decades. I was back on the road for coaching conversations this week. I had a great time in the South Bend region on Wednesday. My first stop was with Rev. Ed Friberg who is preparing to step into leadership at Shiloh Wesleyan Church this month. My next stop was with Rev. Greg Holmes, pastor of Sonlight Wesleyan Church in South Bend. Pastor Greg’s daughter lost her home to a fire last week so their family has been helping with the recovery process. Later that afternoon, I had coffee with Rev. Ben and Kristen Jones (North Liberty Beaver Creek Wesleyan). Ben was one of the 11 ministers ordained at district conference. My final stop of the day was at The Bridge Urban Church in Mishawaka. Pastor Terry and Lennaire Vaugh lead this exciting new church. They blessed four new neighborhood entrepreneurs with free equipment for starting a lawn care service. (Hunter, the youngest recipient, an 11-year-old boy, reported back on Thursday that he’d already earned his first $70.) Congratulations to the Sweetser Wesleyan Church Bible Bowl Quiz teams. They competed in the national competition held last week at Indiana Wesleyan University and came away with their three teams placing in the top 7 of all teams competing. If your church would like to learn more about the national Bible quizzing program sponsored by The Wesleyan Church, please contact Dr. Matthew Stewart, pastor at Sweetser Wesleyan Church. In case you missed conference, we’re praising God that professions of faith were up 35% (from 851 to 1148), and that we baptized 620 people last year (the highest number of baptisms since 2016). Praise the Lord that you also reported 156 people testifying to God’s call to the ministry. This is the highest number reported in more than a decade! We announced a special scholarship for PK’s (teenagers who have parents appointed to local church service) of $300 each from the Thrive Fund to help them attend this year’s FOLLOW Conference in Cincinnati (Dec. 28-30, 2023). We also announced an initiative from our Property Fund that will provide $50,000 in 5 challenge grants to match up to $10,000 for vital facility improvement projects in churches where the need is great. The church commits to raising 50% of the required funding. These grants will enable churches to better serve their community and to prevent costly repairs that might limit future ministry. The DBA welcomes competitive applications for these five grants. Frankfort Camp Ministries invites all to their annual Family Camp, July 9-16. Rev. Keith Hinton and Rev. Dale Freed are the featured speakers for this years camp. Services begin on Sunday evening at 6 p.m., and then at 7 p.m. through the week, concluding with the 4 p.m. closing rally on Sunday, July 16. That closing rally features a musical concert by Adam’s Voice. For more information, visit their website: https://www.frankfortcampministries.com/events.html Fairmount Camp Ministries also extends an invitation to all for their annual Family Camp, July 23-30. This years camp evangelists are Rev. Patty Bray and Rev. Nathan Metz. Camp begins at 10:30 on Sunday morning, July 23, with Rev. Jeff Luedtke, Chair of the Fairmount Camp Board preaching. Evening services continue at 6:30 through the week concluding with Rev. Nathan Metz preaching at the closing evening service on July 30. For more information, visit their website: https://www.fairmountcamp.org/family-camp.html We love sharing reports from our churches of lives being #MadeNew by the Gospel of Jesus Christ! Rev. Nicolas and Rev. Adriana Zarate, leaders of Rey de Gloria Iglesia Wesleyana, a campus of Circle of Hope, led by Dr. Rich and Rev. Carol Schenck, celebrated 7 more baptisms in June! Dr. Oliver Dongell has accepted a call to become the pastor of Brevard Wesleyan Church in North Carolina, but before leaving he concluded his 20-year ministry at Plymouth Wesleyan Church on a high note celebrating 5 more baptisms! The River Church in Marion continues to celebrate God’s moving. Nine more people stepped out in obedience to God’s Word last Sunday and publicly professed their faith in Christ! Cafe Con Dios, a campus of Muncie Rising Hope in Seville (Spain), celebrated 20 baptisms at the beach in June. Pastor Marcos and Banessa Cruz lead this campus. Rev. Mike Hewitt and a team of leaders will be back on site this fall to celebrate the first anniversary of this campus. (Please forward photos and notes from the baptism service that your church has this summer so we can celebrate with you.) Keep on 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 make please every effort to attend! Saturday, June 24th, 356 lay and ministerial delegates registered their attendance at our 175th annual conference of Wesleyans ministering in Indiana, the 7th annual conference of the merged Crossroads District. What a joy to gather as God’s people on mission with Him. I shared this scripture passage from 2nd Samuel 5:24 “As soon as you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the poplar trees, move quickly, because that will mean the Lord has gone out in front of you...” We hear the sound of His marching in the tops of the poplar trees and see God going out before us in many ways. An event like this doesn’t happen without a dedicated team of volunteers. Rev. Dr. Chris Williams, our Assistant DS, assembled a terrific team. We were blessed by the staff members at Madison Park Church of God who went the second and third mile to host our gathering. Daybreak Lapel provided golf carts to assist people to their parked cars. Volunteers from Anderson North and Anderson United welcomed attenders and helped