Team Wisconsin Update 8/28/07

The Janesville leadership team met again on Sunday following the worship service to talk about vision and work on the characteristics and strengths of the next pastor. Reenie and I were there to lead the worship service and preach. We also had a chance to tour the parsonage. The congregation is doing well in the transition. Pastor Richard Concklin is stepping in to give part-time interim leadership to the congregation as they search for their new pastor. Richard and Jan have done an excellent job serving in short-term interim roles in several churches in Wisconsin.

Monday evening I met the second time with the Sand Lake board, working with them as they transition. They have also received the announcement that Pastor Jeff Bond is planning to leave Sand Lake and go on staff with Jim Maness later this fall. Jeff and Lori Bond began attending the Sand Lake church, started participating in the worship, felt a call to ministry, went on staff at the church, completed his ministerial education, and was ordained this summer. He and Lori will be missed by the congregation and the rest of the Wisconsin team. We wish them the very best in this new ministry venture.

Continue to pray for Nicaragua as the leadership searches for the right property to establish a district ministry center in Managua. As the work grows, the dream is to have a district office, a training center, a local church, a medical center and a micro-business facility. The plan is to purchase a piece of property, then have construction teams work alongside the Nicaraguans in building the facilities.

We are also asking individual churches or people to sponsor a student (minister or lay) to be educated for one year. $336 pays for one student to take at least three classes for one year. Missionaries Mike Knox and Jim Eckhardt are developing and teaching the classes. Our goal is 20 scholarships.

Mark your calendar for November 3 or 4 for an exciting and encouraging day of training and motivation for effective spiritual formation in our local churches. Dr. Jim Dunn and the other spiritual formation department heads will be in Wisconsin on these two days. It is for pastors, adult, youth and children spiritual formation directors and teachers – whether Sunday School, small group, or other leaders. The southwest and southeast regions of the state will meet on Saturday, November 3 in Madison at the Crosspoint Nazarene church. The north region will meet on Sunday November 4 afternoon/early evening at the Spooner Wesleyan church.

Dates for your Information

September 1-4 South Carolina
September 5-13 Nicaragua Medical Team trip
September 9 Woodland visit
September 16 Washington, MI
September 23 Drop in visit
September 25-27 District Flame Extension Class (Intro. to OT)
September 26 Nicaragua Partnership Committee
September 30 Safe Harbor visit

October 7 Sand Lake visit
October 9-10 OWU Visit, GS/DS Meetings
October 12-17 Vacation
October 21 Spooner visit
October 23 DBDM
October 27 DBA
October 28 Drop in visit

Team Wisconsin Update

Pastor Josh Hilty and Jamie are doing a great job leading Baraboo through a refocusing process. In addition to ministering to the people of the existing congregation, they are working hard to connect with new and younger people in the community. There are some new people connecting with Christ and the church and being discipled by the Hiltys. They have done a significant amount of work developing a plan for upgrading the facilities – new furniture, lights, etc. After a wonderful lunch prepared by Jamie, we went over the prices and plans. A couple of weeks ago a team of adults and teens came from Brookhaven Wesleyan to help with a VBS and help with painting. They did a great job and were a huge encouragement to the congregation and the Hiltys.

News and Notes

Please pray especially for the people in the southwestern part of Wisconsin. Some places received six to seven inches of rain. In addition to roads and bridges damaged, there has been significant crop damage, resulting in loss of income for a lot of farmers. Wesleyan churches and the people in this part of the state are doing well, except for more than a few basements.

Continue to pray for Nicaragua as the leadership searches for the right property to establish a district ministry center. As the work grows, it is becoming a necessity to have a district office, a training center, and a central place for the district to call home. The property could also house a central church in Managua. We are asking for the funds to help with the purchase. The plan is to purchase a piece of property, then have construction teams work alongside the Nicaraguans in building the facilities.

We are also asking individual churches or people to sponsor a student (minister or lay) to be educated for one year. $336 pays for one student to take at least three classes for one year. Missionaries Mike Knox and Jim Eckhardt are developing and teaching the classes. Our goal is 20 scholarships.

Mark your calendar for November 3 or 4 for an exciting and encouraging day of training and motivation for effective spiritual formation in our local churches. Dr. Jim Dunn and the other spiritual formation department heads will be in Wisconsin on these two days. It is for pastors, adult, youth and children spiritual formation directors and teachers – whether Sunday School, small group, or other leaders. The southwest and southeast regions of the state will meet on Saturday, November 3 in Madison at the Crosspoint Nazarene church. The north region will meet on Sunday November 4 afternoon/early evening at the Spooner Wesleyan church.

Dates for your Information

August 26 Janesville visit/meet with Board
August 27 Sand Lake Board

September 1-4 South Carolina
September 5-13 Nicaragua Medical Team trip
September 9 Woodland visit
September 16 Washington, MI
September 25-27 District Flame Extension Class (Intro. to OT)
September 26 Nicaragua Partnership Committee
September 30 Safe Harbor visit

Team Wisconsin Update

Sunday morning I found myself, along with Reenie, in Mukwonago, a beautiful bedroom community southwest of Milwaukee. It was their annual outdoor service and picnic. New assistant Pastor Stevan Sheets preached a good message challenging us to “stand out” as believers. Stevan, Jessica and their daughter just moved from northern Indiana about a month ago to lead the student ministries. Steven also has the distinction of being a roommate of our son Brent at IWU and one of the five ‘compadres’. It was a great day, even though the strong storms blew the tent (and it wasn’t a little one) down the night before. Pastor Gerry and Wenda Krupp, along with Pastor Stevan and the leadership team are excited about the future and working hard to make it happen.

