Team Wisconsin Updat 2-26-08

This past Sunday southwestern Wisconsin had the sun shining, there was no major snow storm and the temperature was actually close to freezing – a welcome relief from around 90 inches of snow and cold temperatures, much of which seemed to fall on the weekends. We had a good day with Pastor Dennis and Sela Jones and the Beulah Wesleyan Church. Pastor Dennis played his guitar and sang. He did a great job. I didn’t know it, but he came from a very musical family and was close to launching a musical career before the Lord steered him toward full-time ministry. Another interesting thing that many don’t know is that they also have two Great Danes – and they’re BIG! After lunch and my annual dialogue with Dennis, Reenie and I headed to Minnesota to visit with some good friends and give Reenie a chance to do some shopping before the wedding.

Transformation City

Jason Butler and the new north Milwaukee church plant had their first service back in the Rosebud Theater last Sunday. In addition to the launch team and others, they had 8 people there for the first time. They didn’t reach their numerical goal, but they were encouraged by the response and the fresh start at their new location. One of the things that has happened through the past several months of wrangling with the city fathers is that it has opened doors to communicate the vision and dream with the community and leaders. It has also served to unite and encourage the entire faith community to work together to reach the community with the gospel.

Baraboo

Saturday about a dozen men got helped Pastor Josh refurbish the Jubilee Wesleyan Church in Baraboo. Pastor Josh and Jamie had led the congregation in redoing a lot of the interior and exterior of the building which had fallen into disrepair and was in desperate need of upgrading. An office and nursery have been added upstairs and the entire main level is being insulated and dry-walled, with new windows, lights, and sound system. With the help of Pastor Dwayne and some men from Eau Claire, Pastor Roger Miller, a local carpenter and his son, and a couple of men from the church, the entire ceiling was insulated and sheet rocked. A local reporter even came out, took some pictures and interviewed Josh. The story was on the front page of the paper.


Iglesia Cristiana Wesleyana, Casa de Restauracion

I’ve had two meetings with Pastor Juan Morillo and Pastor Daniel Munoz in the past week to discuss the exact location for this new church plant. Waukesha County has the fastest growing Hispanic population in the state of Wisconsin and will soon surpass the total in Milwaukee County and we are feeling this is where we need to move into. Please pray as we look for housing in the Waukesha area and work out a location for the new congregation to meet. They are presently meeting in one of the family’s homes on Saturdays.

Focus Tour

Pastors and staff will be coming from all over Wisconsin next Thursday, March 6 to spend a day with Phil Stevenson and Jim Dunn. The focus will be on the pastors themselves and on being missional churches and a missional district. Please pray that the Lord would speak through and empower the presenters to encourage and challenge us.

Calendar

February

26 Red Cedar LBA

27 Dialogues

March

1-2 Red Cedar Visit

4 Dialogues

5 Nicaragua Partnership Meeting

6 Focus Tour (Pastors)

8 Casa de Dios LBA

9 High Point Visit

10 The River LBA

15-16 Mt. Pisgah Visit

17-20 DS Institute, GBA

23 Easter Sunday

25—4/1 Vacation (our son’s wedding)

Team Wisconsin Update 2-20-08

Hayward
I was privileged to speak at Hayward Wesleyan Church last weekend. Hayward is in north central Wisconsin where, when you stay overnight in a hotel on the weekend there are as many snowmobiles in the parking lot as there are cars. Pastor Mark and his family were in Ohio where he was speaking in his home church, ministering to his family who just recently lost a loved one in a tragic car accident. It was a great opportunity to connect with the staff of the largest church in the Wisconsin District. Pastors Ben, Loretta, Tim, Heath and Jeremy, along with Pastor Mark, are doing a great job leading the church to continued growth. Just a little over a year ago they gave birth to a daughter church in Minong. Their baby church has grown to two services. We are working on property issues because they are already outgrowing the facilities they are renting. Interestingly, as The River church was launched, other churches have contributed people and resources – Spooner, Gull Lake, and Darrow Road. Hayward continues to make an impact in their local community, in Wisconsin, and around the world.