us register. We worshiped in song led by Nancy Pike and the powerful ministry team from LifeSpring Church. We received the Lord’s Supper together under the guidance of our four circuit riders, Rev. Mark Atkinson, Dr. Jim Lo, Rev. Neftali Lopez, and Dr. David Smith. We were blessed by the anointed preaching of Dr. Jo Anne Lyon, our retired General Superintendent, who performed the ordination of 11 new Wesleyan ministers. The ordination council led by Rev. Carla Working, chair of the DBMD, also affirmed the ordination of three ministers transferring into The Wesleyan Church. We did the expected by electing officers and receiving annual reports, but we also enjoyed refreshing fellowship around tables over lunch and respectfully debated resolutions. We celebrated 8% growth in worship attendance (from 10,492 to 11,339) and the fact that 60% of our churches (64 of our 105) reported increases in their worship attendance. Some of that growth was dramatic. For example, attendance at ReThink Church in Merrillville grew by 60% last year (from 50 to 80). Rising Hope in Muncie and Hillside in Marion both reported 50% growth in their weekend worship services. LifeSpring Church, our oldest congregation (planted in 1843) grew by 131 (17%) and The River Church, one of our younger churches (planted in 2007) grew by 204 (28%). Last year, we recorded 1148 professions of faith. That’s up from 851 in the previous year, an increase of 35%. Together, we baptized 620 people last conference year. That’s up 27% from the previous year (488) and the highest number of baptisms since 2016. Larger and smaller churches, newer and older churches, rural and city churches, can all testify that God is on the move! Praise God for lives being transformed by the power of the Gospel!
Sadly, thirty of our churches reported no baptisms last year and 17 of our churches reported not a single new believer won to Christ in the past 12 months. May God never allow us to grow comfortable with empty altars and dry baptistries. Your faithful USF contributions made it possible for the DBA to announce three positive initiatives:
The DBA recommended and the conference approved a change in our standing rules to reduce our combined USF assessment rate from 10% to 9% with the directive that each church use that 1% to create their own Church Multiplication Fund. That 1% fund will be maintained by each local church. Your board will determine which DBA-approved church plants you want to help fund. You’ll decide whether to invest in a new campus. If your church chooses to invest in DBA-approved projects, that investment will be matched by dollars from our Great Commission Fund. For each of the next five years, we are budgeting $200,000 from that fund for matching grants. With 3 million people unreached in Indiana, we need every Crossroads District church to be passionately engaged in church multiplication. Here are two resources to share with your team: 1. Dr. Bud Bence captured our Wesleyan history in Indiana in this video that you can use on a Sunday morning or in membership classes: 2. The full conference handbook with annual reports and statistics is available for download by clicking below: Special thanks to Michael Wood and Kalina Carlson, our district office team, who invested countless hours and energy into making our time together such a positive experience. I can‘t wait for next year’s Crossroads District Conference, June 29, in Marion. Your servant in Christ, Mark Gorveatte District Superintendent P.S. - We have one more iPad giveaway sponsored by Marv Miller and our friends at American Church Group, our Brotherhood Mutual agency. We have spun the wheel one more time and congratulations goes to newly ordained Rev. Nicholas Reynolds! Sunday morning, June 18, I had the privilege of worshiping with Dr. Matthew Stewart and the team at Sweetser Wesleyan Church. It was a special day as they held their first worship service back in their newly remodeled worship center. Over the past few years, the church has tackled every space, including the parking lot, to make their campus as welcoming as possible to the people they’re inviting. Congratulations were extended, not just for the beautiful remodeling project, but for the even more exciting news that Sweetser Wesleyan baptized 6 new believers last year (more than 10% of their worship attendance). On my way to Sweetser, I dropped in on Pastor Matthew Trexler and the team at The River. They were celebrating spiritual progress among their 130+ teenagers who attended Never The Same (NTS) Camp at IWU last week. Initial reports included 27 first-time decisions for Christ and 9 young people responding to God’s call to full-time ministry. Crossroads District students were involved in at least three camps last week including Camp Hanging Rock (west of Lafayette), NTS Camp at IWU, and Fairmount Camp. Special thanks to every youth leader and volunteer staff member that made these life-changing experiences possible for our students. On Monday evening, I attended Camp 180 at Fairmount Camp where Brent Dongell was serving as camp evangelist. Brent and I go back to our time together in Michigan and then we served together at Kingswood University. Brent is now on the faculty at Southern Wesleyan University and is completing his doctoral studies. Some of you may know Brent through Dr. Ollie Dongell, his father, who has been pastoring at Plymouth Wesleyan for the past 20 years. The leadership team at Camp 180 was doing a great job of ministering to a “sold-out” week. I was able to connect with several of our district pastors who were volunteering including