Team Wisconsin Update 12-20-07

Park Community Church has become Hales Corners Wesleyan. The name change was proposed and approved this fall. Hales Corners is a suburb in the greater Milwaukee area. Pastor Don and Andrea Towle have been working there over four years. Last winter Paul Myers, a ministerial student from West Allis, began assisting Don. Then, this past fall, Gary McCammon joined the team. I had the privilege of speaking in their service and worshipping with the congregation. There are four new people working together to build a worship band/team – a lead singer, two guitars and a drummer. This was their second Sunday together. I commend them and the leaders for the dream and hard work to move the ball up the field in their ministry. Reenie and I had a great lunch with Don and Andrea, Paul and Beth and Gary and Carole.

Congratulations Emma Ann Butler

We congratulate Emma Ann. She just met her parents – Jason and Alya Butler. Jason is the church planting pastor of Transformation City in north Milwaukee. She arrived to greet her new parents at 10:30 AM this past Sunday, December 16. Both her and mama are doing great! Emma was 9 lbs 7 oz and almost 22 inches long. She was born at their home with a midwife and her assistant. We’re happy for Jason, Alya, and big brother Luke.

“The Getaway” (formerly known as Ministers and Mates)

Pastors, a reminder that the registrations are due December 28 for The Getaway. If you need the information or registration form, just go to the website www.wisconsindistrict.org and click on the M&M picture at the top of the home page. It’s going to be a great couple of days together. Dr. Dave Holdren will be our speaker for this year. We’ve built in extra connection times again this year. If you are needing help with child care or covering the cost, please call the district office and we’ll work with you on it.

Nicaragua January Pastors’ Training Scholarships Needed!!!

The annual Nicaragua Pastor’s training seminar in January is coming soon and we still need scholarships for this event again this year. Please encourage your church or individuals to sponsor a pastor or key lay leader. The cost is $300 per student. Please send your donations by January 7th to the partnership treasurer: Irene Tripp, E 15912 State Hwy. 33, P.O. Box 388, Hillsboro, WI 54634. Thank you for your investment in helping build the leadership in Nicaragua. Note: Every dollar goes to a Nicaraguan pastor or lay leader for their training. All team members provide for their own support.

Connections

Over the past several days I’ve had the privilege of having dialogues with Pastors Juan, Daniel, Peter, Mark, Ben, Loretta, Heath, Jeremy, Tim, Don and Paul. I also had a great meeting with the Hayward’s board for our annual dialogue.

Pastor Juan and France Morillo and their family have been in Wisconsin a few short weeks. At our dialogue last week he told me that they had their first house church meeting and there were 19 people, 12 new people in addition to their family and a couple from Daniel Munoz’ church, who is helping them get started. Their new church name is “Iglesia Cristiana Wesleyana Casa de Restauracion Para Todas las Naciones”. In English, that is “Christian Wesleyan Church, Restoration House for all the Nations”.

I was also privileged to be present with Jason Butler, Transformation City church planter, and about 70 other supporters for the meeting with the Wauwatosa City Council to get authorization for their church to meet in a local theater on Sundays. Through a series of discussions, the meeting Tuesday night and a follow up meeting in January, things are looking much more positive to allow them to meet at the Rosebud Cinema. The owner is very open to their presence and has filed a petition to allow meetings in the building on Sunday mornings.

Prayer

Keep praying for Sand Lake and Janesville as they are searching for their next pastor and leader. Remember Gary Maness and Richard Concklin as they serve as interim pastors.

Remember to pray for the SetApart07 Youth Convention coming up the end of this month. Pray for the thousands of youth and adult sponsors as they raise the final money, as they travel and that God would call hundreds of missionaries to North America and other countries. Pray for our own Wisconsin teens and adults as they prepare and travel to the convention over the holidays. Pray that hundreds would make life-changing commitments to complete surrender to live by the will and moral standards of God.

