Worshiping at Nelson Street and Celebrating the Life of a Hero

Sherry and I had the privilege of worshiping with Pastor Steve & Patsy Fletcher at Nelson Street Wesleyan Church in Marion. Pastor Steve has been leading the congregation in building bridges to the neighborhood through an addiction recovery group and their community gardens. After the service and a brief stand-up meeting with the LBA, Sherry and I hosted the Fletchers for lunch. Please remember Pastor Steve in your prayers as he continues to serve while working with significant health challenges.
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On Sunday evening, Sherry and I joined with Dr. Rich and Rev. Carol Schenck to welcome Joshe Bose, National Superintendent of The Wesleyan Church in Bangladesh. Joshe is back in Indiana to complete the final intensive in his MDiv program at Wesley Seminary. Dr. Aron Willis, our retired District Superintendent, will be traveling to Bangladesh this spring with Dr. Dennis Jackson to ordain this gifted leader who is effectively serving this rapidly-multiplying national church. From orphanages to sports ministry outreach to planting 10 new churches next year, God is on the move in Bangladesh!
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​It was great to reconnect with our district staff on Tuesday for our weekly meeting and lunch after the extended Christmas break. I’m grateful for the ministry partnership we enjoy with Rev. Chris Williams, Roxene Lo and Seth Bye. And please know that we are grateful for your prayers as we seek to serve our growing network of congregations.

Tuesday and Wednesday included a number of email exchanges and phone conversations following up matters from the past several days. Then, on Wednesday, Jon Wiest and I met with another prospective church planter for lunch in Marion.

Thursday, I was in Indy for coaching conversations with Dr. Rich and Rev. Carol Schenck (Noblesville Lakeview Wesleyan), and then with Rev. Dan Heylmann (Grant City Wesleyan). I dropped by HQ in Fishers and enjoyed connecting with Kevin Batman, General Treasurer, and Elaine Johnson, HR Director. Thursday evening, I met with one of our former ministers to answer questions about the credential reinstatement process.

Friday morning, I met with Daniel Seitz, Director of Life Center Counseling in Marion. We are looking at ways to partner to better serve our district pastors and congregations. Rev. Dan Walker and I met over lunch. Dan has extensive experience in multi-ethnic ministry and has relocated to Marion from Florida along with Dr. Joanne Solis-Walker, his wife (who is teaching at Wesley Seminary).
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On Saturday morning, I enjoyed partnering with Pastor Ben Parker and speaking to the monthly Men’s Ministry breakfast at Back Creek Wesleyan Church near Fairmount. The food was good. The fellowship was even better. Praying as these guys lead in their families, their congregations, and their community.

Thank you to the many ministers of the Crossroads District who joined together to honor the memory and support the family of Rev. Dr. Wingrove Taylor, founding General Superintendent of the Caribbean General Conference. This historic home-going celebration was hosted by Pastor Mike Colaw and the team at Trinity Wesleyan Church in Indianapolis where Dr. Taylor had worshiped in recent years. Dr. JoAnne Lyon officiated and brought the message from Psalm 1. One of the many highlights of the service was the extended Taylor family coming together as a choir to sing “Total Praise.”
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This is the time of year when many of our local churches plan to welcome people into their annual membership covenant renewal. Rev. Kyle Horton and his team at Three Rivers Church in Fort Wayne do this on the first Sunday of the new year as Pastor Kyle casts vision and they share together in communion. Here’s the Facebook reminder they shared with their congregation:
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​Just a reminder that this annual membership affirmation needs to be completed by all Wesleyan churches before the end of the 2018 conference year, April 30. Only those individuals who have newly joined or reaffirmed their membership are to be listed for voting purposes and reported in your annual statistical report. The Wesleyan Church has provided a number of helpful resources for this process at the following website:
https://www.wesleyan.org/aligningmembershipdiscipleship-5408

​Join us this Friday, January 12, from 1 – 3 p.m., as Dr. Jim Lo and our Crossroads District intercession team welcome us to College Wesleyan Church for a Crossroads District prayer gathering called: Barriers and Breakthroughs.

• “Fervent prayers produce phenomenal results.” ~ Woodrow Kroll
• “The greatest tragedy of life is not unanswered prayer, but unoffered prayer.” ~ F.B.Meyer
• “When we work, we work. When we pray, God works.” ~ Hudson Taylor
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​We need fresh anointing for our ministries in 2018 as together we reach out to the 3 million religiously-unaffiliated people here in Indiana. May God empower us anew for effective disciple-making in this corner of God’s harvest field!

Your servant in Christ,
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Mark Gorveatte