St. Stephen, Trinity East, and No Regrets

Sunday morning, February 6, I had the privilege of worshiping with Pastor Ervin Webster and the congregation at St. Stephen Christian Church. Pastor Webster led this independent congregation to become part of the Crossroads District and we’ve enjoyed wonderful fellowship together over the past 5 years. Inner-city churches in Indianapolis have been deeply impacted by the pandemic. I commended Pastor Webster and his team for the way that they have persevered and continued on in their ministry. They don’t have a large membership but they do have a powerful music ministry. Please remember Rev. Ervin and Karen Webster in prayer as they lead this ministry forward on the eastside of Indianapolis.

The worship service at St. Stephen begins at 11:45 so my schedule allowed for me to drop in at the East Fishers campus of Trinity Wesleyan Church for their 10 a.m. service. In addition to a great sermon by Pastor Mike Colaw and excellent music by their team, I enjoyed catching up with Dr. Ed Hoover, former DBA member, and Mrs. Barefoot, widow of Rev. Howard Barefoot and mother of General Conference delegate Sharon Cady.
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​The Trinity Wesleyan Church family is grieving the loss of Rev. Dr. Wayne Caldwell who passed away last Wednesday, February 2. Our prayers are with Mrs. Joan Caldwell, their family, and the broader Wesleyan denominational family who cherish the legacy of this beloved teacher, author, and denominational leader. Funeral services will be held on Friday, February 18, at 10:00 a.m. at Trinity East Church, 11721 Olio Road, in Fishers. Visitation will be held prior to the service (9:00 -10:00 am). You may view the full obituary here:
https://www.tributearchive.com/obituaries/23902950/wayne-e-caldwell

Sunday afternoon, I drove on to Lafayette to connect with Rev. Joe Park and the Local Board of Administration (LBA) at Evergreen Wesleyan Church. Reverend Park has faithfully pastored his congregation since 1974 and they are experiencing some of their best days of ministry. It was a joy to conduct the extended call review with the LBA and to receive their unanimous affirmation of Rev. Park’s ministry at Evergreen!

Last Monday, I was in Marion to meet with our district staff in the afternoon and then with Pastor Bob McHenry and LBA at Nelson Street Wesleyan Church in the evening. Tuesday included coaching conversations with Pastor Aldean Pablo in Roanoke and with Pastor Mark Atkinson in Gas City. Wednesday, I met with Rev. Mike and Kim Hewitt for lunch and then met with Rev. Rochelle and Travis Jenkins via Zoom for our annual coaching conversation.

Another highlight for me on Wednesday was meeting with the Heartland Region district superintendents via Zoom in the afternoon. Rev. Les Crossfield (Greater Ohio), Rev. Aaron Sherman (KY-TN), and Dr. Mark Eckart (Indiana South) are colleagues and friends. It was good to catch up with these brothers and pray together. Registrations for the Heartland Region Gathering are strong with 359 registered guests, not including our staff. I’m looking forward to our time together in Pigeon Forge on March 22-24.
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Like most of you, we stayed home and enjoyed the snowstorm from Wednesday evening through Friday morning. Special thanks to Pastor Brent Miller who does a great job of getting us plowed out! On Saturday morning, I joined men from Laketon Wesleyan, The River Church, and several other area congregations for the “No Regrets” Men’s Conference hosted at Greentown Wesleyan Church. It was my first time to this event and I was encouraged by the resources that they provide for ongoing men’s groups in the local church. (https://www.menwithnoregrets.org/) Special thanks to Rev. Eric Roemer and his team for providing this event and for their hospitality!
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The Crossroads District Youth All-Nighter is back and open to all of our 100+ churches and youth ministries across the district. The All-Nighter will be held Friday, February 18, in Fort Wayne at Pathway Community Church with registration beginning at 6:30 pm. For more information and to register, visit: https://districtallnighter2022.eventbrite.com
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We’re looking forward to our next Crossroads District (Region 2) Prayer Gathering on February 20, 6 p.m., at Circle of Hope Church in Noblesville. Dr. Rich and Rev. Carol Schenck will be our host pastors. Assistant DS Mike Colaw, Dr. Jim Lo, and Rev. Neftali Lopez will also be joining me in leading our service. We would love to have you join us for this hour of unified prayer as we seek God and His anointing on our leaders, our ministries, and our nation.
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​Pastor Aldean Pablo checked in to let us know that two new families returned from last week’s relaunch service at ARISE Church in Roanoke. He was also praising God for the one person who asked for prayer to receive Jesus Christ as Lord.

Pastor Andy Riemersma passed along the encouraging news that 30 people attended the “Next Steps” class that they offered yesterday. Two more people asked for prayer to receive Jesus Christ as Lord. In-person attendance has averaged 211 for the first three weeks.

Pastor John Hannan called me yesterday with the exciting word that 4 new families visited Union City CrossRoads Church for their first time yesterday. This was as a direct result of the compassion ministry Pastor John has been coordinating for a needy family in the community.
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Let’s keep each other in prayer and make a special effort to remember these church planters and their new congregations that have launched in the middle of a pandemic!

Your servant in Christ,

Mark Gorveatte

Crossroads District Superintendent
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P.S. – The 2022 FUEL Conference that was snowed out last week is still coming to Muncie but is now rescheduled for April 21-22! Please encourage your youth and children’s ministry leaders to invest in their personal & ministry development by attending. For questions, email District Youth President Jessica Folz at [email protected]. For more info on FUEL, visit:
www.wesleyan.org/fuel