“The Spirit is not unleashed in us just so we can have an experience, but to empower us to send Kingdom force.” This passionate reminder was given by General Superintendent Wayne Schmidt as 25 District Superintendents were convened in Tampa for several days this week in tandem with our denominational partnership with
Exponential.
The multiple cohorts pictured above in a group session included pastors and district leaders from across The Wesleyan Church in North America as we gathered at the
Underground Church (Brian Sanders) to explore models and principles of mobilization for church multiplication.
Special thanks to our Executive Administrator Karrilee for her exceptional efforts behind the scenes to care for the myriad of details at our District Ministerial last month. She is truly the secret sauce of the Atlantic District! They were days for great worship (Kelly Jay), messages (Jon Wiest), seminars, and opportunities for connection for both new and long-term members of our ministerial tribe.The following perspective was sent to me this week from Worship & Youth Pastor Aaron Hopkins (
Corbett)… “I just wanted to say a huge thanks for ministerial. As you know this year has been full of ups and downs for my family as we transitioned jobs and moved 12 hours from home. I didn’t have high expectations, and it’s not because of anything this district has done or the one I came from. I just seem to be in a bit of a rut but praise God because I left filled by His Spirit. I want to say a huge thank you to all that contributed to the planning and execution of the event. I left a changed pastor, husband and father.”
The last day of Ministerial we took the opportunity over breakfast to
begin our 2020 evaluation of Maximizing Impact Weekends in 17 Atlantic Churches. The current Lead Pastors of these congregations shared insights and perspectives that began the journey to reconfigure this revitalization tool following this year. We have taken a break in 2020 from using MI to provide additional margin for all churches to fully engage in
Phase One of our 2025 Horizon Storyline to
Renew Discipleship Pathways.National Superintendent Steve Elliott shared in an informative session during Ministerial which included these important updates for Canadian ministers with regard to
this handout for the Wesleyan Retirement Plan. For more information or to enroll in the new TFSA option please reference the
Contact Information handout posted here.
Three of our pastors (Andrew Maves – Digby, Neil Horner – Woodstock, & Shawn Craven – Havelock, pictured above left) traveled this week to offer their support for the family of Rev. Eldon Craig (the father of Sharon Guptill – Hillside) at the celebration of his life on Thursday in Ontario. All three come from good Kingdom stock as sons of the Standard Church which merged with The Wesleyan Church in 2004. Shawn Craven’s father is a first cousin of Eldon’s.Last week Shawn had the honour to deliver a cheque for over $7000 to the Tri-County Regional Centre for Education Breakfast Program (pictured above right). This was possible because of the generous offering received at Christmas at the Mariners Centre. #contextualeffectiveness #strongertogether
Click HERE to enjoy an excellent word of perspective and anticipation from our General Superintendent. Additional links are available in this article to subscribe for up-to-date information on General Conference 2020 – Unleashed which will convene in St. Louis on May 31-June 3.
The Atlantic District is blessed by the high-caliber scholarship and ministry of President Steve Lennox (
Kingswood University) in our region. He is pictured above at a recent Saturday morning presentation at
Moncton (Joel Gorveatte) giving an in-depth overview of Biblical history in Israel. Looking for a world-class special speaker to take your congregation deeper in The Word? Look no further than President Lennox… and he’s right next door!
Corbett (Jason Vienneau) is looking to fill a
Children’s Pastor position. Feel free to pass on this opportunity to those who are passionate about children’s ministry and the local church.
Ellen joins me in expressing sincere condolences on behalf of the Atlantic District family to
GP Missionaries Bob & Brenda Bagley on Thursday’s passing of her father, Rev. Donald Karns.
The celebration of his life will take place at Alive Wesleyan Church (Central, SC) at 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday (tomorrow). Funeral details for Rev. Karns are available in his
obituary posted here by Robinson Funeral Home. Thank you for lifting up the family with prayer and expressions of support during this time of loss.
- Have the courage to live into permission and be an accelerator. (Bill Cochenour)
- In Kingdom work there is no success or failure, there is only faithfulness and risk. (Lucas Pulley)
- Kingdom leaders walk with a broken heart for the world. (Brian Sanders)
Join the monthly
Unleashed e-newsletter list to receive more in-depth information about General Conference 2020, to be held May 31–June 3, in St. Louis, Missouri.
Unleashed emails will hit inboxes beginning January 2020. Once you click on the URL, click on “subscribe” to get signed up for
Unleashed emails. To learn more about General Conference 2020 click here:
https://www.wesleyan.org/unleashed
It is with great excitement we invite you to Uprising Conference on February 21-22, 2020 at Crosspoint Church in Fredericton, NB. Conference registration is $50, and a catered lunch option on Saturday is available for an additional $15. Due to unforeseen circumstances, Rachel Wilson is not able to attend our conference. However, we are pleased to announce that Brittany Trafton and Carolina Parker will now be co-speakers at Uprising. We are looking forward to hearing them share insights around our theme this year: RECONCILE. Crosspoint Worship will be returning once again to lead us during each session. ONLINE Registration is now open!
Join hundreds of men from all across the region at Valley location of Kings on May 1-2 as we seek to find, define, and empower the Y God has placed in each of us. In doing so, may we know life to the full and may those around us reap the benefits of knowing men who truly embrace our Y. Register HERE – Cost: $85.