Rev. Dave Cox, Rev. Emily and Rev. David Hines, Rev. Andrew Kinney, and Rev. Rich Van Vuren. Tuesday evening, Sherry and I connected with John & Lindsey Gorveatte at IWU where John was serving on the leadership team for NTS Camp Week One. Wes and Claudia Dupin, long-time friends from Michigan, were also in attendance to pray for and encourage leaders. Pastor Jacob Gibson (LifeSpring) and Pastor Steve Arnett (Mt. Zion) were two of our pastors that we found with their students before the evening rally. Wednesday afternoon, I traveled over to the west side of our state to join Rev. Seth Merrill and his team at Hanging Rock Camp. While attendance was down slightly from previous years, the leaders and students were excited to share how God was working. Among others, I connected with Rev. Joe Jackson, Rev. Andrew Colaw, Rev. Alexander Henry, and Rev. Brent Kirby. I enjoyed a day off with our family on Friday. Having three of our four grandchildren staying with us made the Father’s Day weekend very special! On Saturday, Pastor Mike Colaw and the Indianapolis Trinity Wesleyan Church LBA were meeting at Shunem House in Noblesville for a planning retreat. Pastor Mike was kind enough to invite me to sit in with their team as they had significant conversations about stewarding God’s favor on their ministry. They’re experiencing wonderful spiritual momentum and believing God for even greater days ahead! Dr. Chris and Marrieta Williams graciously invited Sherry and me to witness the wedding of their son Sean to Jenna Dawson. Dr. Chris did a masterful job of wearing both his father and pastor hats for this beautiful wedding ceremony. Congratulations and prayers for God’s blessing on this amazing couple as they begin their new life together! Pastor Scott McDermid and a youth missions team from Sheridan Six Points Church spent last week serving in Nashville, Tennessee. Pastor Scott enjoyed sharing this experience with his older son Caleb, and they also celebrated a baptism as one of their one teenagers publicly professed her faith in Christ! Rev. Rob Tippey and the team at Wabash New Journey Community Church continued to give God praise for the powerful ways in which He is changing lives. They celebrated two more baptisms on Sunday as Nick and Xander publicly professed their faith in Christ. Finally! This is the week of our annual Crossroads District Conference. We will gather this Saturday in Anderson at the Madison Park Church of God. Registration opens at 8:00 am and the first session begins promptly at 9:00 am. This year, we’re hosting our ordination service as part of conference proceedings beginning at 10:30 am. We’re delighted that Dr. Jo Anne Lyon has agreed to bring the ordination sermon on this special occasion. In addition to elections and recommended items of business (including lowering USF from 10% to 9%), we will be celebrating 175 years as a district conference since the very first gathering in 1848. The District Conference Handbook is available for review at the following link: https://bit.ly/dc23booklet If you can’t join us in person, please do remember us in prayer! Your servant in Christ, Mark Gorveatte District Superintendent 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 make please every effort to attend! Sunday morning, June 11, I had the privilege of bringing greetings and worshiping with Pastor Andy & Leanza Riemersma at ONE Church in Westfield. This is an exciting new congregation led by a passionate team of young adults. They averaged 89 last year in worship with 20 professions of faith and 8 baptisms. Plans are coming together for a big transition next year as they relocate their worship services from their current facility into the new YMCA being built in Westfield on the Monon Trail. Following the service, I hosted the Riemersma family over lunch and an encouraging conversation about what God is doing at ONE Church. Be praying as Andy and Leanza count down less than four weeks to the due date for their second child and continue to lead ONE Church in reaching their community for Christ. Sunday afternoon, I met with Rev. Jon Noggle and his leadership team at Elwood Central Wesleyan Church. This has been a year of transition and adjustment with a new pastor but there is a growing sense of momentum at Central Wesleyan with 7 baptisms last month! Sunday evening, I joined the team at Tipton Trinity Wesleyan Church for a town hall meeting. The LBA has approved a two-month sabbatical for Pastor Johnnie Blair and it was helpful to brief the congregation on the journey ahead. We’re excited that Rev. Jim and Jerolyn Bogear will be ministering to the Trinity Church family for six of the weeks while Pastor Blair is on sabbatical. Jerolyn and Jim (originally from Fairmount, Indiana) will be teaching from their Faith Legacy resources for families. You can learn more about their ministry here: https://www.legacyc3.com Last week’s schedule started out with our office staff meeting in Marion on Monday followed by a district conference planning session led by Dr. Chris Williams. Tuesday’s calendar included coaching conversations with Rev. David Dignal (Edgerton Wesleyan), Rev. Mike Henry (Fort Wayne Level 13 Church), and Rev. Kyle Horton (Fort Wayne Three Rivers). On the way back home, I dropped in at Huntington Hope Rising Church to catch up with Assistant Pastor Rev. Angela Spangler and Assistant Pastor Mason Yopp, who were leading a great team of volunteers in offering their first team VBS in several years. It’s fun to see the creative ways in which our churches reach out and serve the next generation. Rev. Phil Carder, pastor