Westfield ONE, Hurricane Relief, and Baptisms!

Sunday morning, October 13, I had the privilege of worshiping with Pastor Andy Riemersma and the team at ONE Church in Westfield. These are exciting days at ONE Church as they prepare to relaunch ministry in the new Westfield YMCA in January. This young church has already baptized 13 new believers in this conference year. Pray that God will continue to bless this ministry that is so passionately committed to reaching everyone in their community who is still unreached.
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Sunday afternoon, I was back in Marion to check in with Rev. Don Bayne (New Carlisle Wesleyan Church) and the team heading for North Carolina. Thank you to every church that has already generously donated and to those churches that will be donating as the second semi-trailer leaves from Plymouth next week.
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We prayed with Pastor Don and the other seven volunteers including Rev. Andrew Colaw (New Carlisle Wesleyan) and Rev. Ben Jones (Beaver Creek Wesleyan) who are traveling together to serve in cleanup operations over the next three days. Special thanks to the management team at Keller Trucking for providing the semi-trailer and to Rev. Wes Munsell for volunteering his time to drive roundtrip to make this crisis response possible, transporting nearly 35,000 lbs of supplies!​
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Special thanks also to Rev. Christian Kelly and Marion Lakeview Wesleyan Church for graciously serving as the collection site for this initiative.
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This year, I committed to our DBA that I would make recruiting visits to all five of our Wesleyan colleges. My first stop was at Kingswood University back in September and this past week I was on campus at IWU for three days. Dr. Mike Tapper welcomed me into his Systematic Theology class on Tuesday.
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Dr. David Vardaman welcomed me into his Church Leadership class that same day and I enjoyed the guest lecturer, Dr. Chris Williams (Lakeview Wesleyan), who made a masterful presentation on leading change in the church.
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I was back on Wednesday for a lunch meeting with students and faculty. Pastors, if you’ve not been on campus lately, take time to connect with our professors and students in the School of Theology and Ministry (STM).
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My last day on campus concluded with a time of questions and answers in Dr. Eddy Shigley’s course on Evangelism and Discipleship. It was encouraging to catch up with so many faculty and students from the Crossroads District.
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Other meetings last week included meeting with the LBA at Six Points Church in Sheridan, signing closing documents for a district property in Kokomo, and a lunch meeting on Friday with our new district treasurer, Rev. Scott Rhyno.

I was delighted to host a couple from Kingswood University for a weekend vision tour as they consider ministry opportunities. On Saturday, we dropped in at the FUEL conference, checked out Waterline’s new facility in Pendleton with Pastor Rhyno, and finished the day with supper in Union City with Assistant District Superintendent Grace Lopez and Rev. Neftali Lopez. We also dropped in to visit Pastor Claudia Ruiz Wilson and the Casa de Oracion campus.
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We continue to rejoice as stories come in from across our Crossroads District where God is changing lives. Pastor Noah Farmer and the team at Eastview Wesleyan Church dedicated three children and baptized four new believers yesterday. Praise the Lord!
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Pastor Sam Maddox and the team at Albion Wesleyan Church are celebrating one more public profession of faith through water baptism. Pastor Sam texted me “God is on the move!”
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Dr. Chris Williams and the team at Lakeview Wesleyan Church in Marion celebrated as four more new believers stepped out in obedience to be baptized in water. Lives #MadeNew!
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​One special note from the Lakeview baptism was having Rev. Duane Seitz (Silver Lake Wesleyan) come back to baptize his great-granddaughter, Mallie Fritch. What a special blessing for both of them!

Prayer is requested for Pastor Randy Yaryan (Winchester Wesleyan) who fell from a ladder last week and severely injured his back. The surgery procedure on Saturday included 8 screws and 2 rods. Doctors anticipate a 6-8 weeks recovery period. Thank you in advance for your prayers!

​Thank you for all you do to make a difference for eternity!
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​Your servant in Christ,

​Mark Gorveatte
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​Crossroads District Superintendent​
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P.S. All credentialed ministers appointed to local church service are invited to save the date of December 7 for our Christmas gathering. This Saturday brunch will be hosted on the campus of Indiana Wesleyan University and will feature a Christmas concert from the IWU Chorale. Seating is limited, and a link to RSVP will be sent out this week!