It’s Monday Again

Mike Gammill is a Senior Lead Navigator with Auxano. This week, he began an eight-month journey leading our DBA-appointed Atlantic District Vision Team. Special thanks to Kevin Campbell, Joel Gorveatte, Sharon Guptill, Tim Long, Matt Maxwell, Tami Mutch-Ketch, Tanya Nace, AJ Plaizier, Scott Prime, Victoria Rowe, & AJ Thomas.

This team is a direct outcome of the November 2020 AD Task Force Report and will provide a post-pandemic reset of our 2025 Vision. As our mission and core values (Exploration Essentials) remain unchanged, please be in prayer as we discern His unique picture of future direction for the Atlantic District to be shared at Ministerial in January 2022.

Peter Hayes received a unanimous recommendation last Monday from the Solid Rock LBA to conduct a congregation vote before the end of February to offer an Extended Call. This concluded a very encouraging pastoral review and enthusiastic support of his two-year Initial Call.

Here are some other updates from around the Atlantic District:

Karen Purdy has announced her resignation from Westchester. She will conclude her ministry at the time of usual pastoral transition this summer.

Evan Oxner received a unanimous renewal of his Extended Call by the Amherst LBA yesterday afternoon. The right leader in the right place at the right time!
New Hope (Scott Prime) received a special Christmas Eve offering for community generosity initiatives which is used for random acts of kindness. This past Tuesday 110 Tim Horton gift cards were given to all ER and ICU personnel at Valley Regional Hospital as a thank you for serving during the pandemic. In addition, a group at New Hope delivered homemade cards to local senior homes to brighten their day. Scott shared, “These little things have had lots of positive feed back and have been huge wins.”

He’s back! Executive Director of Groundswell, Jon Wiest, began advance training this week for 11 Atlantic District churches already committed to participate in the fall 2021 Mobilization Pipeline cohort. Jon will be teaching this live over six sessions in the fall and the pairing of lay and clergy leaders for each church are being trained for facilitating the breakout room exercises.

This will be a fantastic opportunity for all of our churches to consider how intentional pipelines for disciples will unleash Kingdom force as disciple-makers. This will specifically include deployment for local church ministry, community evangelism and outreach, marketplace ministry, new Kingdom locations, & vocational ministry.

Attention Kids Ministry Leaders: FUEL 2021 is for ALL NextGen Leaders not just youth. Join hundreds of Next Gen leaders over the weekend of February 19-20 for Fuel 2021. Liz Hoyt (Moncton) is leading one of the breakouts and there are lots of other applicable breakouts for all Next Gen leaders. Details are available on the Atlantic District Children’s Facebook page and also listed below in Upcoming Events.

And speaking of disciple-making movements, I had the privilege of a one-on-one meeting this week with one of the premier heavy weights in North American discipleship circles. Anyone want to guess who he is? A free copy of one of his books will be awarded to the person who guesses his name first!

More detail coming next week as he is booked to be our Guest Leader for the Pastor Cluster Leader meeting on March 17th. His work, particularly in the metrics of discipleship, will provide substantive material for the Pastoral Development conversations in our Pastor Clusters during April, May, & June.

It was a contagious and inspiring conversation which focused exclusively on effective Kingdom multiplication during my monthly meeting this week with our northeastern District Superintendents. This is my Pastor Cluster and I am thankful for each one of these godly men and the ways we lean into mission together and support one another.

Is he celebrated for his masterful skills of innovation and implementation as an architect of effective ministry? Yes, all that IS true about Music & Youth Pastor Martin Stehouwer (SJ1) – but wait, there’s more! If you need a good mid-February chuckle to battle the “blahs” – look no further. CLICK HERE to enjoy Martin’s entertaining insights into the “other side” of Church @ Home!

Points to Ponder

If we don’t agree on the problem, we’ll never agree on the solution. (Mike Gammill)
When you’re running at a good pace for a long period of time, your heart is not at rest. It’s the same with your spiritual soul. (Dan Reiland)
Comparison is the death of development. (Mike Gammill)

Kids & Youth Ministry Leaders: Zach Coffin, Next Gen Multiplication & Discipleship Director, is GIVING AWAY Fuel 2021 for FREE to your local church! In the midst of this difficult season, people are longing for real connection. Are you looking for a flexible way to connect, care for, and train your Next Gen leaders? Join hundreds of Next Gen leaders over the weekend of February 19-20 for Fuel 2021. Fuel 2021 will be a FREE downloadable event that you can use to equip and inspire your volunteers & leaders. No matter what restrictions are in place, this “Fuel-in-a-Box” resource kit will give you everything you need to host a 3-hour leader gathering or go digital with solid encouraging content you and your leaders can access from anywhere.

Staying on top of your mental health has always been important, but it certainly seems to be even more pressing in our current season. With that in mind, Yarmouth (AJ Plaizier) offered an online seminar recently featuring Dr. Allen Lee (Program Director of the Christian Counselling program at Kingswood University and Atlantic District Clergy Care Coordinator). CLICK HERE to view this presentation hosted by Mark Brewer with practical strategies to help us stay mentally healthy during these challenging days.

Do you still believe in the power of prayer? If so, Rev. Mark Parker, our National Director for Church Multiplication is building a TWCC NATIONAL PRAYER FORCE and he would like you to join him in asking the Lord of the harvest to raise up a new generation of church planting leaders for Canada and the state of Maine. Doing God’s work has to be done in God’s way. This means that we need the power and the force of the Holy Spirit to go before us. We have not because we ask not. Let’s first begin on our knees! Will you join the National Prayer Force? If so, text the word “force” to 226-400-4418 and let’s advance first on our knees! When you sign up, Rev. Parker will begin to share regular prayer requests from across the nation as we move forward together in planting new churches. Make sure you include your email address and your mobile number. Thank you for being a part of this force for God and for good!

What if COVID-19 is the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity
for leaders to think more strategically
about doing church?
(Will Mancini)

Check out these great resources above at www.wesleyan.org – we are blessed by the many ways our denominational leadership serves the front lines of the local church.

CLICK HERE for A Special Announcement from the Desk of President Steve Lennox

We’re concerned about the effects of the ongoing pandemic on churches and pastors. Those of us at Kingswood University want to help. We’re offering several free resources for local churches and pastors:

Sermons: We’ve recorded two sermons which churches can use to provide a respite for those preaching. We plan to provide more sermons in the coming weeks.
Greeting and update: We have included a brief video update on how God has been working at Kingswood University during the past 10 months. Churches deserve to know how we’re stewarding their investment.
Free classes: Pastors may welcome the opportunity to sit in on a virtual class session to learn more about a topic of interest. The care package contains a list of classes and syllabi for those classes. Anyone interested can contact our Registrar for more information or to register (rodgersonm@kingswood.edu or 506-432-4406).
Seminar on Personal Wellness: We’ve provided a video file to a seminar presented by Dr. Allen Lee, Professor of Christian Counselling at Kingswood University.
Youth group: Seasoned youth speakers, Shaun Miller and Zach Painter, are happy to lead a virtual youth service for an evening. If COVID-related restrictions allow, this could be done in-person. Anyone interested should contact enrolment@kingswood.edu.

CLICK HERE to access the Kingswood University Care Package for Local Churches

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