at The Branch in Lafayette sent along this photo from their Foam Party last Tuesday night that connected with 40 children in addition to extended family members, almost all from their neighborhood. Tuesday closed out with a DBA meeting via ZOOM. We decided on some exciting initiatives for presentation at our district conference and the DBA also graciously approved my sabbatical request for this coming fall (October 15 through November 20). Wednesday morning, I interviewed prospective church planters in Marion and then represented our district family at the celebration of life for Mrs. Brenda Dykhoff. Continue to remember Rev. Ken Dykhoff, Ms. Heather Dykoff, and Rev. Shawnda Dykhoff in your prayers. Rev. Jim Bogear, Rev. Johnnie Blair, and I met for lunch on Thursday to prepare for the ministry schedule at Tipton Trinity this summer while Johnnie is on sabbatical. Saturday morning, I was in Indianapolis to meet with Rev. Grace Lopez and the team at Monte de Sion. Rev. Lopez leads our district FLAMA program for Spanish-language ministerial education, but has also stepped up to provide effective leadership to this congregation through a season of transition. From Monte de Sion, I jumped over to Divine Direction Church where Pastor Gawin Anderson and his leadership team were engaged in a ministry planning day facilitated by Rev. Johnnie Blair. This planning event was a follow-up to the Next Level Experience training that Pastor Gawin attended in Marion earlier this year. I was encouraged by the conversations they are having about future growth and Kingdom impact. We are always glad to receive and pass along reports of how God is working in our churches. While 29 of our churches reported no baptisms last conference year, praise the Lord for the 76 churches that celebrated at least one baptism. Twenty of our churches reported 10 or more baptisms. Wabash New Journey Church was one of those with 13 baptisms in the last conference and this year is off to an even stronger start. We’re rejoicing with Pastor Rob Tippey and New Journey Church as God continues to change lives in Wabash! The River Church is another of those churches with 73 baptisms recorded last year. During the first 6 weeks of this new conference year, they have already celebrated with more than 30 people who have publicly professed faith in Christ. This week, I invite you to join me in praying for the hundreds of students who will be ministered to by our youth leaders gathering both at “Never The Same Camp” on the IWU campus and the sold-out “180 Camp” meeting at the Fairmount Camp. These camping experiences have seen so many students commit their lives to Christ and even commit their lives to full-time ministry. Pray that Holy Spirit will move powerfully once again! We’re less than two weeks away from our Crossroads District Conference. Doors open for registration at 8:00 a.m. and the conference will begin at 9:00 a.m. For friends and family of the ordination candidates who want to join us for the celebration of ordination, please note that seating will begin at 10:15 a.m. The service will begin at 10:30 a.m. Lunch will be served onsite for all registered delegates. We’re believing God for a great day together. Keep on making a difference in the only cause that counts for eternity! Your servant in Christ, Mark Gorveatte Crossroads District Superintendent Pray with us for a fresh move of God among our next generation of Wesleyan leaders who will be gathering in Cincinnati for Follow Conference this December. Seminars and workshops will be available for pastors and parents so make please every effort to attend! Sunday morning, June 4, Sherry and I had the privilege of worshiping with Dr. Craig and Tiffany Thurmon at The Encounter Assembly (TEA) in Lawrence. Pastor Craig and Tiffany launched the church from their living room in 2019, just before the pandemic. They quickly developed their online ministry which continues to be a vital part of their ministry today. The church currently rents space for Sunday morning gatherings but continues to offer discipleship and prayer ministry through the week via ZOOM. Following the service, we enjoyed catching up over lunch. Pastor Craig, in addition to working full-time for the US Department of Defense, coaching, and leading the church, recently completed his PhD in organizational leadership from Columbia International University. We’re also grateful for Dr. Thurmon’s service to our team as District Secretary. Last week’s shorter schedule included coaching conversations with Rev. Josh Bowlin (Marion Chapel Pike), Rev. Eric Roemer (Greentown Wesleyan), Rev. Theo Griffin (Greenfield Brown’s Chapel), and Rev. David Shafer (North Anderson Wesleyan). With the Monday holiday, our district staff meeting took place on Wednesday and I also met with Rev. Johnnie Blair (Tipton Trinity) that afternoon to work on details for his sabbatical this summer. Thursday evening, I met with Dr. Joe Harmon and the LBA at New Castle Memorial Wesleyan Church. Dr. Joe is retiring but has agreed to continue part-time while the LBA continues the search for their next pastor. If you know of a great pastor to lead this church, please pass along this link: https://secure.wesleyan.org/job/frame/9062 On Saturday afternoon, Plymouth Wesleyan Church honored Dr. Oliver and Reata Dongell for their 20 years of fruitful ministry. Pastor Ollie has served the church effectively since 2003 and is moving toward retirement, although he won’t be slowing down too much. The church has experienced growth, facility expansion, and community impact under Dr. Dongell’s leadership and