Team Update - 9.25.17

Maximizing Impact Is In Full Swing

The Maximizing Impact Team, led by Paul James, held the first consultation weekend of the fiscal year at Etna Avenue Wesleyan Church in Huntington.

The weekend kicked off on Friday, September 15. The team interviewed Pastor Tom Bradley and a dozen leaders from the church. That evening, a focus group of 11 individuals shared their perspective on their church. The interviews and focus group, along with the substantial self-study report the church submitted to the team, form the basis for the consultation report.

Saturday was a day of training in key principles for church health and missional ministry. Over 20 leaders attended this training, and as is often the case, God’s Spirit moved in a powerful way during that time. All those present were challenged and inspired to give themselves fully to the work of making more and better disciples.

The weekend concluded on Sunday with the morning worship service and the reading of the consultation report. The church is now in a time of prayerful consideration. On October 1, the church will have a town hall meeting to discuss the report, and on October 15 the congregation will vote to determine whether or not to proceed with the prescriptions offered in the report.

The Maximizing Impact Team is busy this fall with consultation weekends scheduled for Frankfort First (September 29-October 1), Elwood Central (October 13-15), and Jonesboro Main Street (October 27-29). Lift these congregations in prayer as they engage this process to move their church to the next level of health and missional effectiveness.

If your church is interested in scheduling a Maximizing Impact Weekend, we only have two weekends left for the 2017-2018 fiscal year. Contact Chris Williams to learn more about the process and to reserve one of the remaining dates.
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Maximizing Impact Huddle

This past week we launched the Maximizing Impact Huddle. This is a gathering for lead pastors of churches that have hosted a Maximizing Impact Weekend. The huddle will meet a few times each year for a time of fellowship, training, and encouragement.

On Wednesday, September 20, we hosted our first huddle at Eastview Wesleyan Church in Gas City. The group shared ministry updates and spent time resourcing each other with ideas and best practices for attracting new guests to church and developing their connection ministries. We also spent time discussing the implementation of the Accountable Leadership Model as a way to align the organizational structure and ministry programming with the mission of the church.

We were privileged to have Rev. Rick Kavanaugh from the Trinity Wesleyan Church in Greenville, Ohio and Rev. Rick Deisler from Whiteford Wesleyan Church in Ottawa Lake, Michigan join us for this event. Both of these pastors have gone through the Maximizing Impact consultation in their respective districts. We welcomed their insights and learnings from the process. Rev. Paul James, our lead consultant for Maximizing Impact, also made arrangements to be with us for the day.

Upcoming Regional Gatherings

The Fall Regional Gatherings for pastors and staff of Crossroads District Churches are coming up next week! This is a great opportunity for networking, story-sharing, vision casting, and prayer. At each gathering, those in attendance will receive a free resource created by Tony Morgan from The Unstuck Group. Each person in attendance will also be entered in a drawing to win a free ticket for the 2018 Global Leadership Summit.

If you are a pastor or staff member at a church in the Crossroads District, join us at one of the Regional Gatherings.

Region 1 Fall Gathering
Monday, October 2, 9:00 - 11:30 am
The River Community Church
759 S. Lenfesty Avenue
Marion, IN 46953

Region 2 Fall Gathering
Tuesday, October 3, 1:30 - 3:00 pm
Trinity Church | NE Indy
9709 Allisonville Road
Indianapolis, IN 46250

Region 3 Fall Gathering
Wednesday, October 4, 1:30 - 3:00 pm
The Cross
100 West 3rd Street
Rochester, IN 46975

Exponential Midwest

Join over 50 other Crossroads District pastors and leaders at the Regional Exponential Conference in Chicago on November 7th and 8th. This conference will be an incredible opportunity to connect with other pastors, be inspired in the areas of disciple making and church planting, and enjoy a great time of fellowship. Registration is normally $129 per ticket but through a district grant, is now offered for ONLY $30!

The Crossroads District group is planning to have lunch on site after the conference on Wednesday (included in registration) to debrief and hear a brief word from Dave and John Ferguson, the founders of Exponential!

CLICK HERE to register today. Please note: This offer closes on October 17th.

To reserve your hotel room CLICK HERE. Make sure you use our group code: G-CRDI
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Thank You for Your Hurricane Relief Efforts

Thank you to all of our Crossroads District churches who partnered with World Hope by bringing supplies to World Gospel Mission earlier in September! 10 pallets of supplies are on their way to Port Arthur, Texas to provide assistance in the Hurricane Harvey relief efforts.

Many churches across the district rallied their congregations to support the relief efforts in a variety of ways. Thank you for your sensitivity and responsiveness to be the body of Christ in the midst of tragedy and crisis!