 Sunday morning, Rev. Nathan Richardson and the team at Southview Wesleyan Church in Indianapolis welcomed me to bring greetings from our Crossroads District team and to share the morning message. I appreciated the warm welcome and was encouraged to hear about the new partnership that the church has initiated to serve as an emergency shelter for the area Red Cross.  Sunday afternoon, Pastor Matthew Trexler convened the Local Church Conference of The River Church in Marion. Special guest Dr. Chris Williams shared the story of how God has been working at Lakeview Wesleyan Church to bring them to the decision point next Sunday of moving into full partnership with The River. The LCC approved the recommendation of the LBA, pending the vote of Lakeview Church this coming Sunday, that The River Church would accept responsibility for carrying on the legacy of Lakeview Church. The present day ministries of Lakeview and The River are both extensions of the vision of Rev. Gene Cockrell when he planted Lakeview to reach Grant County for Christ.  Sunday evening, General Superintendent Dr. Wayne Schmidt and friends led an online prayer gathering on Pentecost for The Wesleyan Church. There are wonderful stirrings of revival across the world and we’re praying that God will work powerfully in and through our churches.  Last week began with our district office staff meeting in Marion and then jumping online with our consulting team from the Catapult Group. We’re looking forward to welcoming Doug Paul to our district conference. You can learn more about their team here: https://wearecatapult.org/author/dougpaul/  Coaching conversations last week included Rev. Barry Dixon (Calvary Family Church, Indianapolis), Rev. Aaron Lee (Cultivate Church, LaOtto), and Rev. Dan Fisher (Delphi Wesleyan Church). If you’ve heard me say it once, you’ve probably heard me say it a dozen times, but I was reminded again this week that it really does take all kinds of churches to reach all kinds of people. I’m grateful for each of these faithful pastors leading their churches to impact their communities for Christ! Wednesday evening, the Local Church Conference at Lakeview Church reconvened for a presentation of the LBA proposal and a two-hour opportunity for questions and answers. There will be another Q&A session on Saturday morning, June 14, for those who were unable to attend this past week. Join us in praying that God will make His will known and be glorified in all of these conversations.  Saturday, members of the LBA at Kokomo Southdowns Wesleyan Church joined me online for a meeting. Dr. Mark Rennaker has been serving this congregation since 1993. More recently, Dr. Rennaker has carried this responsibility while also teaching at Indiana Wesleyan University and serving as chair of the Division of Leadership and Followership Studies.  We love to share the stories of baptisms from across our district team. Pastor Rob Tippey and New Journey Community Church celebrated three new believers being baptized. God is on the move!  Dr. Chris Williams and Lakeview Church celebrated two new believers being baptized and one reaffirmation of baptism. Praise God for lives being #MadeNew!  Pastor Trexler and The River Church also celebrated God at work with 15 professions of faith and 23 baptisms. Praise the Lord!  Rev. Rick Carder moved into the lead pastor role at Lancaster Wesleyan Church today. He and Cindy have been serving with Pastor Ron Forsythe. When Pastor Ron announced his retirement, the LBA reached out to Rev. Carder about leading LWC into the future. We’re grateful for this positive transition and I look forward to being with them on Sunday evening, June 22, for the official pastoral installation.  Rev. Ty Combs, youth pastor at Trinity Wesleyan Church in Indianapolis, will be the camp evangelist for the new Middle School Camp offered at Fairmount Camp this week. Last year’s youth camp was at full capacity so the Fairmount Camp leaders took a step of faith to launch separate camps this year for middle school and senior high youth. Pray for God’s working in these young lives!  NTS Camp is another positive opportunity serving the students of Crossroads District churches. This year marks the 25th Anniversary of the launch of Never The Same Camp under the leadership of Clint Dupin and Geoff Eckart, two youth pastors from Michigan. 25 years later and thousands of teenagers impacted for eternity. Praise God and pray for this week’s camp!  The calendar for the fall is filling up fast. We are planning three ReEquip Saturdays on September 27, October 25, and November 22. There will be workshops for staff and volunteers who work with children and youth, worship leaders, church treasurers, small group leaders, and pastors. One of the breakouts will be focused on the ethical and practical uses of AI technology. IWU announced that they will be hosting the Wesleyan Holiness Connection for a Pastors & Church Leaders Day on Tuesday, September 23. Here’s the link for full detail: https://advancement.indwes.edu/register/PCL2025  The Wesleyan Church is hosting regional youth events this fall with the closest one coming to Grand Rapids on Friday and Saturday, October 24-25. Our own Andy Riemersma is one of the featured artists. For more information, here’s the link: wesleyan.org/empoweredtour2025  SAVE THE DATES:
Keep on making a difference in the cause that counts for eternity! Your servant in Christ, Mark Gorveatte Crossroads District Superintendent P.S. Save the date and make plans to join Wesleyan pastors and their spouses from across North America at The Gathering, January 5-8, 2028 in Orlando, Florida.  Comments are closed.
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