I’ve enjoyed the privilege of serving with him here in the Crossroads District. Rev. Chris Taylor, formerly the teaching pastor at Crosswinds Wesleyan Church (Canadaigua, NY), has accepted the call to serve as Plymouth Wesleyan’s new pastor beginning this summer. Rev. Scott and Erin Ferguson have come home to the Crossroads District and will be leading Harvest Church after serving at Southland Church in Lexington, KY for the past several years. Prior to that, Rev. Ferguson served on staff at LifeSpring Church in Richmond. Yesterday was his first Sunday preaching at Harvest and we’re glad to welcome the Ferguson’s back home! Pastor Barry Dixon and the team at Indianapolis Calvary Family Church are celebrating changed lives. They baptized 4 new believers on Sunday, May 28, and then baptized three more yesterday, June 4. Pastor Barry and Joyce have been working and praying for a breakthrough coming back from the pandemic. Pastor Barry shared this good news and photos via text along with this scripture promise that the Holy Spirit had dropped in his spirit: “Wait on the Lord, be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart. Wait, I say, on the Lord.” Psalm 27:16 Pastor David Dignal and the team at Edgerton Wesleyan Church are rejoicing with five new believers who were baptized on May 28, including one entire family of four! Good things are happening at Edgerton Wesleyan with 15 professions of faith recorded last year. Pastor Sam Maddox and the team at Albion Wesleyan Church are celebrating another baptism as God continues to bless their ministry. Albion Wesleyan grew by 11% last year in worship (from 46 to 51) and celebrated 9 baptisms last conference year. Praise the Lord! Pastor Ryan Budde and the team at Jonesboro Westview Wesleyan Church had the joy of baptizing two more new believers last month. This past conference year, Westview grew by 17% in worship attendance (from 132 to 155) and baptized 19 new believers! Praise the Lord for lives being #MadeNew! Our prayers and condolences are extended to the family and friends of Mrs. Brenda Dykhoff, wife of Rev. Ken Dykhoff and mother of Rev. Shawnda (Dykhoff) Bilbee. Brenda was promoted to glory last week after an extended illness that could not overshadow a life of ministry and service to others. The memorial service will be held this Wednesday, June 7, at Gas City Eastview Wesleyan Church. You may access her obituary and arrangements here: https://www.nswcares.com/obituaries/Brenda-R-Dykhoff?obId=28048191 We’re just three weeks away from our Crossroads District Conference. Door opens for registration at 8:00 a.m. and the conference will begin at 9:00 a.m. For friends and family of the ordination candidates who want to join us for the celebration of ordination, please note that seating will begin at 10:15 a.m. The service will begin at 10:30 a.m. We’re believing God for a great day together! Keep on making a difference in the only cause that counts for eternity! Your servant in Christ, Mark Gorveatte Crossroads District Superintendent Please join us in praying for a fresh move of God among our next generation of Wesleyan leaders who will be gathering in Cincinnati for Follow Conference this December. Seminars and workshops will be available for pastors and parents so make please every effort to attend! Sunday morning, May 21, I had the privilege of worshiping with the growing congregation at Monte de Sion Iglesia Wesleyan Church in the Eagledale neighborhood of Indianapolis. This church was planted by the Granados family over two decades ago and has been rebounding after the setbacks of the past few years. Rev. Grace Lopez has stepped in to serve as supply pastor and is blessing the church with her leadership. Rev. Neftali Lopez, Circuit Rider, was able to be with us yesterday and helped out by playing guitar with the worship team. Yesterday, they honored two of their high school graduates and Pastor Grace shared a prayer of blessing over the children. Monte de Sion has a vibrant worship and prayer ministry. They do have a challenge in a deteriorating older parsonage that will need to be repaired or replaced. Please pray for the leaders of this ministry as they reach out to their community. Crossroads District has two churches named Mount Zion. The second of those is outside of New Castle and yesterday was a special celebration day for this Mt. Zion as Pastor Steve Arnett led their team in commemorating 180 years of ministry. Our best records indicate that Mt. Zion (formerly Duck Creek) was the second Wesleyan (Methodist) church formed in the spring of 1843, just after Fountain City (Newport Wesleyan Methodist, now LifeSpring). On my way to Monte de Sion, I was able to drop in to worship with Pastor Michael Colaw and the team at Trinity Church in Indianapolis. Pastor Colaw brought a powerful message on the prophets. This is a busy season for Pastor Mike as he leads a growing church, a growing family, and completes his Doctor of Ministry degree with Wesley Seminary. Sunday afternoon, I joined Rev. Jacob Gibson and his team at LifeSpring Church in Richmond to convene their annual local church conference and to bring district greetings on this 180th year of their ministry. It was an exciting year for LifeSpring as they called Rev. Gibson to be their new senior pastor. Dr. Aaron Perry did a wonderful job serving alongside the team as interim pastor. LifeSpring celebrated 65 baptisms last year and gave over $100,000 to world missions! My last stop on Sunday was with Rev. Jerry Alexander and the team at the former Central Wesleyan Church in Anderson. For the past 5 years, they've