Saturday evening Reenie and I had dinner with Jason and Alya Butler at their home and caught up on the good things that are happening with the preliminary work for a new church plant in north Milwaukee – Transformation City Church. Check out their new website at http://www.transformationcity.org/. Perhaps you would like to get involved by becoming a member of the launch team, pray for them, or give to the ministry. It was an excellent Russian (Alya is from Russia) meal and an encouraging visit.

The Leadership Summit at Willow was an excellent time of training and encouragement on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. There were 15 that attended the one in Chicago and others that attended other satellite sites. Among the speakers were Colin Powell, former president Jimmy Carter, former CEO of Hewlett-Packard Carly Fiorina and British Filmmaker Richard Curtis. John Ortberg, author and pastor from California, hit a home run when he talked about the leader’s great fear – the temptation to give into a substitute or ‘shadow’ mission that will sidetrack the main mission that God has called us to. Each year we give Eagle awards at district conference and this year it was a scholarship to attend the leadership summit.

News and Notes

Pastor Jim Maness has announced his resignation from Sand Lake this past week to his board and congregation. He and Teri and family will be moving to Michigan to take a pastorate there. The move will take place the first of October. Please pray for the Maness family and the congregation during this time of transition. The Manesses have been there for 15 years and were only the 3rd pastor in the church’s 25 years.

Please continue to pray for Bessie Winterberg, Pastor Dwayne Winterberg’s mother. She still has many health complications.

Dates for your Information

August 19 Parkway visit
August 26 Janesville visit

September 1-4 South Carolina
September 5-13 Nicaragua Medical Team trip
September 9 Woodland visit
September 16 Washington, MI
September 25-27 District Flame Extension Class (Intro. to OT)
September 26 Nicaragua Partnership Committee
September 30 Safe Harbor visit

Team Wisconsin Update 8/7/07

Saturday afternoon was spent with Pastor Daniel Munoz and his congregation, Iglesia Cristiana Wesleyana, in Milwaukee. The children, coming off of their VBS week, performed. Two Christian clowns from Puerto Rico led the music and program. Framaris and her staff did an outstanding job with the children. They went every morning for 4 hours, doing crafts, Bible stories, singing, even feeding the children breakfast and lunch. At the service, attended by about 75, we also presented the Eagle award to Pastor Daniel for their growth of 67% this past year. I also had the privilege of officially organizing the church – the first Wesleyan Hispanic congregation in Wisconsin. Afterwards, Reenie and I visited the Munoz’ home and met with the leadership team. Daniel is taking his adult members through the same FLAMA courses that pastors preparing for ministry are taking. Also, there are three developing Hispanic ministries now in Wisconsin – in Rice Lake, Minong and Wisconsin Rapids.

Sunday morning Reenie and I were privileged to worship with Pastor Ron Gormong and the Spooner Wesleyan Church. The worship and the message were great. Pastor Ron is preaching through the book of Ephesians. His messages are always excellent, Biblical and call people to a point of decision. The congregation was challenged from Ephesians 5 to live a life that is characterized by thanksgiving and gratitude, purity and love as opposed to lust, greed, and vulgar, foolish and coarse conversation. Pastor Chopper Brown also did a wonderful job as he led us in celebrating the Lord’s Supper in the service – always a meaningful and beautiful experience.

Later in the morning we were also able to worship with Pastor Ben Kidder and The River congregation in Minong. Again, the worship and the message were great. Pastor Ben preached a strong message from Matthew that is to be a defining part of the ministry passion and philosophy of this new and developing church. The River will be defined by its compassion and acts of service to its community and world. This growing congregation was called to get off the bench and get in the game by serving the poor, visiting the sick, and helping the needy along with serving in the nursery and helping in the church. They now have two services on Sunday morning and are developing a plan for future facilities as they are already running out of space where they are.

Sunday afternoon we had the opportunity to be with Pastor Mark Wilson and the Hayward congregation for lunch and their baptismal service at a local lake. It was thrilling to see all six of the pastoral staff – pastors Mark, Ben, Heath, Loretta, Jeremy and Tim – standing in the water for about an hour baptizing 49 people. There were children, youth, young adults, entire families, a lady in her 70’s, a man in his 60’s, and one four generation family (great-grandma, grandma, mom and daughter) that shared their testimonies and gave witness to their new life in Christ. A baptismal service is like the culmination of a process. You prepare the soil, plant the seed, water it, weed, wait and watch God work. Baptism is like harvesting those new ears of corn, putting a little butter and salt on them, and sinking your teeth into them - sweet and satisfying to your spirit.

Later that afternoon we then met with Pastor LeRoy Drake and the leaders of Gull Lake to deal with closure issues for the congregation. I cannot say enough about how gracious and wonderful they have been in this process of closing the church, from the attitude they’ve exhibited to the desire to bless church planting and the kingdom with everything the Lord has blessed them with.

News and Notes

Thank you for praying for Bessie Winterberg, Pastor Dwayne Winterberg’s mother. She came through the surgery well. She has had a lot of infection in her knee for an extended time. She will need additional surgery in the near future.

Please pray for Merea and Jerome Bragg this week. Merea is my administrative assistant. Their sister in law died of cancer over the weekend and the funeral is today (Tuesday). She leaves a young family behind.

Dates for your Information

August 9-11 Willow Creek Leadership Summit
August 11 Jason/Alya – Transformation City
August 12 Our Savior’s, Mukwonago visit
August 19 Parkway visit
August 26 Janesville visit

September 1-4 South Carolina
September 5-13 Nicaragua Medical Team trip
September 9 Woodland visit
September 16 Washington, MI
September 25-27 District Flame Extension Class (Intro. to OT)
September 26 Nicaragua Partnership Committee
September 30 Safe Harbor visit