Rising Hope, Parkview, and Baptisms!

Sunday morning, March 3, I was blessed to be back on the road connecting with leaders in our Crossroads District. My first stop was in Muncie at Rising Hope Church. Pastor Mike and Kim Hewitt just returned on Saturday from visiting Rising Hope’s church planting partners in Spain. I’m grateful for the way that Pastor Mike leads by example and champions church planting in our district.
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Janiel and Leanna Carabello brought the morning message on parenting. The Carabello’s are “church planters in residence” learning from and serving with Rev. Mike and Kim Hewitt as they prepare to launch EXIT Church in Anderson in the fall. It was good to connect with them again today and I’m excited to see what God has planned for the new multi-ethnic church they are planting.

My second stop of the day was in Chesterfield at Parkview Wesleyan Church. Pastor Clifton Ashlock led the baptism as 9 individuals publicly professed their faith in Christ. To the best of their knowledge, this is the most individuals baptized in a single service in the history of Parkview Church. Praise God for lives being #MadeNew!
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Dr. Joe Harmon was the guest speaker for the day at Parkview and he brought a challenging message from Ephesians 6 on the importance of putting on our spiritual armor for the battle we face. Pray for the team at Parkview as their search team seeks the next pastor to lead this church forward in reaching their mission field.
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Speaking of baptisms, Pastor Sam Maddox and the team at Albion Wesleyan Church were excited to celebrate another baptism on Sunday. The woman who was baptized first came to the church through the influence of her granddaughter. We join them in celebrating another new life in Christ!

Pastor Noah Farmer and the team at Gas City Eastview Wesleyan Church welcomed 20 new members this morning. This group was welcomed in the second service. According to the initial report, this is the largest group of new members welcomed on one day in the recent history of the church. God is on the move!
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It was an honor and privilege to travel to Bangladesh with Dr. Aron Willis and Dr. Richard Schenck. Both of these men have invested deeply over the past decade in the Wesleyan work in this mission field. This training event (using church planting leadership materials now translated into the Bangla language) was the culmination of the vision that Dr. Willis had many years ago. Rev. Tom Ensz and Rev. Joshe Bose (pictured below with Dr. Willis) will continue to provide Global Partners oversight to this ministry in addition to their other responsibilities in south Asia. Dr. Rich Schenck and the team at Noblesville Circle of Hope are committed to continuing the focus on church planting in the capital city of Dhaka. Please pray for God’s blessing on these important initiatives.
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This week, I’ll be joining other Crossroads District leaders in Orlando for Exponential 2024. This premier church planting conference brings together over 5,000 leaders, including nearly 500 Wesleyans from across the US and Canada. Dr Wayne Schmidt, our General Superintendent, will host a group of district superintendents on Monday afternoon in advance of the event. For those unable to attend in person, you can stream the main sessions March 5-7 at the following link: https://exponential.org/live
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For those attending The Heartland Gathering, the full schedule has just been posted on the conference website. This conference is designed specifically for pastoral families. The event will provide encouragement, renewal, and resources to strengthen your family and ministry. Your family registration includes 3 nights lodging at The Ramsey Hotel, a hot breakfast buffet for your family members each morning, and all conference sessions, including nursery and full programming for children. We look forward to seeing as many of our pastoral families as possible April 2-5 in Pigeon Forge. For those who haven’t registered yet, you only have a few days left! ​
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On April 11-13, 2024, College Wesleyan Church will host the first-ever Marketplace Multipliers Conference. The goal of this conference is to inspire and empower professionals to effectively live out their faith in the workplace. You will hear from clergy and laity alike—practitioners on the front lines of this movement, and those in the trenches. You can learn more about the conference and register for the event at this website:
https://collegewes.com/multipliersconference
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Join us for the OCHLOS Conference, April 13-14, 2024 at Southview Wesleyan Church in Indianapolis. 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.
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Save the date! Our 2024 Crossroads District Conference will be held on Saturday, June 29th at Lakeview Wesleyan Church in Marion. This annual gathering is a wonderful time of celebration, inspiration, and Kingdom connection across our district family. Mark your calendars now and make plans to join us!

Please continue to keep our churches preparing for upcoming pastoral votes on March 3rd and 10th in prayer as they discern God’s direction and will during this process.​

​Keep on making a difference in the cause that counts for eternity!

Your servant in Christ,

Mark Gorveatte

​Crossroads District Superintendent