been part of the Circle of Hope Network led by Dr. Rich and Rev. Carol Schenck. Circle of Hope is launching them out and the DBA is working with the team and Rev. Michael Hewitt, their coach, to develop a relaunch plan for this fall as Living Hope Wesleyan Church. Last Monday, I was able to drop in on the leadership cohort that Rev. Matthew Trexler leads each month at The River. This is a great group of pastors committed to learning and growing, both themselves and the churches that God has entrusted to them. I took lots of notes and was encouraged to hear the stories of how God is moving in these churches. I was on the road Tuesday to meet with Rev. Chip Bos at Wesleyan HQ in Fishers to record interviews with Rev. Claudia Ruiz and Rev. Steve Arnett. You will be blessed to hear their stories at District Conference on June 24. Tuesday evening, I met with the LBA (Local Board of Administration) at New Castle Memorial Wesleyan Church as they continue their search for a new pastor. Dr. Joe Harmon is serving them well as they work through the process of finding the best leader for their bright future. On Wednesday, I met with Rev. Mark Atkinson, Circuit Rider, over lunch and then connected with Rev. Jeff Luedtke, pastor of Fairmount Wesleyan Church and chair of the Fairmount Camp Board. Fairmount Camp is searching for a new Executive Director and interested candidates may apply by through this link: https://secure.wesleyan.org/job/frame/8989 Wednesday evening, I joined with Pastor Allen Gross and friends at Cicero United Family Church (UFC) as they welcomed Rev. Mark Atkinson for a workshop on personal evangelisms. United is in an exciting season of growth and this was a timely seminar for their team. Thursday afternoon, I represented our team at the funeral of Mrs. Edie Surfus, mother of Rev. Michele Henry, assistant pastor at Brookhaven, and grandmother of Alexander Henry, assistant pastor at Elwood Main Street. Pastor Tony Bye and Alexander Henry led this meaningful celebration of her life and legacy. Thursday evening, I met with Rev. Scott Rhyno and the leadership team at Waterline Church as they explored a possible meeting location in Ingalls. Waterline has been meeting at Wesleyan HQ in Fishers for the last several years. With the General Board's decision to sell the HQ building to WIF, Waterline is looking for a new home. Pray with Pastor Scott and Waterline as they seek God's direction for this strategic decision. With a full day of coaching conversations in the northwestern corner of our district on Saturday, I was glad to have a day of Sabbath at home on Friday. My first coaching conversation on Saturday was with Rev. Marc Ulrich in Merrillville. These are exciting days at ReThink Church with new families and recent baptisms. My next stop was with Rev. Jere Gowin just south of LaPorte where he pastors the Wesleyan church in Kingsford Heights. My final stop of the day was in Elkhart with Jose Cardenas. Jose and Angiee, his wife, have a growing team of leaders who serve Cielos Abiertos Iglesia Wesleyana. One of their most exciting developments is working with a pastor to launch a new campus of Cielos Abiertos in Ambato, Ecuador. God is on the move! Pastor Joe Jackson and the team at United Wesleyan Church in Anderson are rejoicing with two more baptisms on Mothers' Day. Praise the Lord for lives being #MadeNew! Rev. Andy Jellison, senior pastor at Lifeway Wesleyan Church in Fort Wayne, left yesterday with his family for his first sabbatical, but before he pulled out of town he sent word of four baptisms and another profession of faith! Heaven is celebrating with us! Rev. Dr. Kerry Kind, former General Director of what is now the Eduction and Clergy Development, passed away yesterday evening, May 21. Dr. Kind was gracious man of God who served as as a Global Partners missionary and administrator for many years. Funeral arrangements will be forwarded to our pastors as soon as possible. Please keep Jule and the Kind family in your prayers. Dr. Andrea Kind Summers, Dean of the Chapel at IWU, posted this on Facebook: "We said goodbye for now to my dad Kerry Kind earlier this evening. His wife (Jule Kind) and family surrounded him with prayers, singing, Scripture, tears, words of gratefulness and an undercurrent of faith-filled hope. It was beautiful. A fitting final moment for a beautiful life. A week ago today we were talking about the sermon after church and my dad told me how much he’s been learning and growing. Never done. Always hungry. Knowing there’s still so much more. And now he knows the More better than any of us. I’m overflowing with gratefulness for a dad who loved God and who loved us so well." For friends and family of the ordination candidates who want to join us for the celebration of ordination, please note that seating will begin at 10:15. The service will begin at 10:30. Keep on making a difference in the only cause that counts for eternity! Your servant in Christ, Mark Gorveatte Crossroads District Superintendent Please join us in praying for a fresh move of God among our next generation of Wesleyan leaders who will be gathering in Cincinnati this December. Seminars and workshops will be available for pastors and parents so make please every effort to attend! Sunday, May 13, was a wonderful day in the churches of the Crossroads District as mothers were celebrated. Flowers, baby dedications, special tributes, and timely messages affirmed the significant ministry of mothers in our families and in our congregations. North Wabash Wesleyan Church welcomed me to bring greetings from the district team and to share