Atlantic Connexion

Katie-Lynn Mansvelt, of Design Disciple and Discipleship Facilitator at Kingswood University, was the guest speaker on Mother’s Day at Blacks Harbour Wesleyan (Ken Banks). She brought an encouraging message on the Compassion and Graciousness of God.

• Mother’s Day at Blacks began with a breakfast prepared and served by the men of the church. Mom’s went home with a gift certificate to a local ice cream shop and a carnation. Approximately 65 attended the breakfast and 100 attended the service.

Mike MacNeil (Kings) was the guest speaker earlier this month at U.Nite – a youth rally bringing together churches in Charlotte County. There were 84 in attendance at Blacks Harbour Wesleyan and Youth Pastor Devon McAllister shared, “More than a dozen students stepped forward to commit to saying yes to Jesus and learn more about what He might have for them in a call to ministry!”

 

Tidal (Jim Clements) had 125 out to their Seniors gathering with wonderful music by a men’s ensemble. A great message was followed by more fellowship as 115 stayed for lunch.

• IMPORTANT NOTE TO ALL LEAD PASTORS: The Local Church Statistical Report (LCSR) is now open for completion for the Fiscal Year ending April 30th. Please care for this item ASAP – if you have any questions, feel free to reach out to Karrillee!
  

This has been a busy week on Caton’s Island as work continues in the construction of the new Administration/Medic/Welcome Building. See all the details below in Upcoming Events for the May 24th opportunity to visit the island and check out the progress in person.

 

• This event will also include a highlight of Dean Stephenson as he begins his 30th and final summer as Director of Caton’s. The Kingdom impact of the Stephenson’s is worth celebrating! Don’t miss this exciting event with Dean & Director-Elect Ben Canney with opportunity to learn about and invest in the immediate and long-term vision for Caton’s Island as a resource for unleashing churches for transformed lives.

Last week was packed with travel and meetings, beginning with a day serving as chair of the Wesleyan Educational Council (WEC). In addition to finalizing a nearly 2-year update of recommendations for the General Board Policy on Higher Education, WEC has reconfigured the former Wesley Study Loan/Grant for ministerial students. This shift eliminates the “loan” portion and provides a grant to fulltime ministerial students of $250 per credit hour in both undergraduate and graduate studies. This marks a significant increase in EF funding from USF getting into the hands of ministerial students in the DBMD process.

• The day began with a devotional by KU President-Elect Rick Christman who was an invited guest to the day’s proceedings. Outgoing WEC leaders were also honoured including board chairs Mike Hilson (SWU) & Roger Metcalf (OKWU) as well as our KU President Steve Lennox.

Two days of General Board meetings included many routine reports and updates from departments, subsidiary organizations, as well as significant advance work in preparation for the next General Conference which will be hosted by Indiana Wesleyan University (May 17-20, 2026).

 

It was inspiring to take part in two high-octane early morning sessions initiated by Jeff Clark with regard to Marketplace Disciple-Makers / Multipliers and Praying on Offence (PROOF). Steve DeNeff, Jeff Clark, Ryan Ott, & Trent Dailey will be working alongside our own Executive Director Tami Mutch-Ketch to provide leadership for the 48-hour embedded Marketplace Discipleship Conference during
Beulah Family Camp. CLICK HERE for all the details. This is all about unleashing lay leaders to take spiritual responsibility for one space outside the walls of the church for making disciples.

I have received a few questions regarding this embedded event – here are a few helpful points of clarification:

• Registration is optional (and free) and is intended for those who are planning to engage in the events not included in the four regular camp services.
• The four services during this event (Monday supper – Wednesday lunch) will still be open camp worship times (with slight variations) per normal, but the theme of these services will narrow in the “Disciple Where You Go” to people being disciple-makers in their influence outside the walls of the church.
• There is no charge for this value-add item, there will be some optional events between the services for those who are coming specifically for this event.

Steve DeNeff will be arriving on Saturday and also preaching in both first Sunday services in keeping with our usual camp experience.

 

Plan now to attend the Marketplace Disciple Maker Conference from Monday evening (July 7th) to Wednesday morning (July 9th) during Beulah Family Camp 2025. This transformative event will guide pastors and lay leaders through a practical process to equip lay leaders for effective disciple-making within our local contexts. This is a free event hosted by the Atlantic District of The Wesleyan Church. Registration is required for the Tuesday afternoon and the Meet ‘n’ Mingle Networking Sessions on Monday and Tuesday evenings.