Dialogues & Church LBA’s

This past week I had a good meeting with the Valley and Woodland LBA’s, as well as some good dialogues with pastors. It is exciting to see light bulbs come on and churches catching a vision for what a missional vs. maintenance church looks like.

Special Prayer Items for This Week

1. Transformation City and Jason Butler

Jason and the team are preparing for their Grand Opening Sunday, February 24 at the Rosebud Theatre. Please pray that:

· People who have heard about Transformation City and are not connected to a community of faith will feel compelled to come

· People will hear the message of the Gospel both this Sunday and next

· God would remove obstacles and distractions for people to come and hear the message

· God would surround every aspect of the church

2. Nicaragua Medical Team

Please pray that these last three days would be filled with hope and promise for the hundreds of Nicaraguan who will receive medical attention as well as an opportunity to connect with Christ and the Wesleyan church in Nicaragua.

3. The River Church and Ben Kidder

Please pray that God would give wisdom and direction to this new congregation and the DBA as we work on property and space issues. We need to purchase something, upgrade and expand facilities for the short term, then plan for future property acquisition.

Calendar

February 20 Dialogues

21 Our Saviors’ LBA

23 Baraboo Jubilee Construction

24 Beulah visit, Dialogue

26 Red Cedar LBA

27 Dialogues

Team Wisconsin Update 2-15-08

Last Sunday I was privileged to be at Lakeshore, the church that was restarted about 8 years ago in the Madison area.  Since the original restart in Middleton, the congregation has moved to the southern part of the Madison area.  They are now meeting in Chavez Elementary school and have purchased another home in a growing neighborhood for Pastor David Treloar and his family.  It was another cold and winter storm morning – par for the course here in southern Wisconsin this year.  We had a great time worshipping with the congregation. This has been a year of transition for the Treloars.  After moving to a new home, David’s father and mother came to live in Madison because of the discovery of his Dad’s cancer.  David and Lisa have helped them through the surgery and subsequent therapy.  Reenie and I had the opportunity to share a meal with the family on Saturday evening to catch up with their journey.  Pray especially for them as their LBA meets this weekend to work on vision and strategy for their future.
Sunday evening I went from an extreme winter in Wisconsin to an extremely nice winter in Florida.  The Indiana Wesleyan University Board met for three days to dream, plan and prepare for the future we feel God has for IWU.  The President and cabinet worked together to help develop some strategic initiatives and plans to help the institution fulfill its mission to the Wesleyan Church and impact the world for Christ.  We feel extremely blessed by the Lord for the way He is using this institution to raise up young men and women who are truly becoming world-changers. 
The Nicaragua medical team is there his week, distributing hundreds of pounds of medicine and assisting several thousand patients.  Please pray for this team’s strength and wisdom, that people would see Christ and want to enter into a relationship with Him, and that positive connections would be made with the Wesleyan pastors and churches.  The Wesleyan church in Nicaragua continues to grow.  In the past two years there have been 5 new congregations and preaching points established.  There are now 3 Christian schools.  Mike and Amy Knox and the Eckhardts are giving good leadership to the work there.

Calendar

February 13-21 Nicaragua Medical Team Trip
17 Hayward visit
18 Dialogue, Woodland LBA
19 Hales Corners LBA
20 Dialogues
21 Our Saviors’ LBA
23 Baraboo Jubilee Construction
24 Beulah visit, Dialogue
26 Red Cedar LBA
27 Dialogues

Team Wisconsin Update 2-8-08

Over There
Thank you for praying for the Pastor’s training trip this year in Nicaragua. This was our 8th trip to invest in leadership training for the pastors and leaders in the local churches and schools there. A great team included Richard & Jan Concklin, Mark Holmes, Brandon Willis and Cindy Terry from Wisconsin and Jim Eckhardt and Mike Knox from the field. We had the opportunity to travel to Matagalpa and see the area where one of the four new churches is being planted. We also toured the school that World Hope and Hillside Wesleyan church have established and built.