the morning message. Their piano player was unable to be present so I was glad to help out. This faithful congregation is in the last stages of the church lifecycle. What once was a flourishing multi-generational ministry is today a handful of dedicated folks. These dear saints sacrificially underwrite the operational expenses. They still believe and teach orthodox Christianity. They financially support Hephzibah and Wesleyan missionaries around the world. They always contribute 100% of their United Stewardship Fund. They pray and hope for their church to return to its former glory. The difficult conversation has begun about the future of their church. There is an acute awareness that without the dramatic, divine intervention of God, the days of the ministry are numbered in months, not years. I was sobered by my time with these dear saints. The reality is that every church that fails to keep its evangelistic fire burning hot faces the same inevitability. We do not exist for our own comfort, our own preferences, or our own positions. The local church is the hope of the world only when we are overflowing with the Holy Spirit and passionately pursuing God’s mission of winning the lost at any cost. Pray for North Wabash Wesleyan and pray that God will keep all of us focused on fulfilling the Great Commission in the Spirit of the Great Commandment. Last week’s schedule included a variety of coaching conversations and working with local church leaders to wrap up the conference year. I did have the opportunity to attend the funeral for “Miss Judy” (Judy Plotner Ward) who was a long-time staff member and treasured friend for the team at The River Church in Marion. She impacted hundreds of families through nearly 40 years of children’s ministry. Another highlight of the week was serving with Rev. Carla Working and our District Board of Ministerial Development in Marion on Friday as they conducted the final round of interviews for this year’s class of ordination candidates. We were encouraged by the deep commitment expressed by these ministers to our core value of holy living in the power of the Holy Spirit. What a joy to see these younger and older, women and men, recent college graduates and mid-career professionals, answering God’s call to the equipping ministry of Word and sacrament. We’re looking forward to their ordination at the 2023 Crossroads District Conference in Anderson on June 24. The ordination service will begin promptly at 10:30. We’re honored to have Dr. JoAnne Lyon as our ordination speaker this year! On Saturday, I joined Rev. Grace Dominguez Lopez and the leadership team at Indianapolis Monte de Sion Iglesia Wesleyana. This congregation is in the building formerly known as Eagledale Wesleyan Church. Pastor Grace has agreed to serve as interim pastor for this congregation and I was glad to connect with them for an update on their ministry. We always love to share the good news of lives being changed by the Gospel! Pastor Duane Cragun passed along this photo from the baptism service held on May 7 at Brinker Heights Wesleyan Church in Marion. Praise the Lord for lives being #MadeNew! Rev. Don Bayne and the team at New Carlisle Wesleyan Church continue to see the church rebounding and lives being changed. On Sunday, May 14, they celebrated 4 baptisms and an infant dedication. Praise the Lord for His blessing on their ministry! Pastors, just a gentle reminder that your ASR (Annual Service Report) and LCSR (Local Church Statistical Report) are both due on May 20. The ASR is required for continued appointment as a minister in the Crossroads District. You can finish yours today in about 15 minutes. Here’s the link: https://www.wesleyan.org/twchub As we prepare for District Conference, we have created a form for each local church to submit the names of those elected as Lay Delegates to District Conference as well as the Local Church Officers who will be serving this conference year. This form may also be used to update any staff appointment information for the district. Please CLICK HERE to submit those details by May 30th. Please remember that only the Local Church Conference (not the LBA) can elect delegates to district conference and it is prudent to elect at least 1 or 2 alternate delegates. Keep on making a difference in the only cause that counts for eternity! Your servant in Christ, Mark Gorveatte Crossroads District Superintendent Please join us in praying for a fresh move of God among our next generation of Wesleyan leaders who will be gathering in Cincinnati this December. There will be helpful seminars and workshops for pastors and parents so please make every effort to attend! Sunday morning, May 7, Sherry and I had the privilege of worshiping with Pastor Gawin Anderson and the team at Indianapolis Divine Direction. Pastor Gawin is in his first year of leadership for this congregation situated on 46th Street, between College Avenue and Keystone Avenue. Following the morning service, Pastor Gawin invited me to chair their Local Church Conference. It was encouraging to hear the progress that they’re making after the pandemic and the recent pastoral transition. If I understand the history correctly, the congregation was originally planted by Rev. Eugene and Phyllis Ramsey in the former Trinity Wesleyan Church building and was known as Northside Wesleyan Church. Mother Norma Grayson, one of the earliest members now attending for 45 years, shared some of her memories with me about the Ramsey’s effective ministry. The church continues to impact its neighborhood with children’s ministry and a food pantry. Please pray for