Pray for the churches and the outreach events during Advent. Pray that people whose hearts are open during this time of year will hear the real message of Christmas – God’s love expressed through His Son, Jesus.

Continue to pray for Transformation City Church and Jason as they work with the city to remove the barriers that would allow them to meet freely and as they begin this new church.

Pray for Pastor Juan Morillo and France as they begin to establish a new congregation in south Milwaukee.

May you all have a wonderful Christmas!

Calendar
December 23……………………... Drop in visit

December 27-31…………………. SetApart 07

December 27-January 2………….Vacation

December 26-January 1………….Office Closed

January 6………………………….. Hillsboro visit

January 8………………………….. Dialogues

Safe Harbor Board

Janaury 9……………………………Dialogues

High Point Leadership

January 10……………………………….Dialogues

Janaury 13……………………………….Pardeeville visit

January 14-21……………………………Nicaragua

Pastor’s Training Trip

January 24……………………………….Dialogues

Janaury 26……………………………….DBA

January 27-29…………………………..The Getaway

(for all Wisconsin pastors and spouses)

Dan Bickel

Wisconsin District Superintendent

Team Wisconsin Update 12-11-07

Superior was a superior place to be for several reasons. It was definitely colder than about any other place around last weekend (par for the course for them). It has a church named Darrow Rd. that is extremely generous and supportive of missions, Nicaragua and church planting. It has a great pastoral team in Mark Holmes and Chris Javner at that church. Darrow Rd. mothered a church on the north side of Superior and continues to bless the new congregation there. The congregation continues to find ways to expand the kingdom both locally, in Wisconsin and globally. It was a good Sunday in Advent with Pastor Mark and Jenny and Pastor Chris and Kathy and their families. Pastor Mark and Jenny are grandparents. Their son Amos and his wife had a baby girl – Gabriela – born just a little over a week ago. Congratulations to the Holmes family! After church I had the privilege of sharing a meal with both families together and we had a great time. Pastor Mark is originally from Pennsylvania and Chris Javner’s son Christopher is a die-hard New England fan, so we had Steeler/Patriot “talk” flying around during lunch.

Nicaragua January Pastors’ Training Scholarships Needed!!!

The annual Nicaragua Pastor’s training seminar in January is coming soon and we need scholarships for this event again this year. Please encourage your church or individuals to sponsor a pastor or key lay leader. The cost is $300 per student. Please send your donations by January 7th to the partnership treasurer: Irene Tripp, E 15912 State Hwy. 33, P.O. Box 388, Hillsboro, WI 54634. Thank you for your investment in helping build the leadership in Nicaragua. Note: Every dollar goes to a Nicaraguan pastor or lay leader for their training. All team members provide for their own support.

Connections

In recent days I’ve had the privilege of having dialogues with Pastors Gerry, Stevan, Scott, Jason, and Doug. I also has the privilege of meeting with Karen Scheel, a Christian counselor, who is looking at entering the process for ordination in the Wesleyan Church. Last week we also had a good Nicaragua Partnership meeting. A great team is assembled for the pastors’ training in January and another excellent medical team is preparing for the February trip to Nicaragua. The south central LDJ also met last week, led by Matt Ohime from Eau Claire. Some really good stuff continues to happen through the pastors’ small groups that meet throughout the state on a regular basis.

Prayer

Keep praying for Sand Lake and Janesville as they are searching for their next pastor and leader. Remember Gary Maness and Richard Concklin as they serve as interim pastors.

Remember to pray for the SetApart07 Youth Convention coming up the end of this month. Pray for the thousands of youth and adult sponsors as they raise the final money, as they travel and that God would call hundreds of missionaries to North America and other countries. Pray for our own Wisconsin teens and adults as they prepare and travel to the convention over the holidays. Pray that hundreds would make life-changing commitments to complete surrender to live by the will and moral standards of God.