There are presently 14 churches and preaching points, along with 3 schools operating in Nicaragua. The Tipitapa church and district are preparing to begin churches in three different areas, along with another school, this next year. We are still working on and praying for the right land and facility to house the district ministry center for office and training.

Please remember to pray especially for the medical ministry team that is heading to Nicaragua February 13-21. We are fulfilling the command of Jesus to minister to those who are sick through these medical teams. We are also beginning to see some fruit through changed lives as a result of this faithful service.


Over Here

The Wisconsin pastors and spouses got together for the annual “Getaway”. It was a wonderful time for everyone and David Holdren, the presenter, did a great job speaking truth into all of our lives. We left refreshed and excited to jump back into ministry.

Eau Claire was my destination last weekend. Pastor Dwayne and his staff – Matt, Chris, and Kathy – continue to give good leadership to the ministry there. It is always a delight for me to stop in where I pastored for 10 years. I saw a lot of friends and new faces. Eau Claire has played a significant role in missions, particularly in Nicaragua. Kent and Hannah Peterson lead two of our ministry teams each year to Nicaragua and there are many people that have gone as team members or assisted in packing meds for the medical team outreach. Thanks, Eau Claire, for your investment in the kingdom both locally and around the world.

Calendar

February 7 Spooner LBA

9 Janesville LBA

10 Lakeshore visit

10-13 IWU Board Retreat

13-21 Nicaragua Medical Team Trip

16 Hales Corner LBA

17 Hayward visit

18, 20 Dialogues, Woodland LBA

21 Our Saviors’ LBA

24 Beulah visit

26 Red Cedar LBA

27 Dialogues

Team Wisconsin Update 1-9-08

Hillsboro, along with about every other church in southwestern Wisconsin, got majorly snowed out on Christmas Sunday, December 23. So, they did their special Christmas musical presentation on January 6. They did a great job. They even let me preach. It was a very good day with Pastor Roger and Cathy Miller, Pastor Russell and Margaret Wooten and the congregation. I also had the privilege of meeting with their board on Saturday evening. Pastor Miller has been at Hillsboro for 18 years now and has given good leadership to the congregation. About 5 years ago the local high school principal, a board member, started a new ministry to the community. The Wesleyan church was the primary sponsor. They began to serve a free community dinner at Christmas. The first years were held at the church, but it has grown from 100 to 450 and they are now using the local high school. Churches and businesses have gotten involved, donating turkeys and other food. Kudos to Pastor Miller and the congregation.

Thank you

I want to say a big thank you to all of the individuals and local churches that have given to provide scholarships for the annual Pastor’s Training week in Nicaragua. Also, scholarships for the ongoing Theological Education of pastors and leaders continues to come in. One special thanks this year goes to one of our newest church plants, Northern Lakes, who is providing money for four students. What is really cool is that a Hispanic church that meets at Northern Lakes donated $300 to help provide education to pastors in Nicaragua. Thanks Kevin O’Connor and congregations.

Connections

As you know, you’ve not received this for a couple of weeks. The Bickels spent several days together over the holidays, both in Indiana and Wisconsin. Two special people are becoming part of us. Brittany Wilson, Brice’s fiancée, was able to spend Christmas in Wisconsin. She got to experience over two feet of snow on the ground and 0 degree weather. Brice and Brittany will be married the end of March. Jackson Daniel arrived on the scene in June to our son Brent and Laura. We had a wonderful time with everyone. One special moment was having a five generation picture with little Jackson Daniel, father Brent, grandma Reenie, great grandpa Edwin Hoover, and great-great grandma Juanita Hoover.

Prayer

We would appreciate your continuing prayers for the search teams of Janesville and Sand Lake churches, vice-chairs Phil and Rudy, and interim pastors Gary and Richard.

Pray for the pastoral training team that will be teaching in Nicaragua next week, January 14-21. Team members include team leader Mark Holmes, Richard and Jan Concklin, Brandon Willis, Dan Bickel and translator Cindy Terry. This team will join with missionaries Mike and Amy Knox, Jim and Julie Eckhardt and Nicaraguan Superintendent Enrique Montenegro.

Calender

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)

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