Pastor Anderson and his family as they serve this changing community. Sunday evening, I joined with Rev. Dr. Rich and Rev. Carol Schenck to chair the LCC (Local Church Conference) for Circle of Hope Network. You may remember that the Lakeview Wesleyan Church in Noblesville was already hosting Rey de Gloria and an inner city ministry known as Bethel Outreach Mission when they agreed to bring on Anderson Central and Beech Grove Wesleyan to form the Circle of Hope Network. This network was formed just before the pandemic and played a key role of helping these congregations through those difficult years. One of the celebration points last evening was the unanimous vote of the LCC to relaunch the Anderson campus as a developing church under the direction of the DBA. Dr. Rich has also been leading our district’s multi-cultural ministry initiative and Circle of Hope is modeling that with a pastoral staff that includes ordained African American and Latino Wesleyan ministers. I’m always glad to make time for prospective church planters, so it was fun to connect with Pastor Michael Hewitt and the Caraballos last week. Janiel and Leana will be joining the Muncie Rising Hope team for a church planting residency this year as they prayerfully prepare for the possibility of launching a new multi-ethnic church in Anderson next year. The remainder of my week included coaching conversations and connections with a variety of amazing leaders: Dr. David Drury (micro-church planter), Rev. Mike Colaw (multi-site church leader), Rev. Matt Ohime (rural church revitalizer), Dr. Mike Brown (NGO leader serving in Ukraine), Rev. Jon Noggle (small town church revitalizer), Dr. Chris Bounds (Dean of the School of Theology and Ministry at Indiana Wesleyan University), Rev. Neftali Lopez (Circuit Rider) and Rev. Grace Lopez (FLAMA Coordinator). We are blessed with a great team! I dropped in at Indiana Wesleyan University on Saturday morning as Never 2 Young weekend was wrapping up. Congratulations and thank you again to Rev. Charlie Alcock and his amazing team that hosted more than 1000 middle school students from across the midwest. Thank you also to our many youth pastors and sponsors who brought their students and made this event possible. I also had the opportunity to drop in on Rev. Trevor O’Dell and the team at Lancaster Wesleyan Church. They were hosting their annual “Blessing of the Bikes” which included a free lunch and a ride together. Pastor O’Dell is completing his service with LWC and will be joining Pastor Noah Farmer’s team at Gas City Eastview Wesleyan Church as the worship leader. Lancaster Wesleyan Church has called Rev. Ron Forsythe to be their next pastor. We are delighted to welcome Pastor Ron and Rita Forsythe back to the Crossroads District from their ministry in Florida. We love sharing the news of baptisms from across our district family. Pastor Matthew Trexler and the team at River Church were planning on six baptisms yesterday morning. The invitation was extended and 16 more people made their profession of faith in Christ public through baptism for a total of 22. Praise the Lord for lives being #MadeNew! You may recall the exciting news that Gas City Eastview celebrated six baptisms on April 30 but that’s not the end of the story. The next day, Assistant Pastor Ken Dykhoff received a call from someone who had watched the baptism service online and wanted to take that next step of discipleship. Pastor Noah Farmer and Ken drove to Herb’s home and had the privilege of celebrating his baptism on Monday, May 1! We enjoy celebrating educational milestones in our ministry family. Congratulations to Rev. Dr. Craig Thurmon, pastor of The Encounter Assembly and Crossroads District Secretary. Dr. Thurmon graduated this weekend with his PhD in Organizational Leadership from Columbia International University in South Carolina. Congratulations are also in order for Dr. Josh Lavender and Megan Christine, his fiancee, on the happy occasion of their engagement. Dr. Lavender serves as the lead worship pastor on staff with Rev. Michael Colaw at Indianapolis Trinity Wesleyan Church. The FY2023 conference year concluded on April 30. While the fiscal year closed on April 30, USF (United Stewardship Fund) contributions for that period can be received until Tuesday, May 10, to be credited toward your 100% participation. Pastors have access to their online LCSR (local church statistical report) and the due date for timely completion is May 20. That is also the date for pastors to complete their Annual Service Report (ASR). Just a reminder that a completed ASR is required for continued appointment as a minister in the Crossroads District. You can finish yours today in about 15 minutes. Here’s the link: https://www.wesleyan.org/twchub Please remember that only the Local Church Conference (not the LBA) can elect delegates to district conference and it is prudent to elect at least 1 alternate delegate for each one allotted. For friends and family of the ordination candidates who want to join us for the celebration of ordination, please note that seating will begin at 10:15 and the service will begin promptly at 10:30. Keep on making a difference in the only cause that counts for eternity! Your servant in Christ, Mark Gorveatte Crossroads District Superintendent Please join us in praying for a fresh move of God among our next generation of Wesleyan leaders who will be gathering in Cincinnati this December. There will be helpful seminars and workshops for pastors and parents so make please every effort to attend! |
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