Pray for the churches and the outreach events during Advent. Pray that people whose hearts are open during this time of year will hear the real message of Christmas – God’s love expressed through His Son, Jesus.

December 11……………………... Dialogues

December 13……………………... Hayward Bd & Dialogues

December 14……………………….Dialogues

December 16……………………... Hales Corners

December 18……………………... Dialogues

December 23……………………... Drop in visit

December 27-31…………………. SetApart 07

December 27-January 2………….Vacation

Team Wisconsin Update 12-07-07

This was a week of two firsts!

Last Sunday was the first time I was not able to make it to the local church destination in over six years. The roads were icy and hazardous and it was not advisable to travel in the central part of the state because of the combination of snow, sleet, and ice on the roadways. So, Baker Street got a reprieve and Reenie and I dug out enough to make it to Lakeshore. As many of you know, Lakeshore, since its beginning, has set up church somewhere. This Sunday morning the truck was stuck, so they did “unplugged” church. Pastor David Treloar is doing a series of messages through Advent, looking at Christmas through the eyes of different people in the story. This week’s was through the eyes of a man, particularly Joseph’s. The message ended up at “grace”. Joseph showed an incredible amount of grace to Mary by accepting her and sharing the shame the community must have had for a woman who was pregnant and not married. It was also an unexpected opportunity to connect with a man and his family who are looking at joining the Wesleyan church and pursuing the call to ministry. They are looking to join Lakeshore and become part of the team.

The second “first” was on Wednesday. Richard Concklin and I were headed to Eau Claire early to meet with the Nicaragua Partnership committee at 10 AM. We got there around 11:15 AM. Again, in the more than six years and almost 300,000 miles, this is the first time I have encountered a significant traffic issue that delayed me from arriving significantly late to a meeting.

I feel so fortunate in so many ways to have had the opportunity to work with wonderful pastors and churches, people who are passionate and committed to the cause. I feel so blessed to have had the protection and care of the Lord in the travels. I am so blessed to have had the opportunity of traveling to many different places and work with colleagues all over the United States and Canada in helping to build the kingdom. I am so blessed to have a wife that understands and blesses me with her supportive attitude and spirit every day. I am so blessed to have a team of leaders in Wisconsin who care about what we’re trying to do and are joining in the work.

Nicaragua Scholarships Needed!!!

The annual Nicaragua Pastor’s training seminar in January is coming soon and we need scholarships for this event again this year. Please encourage your church or individuals to sponsor a pastor or key lay leader. The cost is $300 per student. Please send your donations by January 7th to the partnership treasurer: Irene Tripp, E 15912 State Hwy. 33, P.O. Box 388, Hillsboro, WI 54634. Thank you for your investment in helping build the leadership in Nicaragua.

Prayer

Praise – Shelley Berry, wife of District Superintendent Dan Berry, who has been in a coma for almost three months now, is beginning to show very positive signs of response and cognitive thinking. They are very encouraged that she is beginning to wake up.

Continue to pray for Sand Lake and Janesville as they are searching for their next pastor and leader. Remember Gary Maness and Richard Concklin as they serve as interim pastors.

Remember to pray for the SetApart07 Youth Convention coming up the end of this month. Pray for the thousands of youth and adult sponsors as they raise the final money, as they travel and that God would call hundreds of missionaries to North America and other countries. Pray that hundreds would make life-changing commitments to complete surrender to live by the will and moral standards of God.

Pray for the churches and the outreach events during Advent. Pray that people whose hearts are open during this time of year will hear the real message of Christmas – God’s love expressed through His Son, Jesus.

Calender

December 9……………………... Darrow Rd visit

December 11……………………... Dialogues

December 13……………………... Hayward Bd and dialogues

December 14..........................Dialogues

December 16……………………... Hales Corners

December 18……………………... Dialogues

December 23……………………... Drop in visit

December 27-31…………………. SetApart 07

December 27-January 2..........Vacation