Sunday, July 21, I drove over to Sheridan to worship with Pastor Scott McDermid and the team at Six Points Wesleyan Church. One of their delegates to the district conference gave an update on our meeting to the congregation with a strong affirmation of the work we’re doing together as partner churches in The Wesleyan Church. Pastor Scott preached the first sermon in a new message series on the life of Gideon. Six Points Church was blessed with six more baptisms yesterday as an entire family publicly professed their faith in Christ. Praise God for lives being #MadeNew! Sunday evening, Sherry and I were privileged to attend the opening service of this year’s Fairmount Family Camp. Led by a great team including Pastor Jeff Luedtke, Pastor Rob Tippey, and Executive Director Krista Brown, the camp opened with the tabernacle nearly filled to capacity. Dr. Jim Dunn, president of Oklahoma Wesleyan University (and a proud 1984 graduate of Mississinewa High School) brought the message of the evening from the call of Samuel and the importance of receiving God’s Word. Dr. Dunn will be joined in the preaching rotation by Rev. Moe Diggs. Services begin each evening at 6:30 and I know you’ll be encouraged if you’re able to attend. Sherry and I arrived home from our summer break on Friday. Our time away included visiting Sherry’s brother and his family in Louisiana. Then we traveled to Destin, Florida to welcome our newest grandchild, Isaac. He was born on Monday, July 15, and we were there to hold him on Tuesday, July 16. We’re thanking God that Elizabeth, his mother, and baby Isaac are both thriving. Isaac is grandchild #5! Saturday evening, I was able to attend the last evening service of Frankfort Family Camp. Rev. Tom Schmidt, former pastor of The Branch Wesleyan Church in Lafayette and retired DS of North Michigan District, and Dr. Mark Wilson, longtime friend and professor of religion at Southern Wesleyan University, were the camp evangelists. Dr. Wilson preached from Psalm 84 on our pilgrimage with God. Pastor Allen and Grace Gross (Cicero United Wesleyan) led the youth ministry track. Our friends Phil and Rhonda Foley do a great job leading this ministry. I’ve heard great reports from Fairmount Kids Camp. Rev. Michele Henry (Brookhaven Wesleyan Church) led an amazing team of volunteers in providing this life-changing experience for children. They registered more than 200 campers this year. Special thanks to several of our district pastors who volunteered to serve at this camp! Baptism reports continue to come in from across our district. Plymouth Wesleyan Church baptized 8 new believers on Sunday morning, July 14! Marion Lakeview Wesleyan Church baptized five new believers on that same Sunday, July 14. They also had another believer who reaffirmed their baptism. Praise God for life change! Pastor Sam Maddox and the team at Albion Wesleyan Church hosted another community block party distributing backpacks with school supplies for neighborhood children. They also celebrated two more baptisms in the parking lot! Pastor Terry Vaughn and the team at The Bridge Urban Church in Mishawaka celebrated three more baptisms on Sunday, July 21. These were three young men off the streets who had been reached by another young man that Pastor Terry has been discipling. God is on the move! Mark your calendars and plan to attend the Crossroads District “Ordination and Celebration of Ministry” on Sunday, September 15, at Lakeview Wesleyan Church in Marion. Ordained ministers will meet at 4:30 pm for the group photo with this year’s ordinands and final directions for the service. The service will begin promptly at 5:00 pm with a celebration of our retiring ministers, decadal years of service awards, ordinations, and a reception for all. We’re excited to partner with our friend Shawn Lovejoy and his organization, Courage to Lead, to offer this special leadership training event for pastors and business leaders on September 17. Before launching his coaching and consulting ministry, Shawn was both a successful commercial real estate developer and an effective church planter. We’re grateful for Shawn’s willingness to provide a 30% discount for our district pastors. Use the discount code “Wesleyan” when you register and let’s enjoy this day together learning to be more courageous leaders. https://www.couragetolead.com/oneday Our prayers and condolences are extended to Rev. Theo Griffin (Brown’s Chapel) on the death of his brother last week and to Rev. Scott Rhyno (Waterline Church) on the death of his father yesterday afternoon. Both of these men who died shared our hope in the triumphant resurrection of Christ, but we do pray for their families who grieve their loss. Thank you for all you do to advance God’s Kingdom!! What you do matters for eternity! Your servant in Christ, Mark Gorveatte Crossroads District Superintendent P.S. Pastors, you received direct communication from Michael Wood earlier this month about special events for you and your spouse. That email also contained the information for property improvement projects matching grants. Remember that the application deadline is August 31. Comments are closed.
|
Archives
February 2025
|