Under the direction of the Church Multiplication and Discipleship Division, the new health and multiplication network, Nitrogen, led the annual church health and multiplication conference into the mission field of North America. The annual event is known as the Summit and allows participants to experience how God is moving throughout The Wesleyan Church.
This year’s Summit took place in North and South Carolina with 105 Wesleyan leaders from across North America touring church health and multiplication sites throughout the South Carolina District. The group witnessed firsthand the movement as it is unfolding in the field.
The church leaders traveled to Charlotte, N.C., on November 6, where they boarded two motor coaches and set out for Charleston, S.C. In Charleston, the recently launched church plant, Providence Wesleyan Church led by Rev. Wayne Otto, was the first stop on the tour. While on site, the group took a prayer tour, followed by worship and inspirational messages from Otto, and fellow church planters Ed Love and Troy Evans from the West Michigan District. A panel discussion Q&A followed with these “in-the-field” experts. The focus at Charleston was “beachhead” planting and raising the bar on church planting efforts in population centers where a fresh and forceful presence of the gospel is radically needed.
The Summit group headed on to Columbia, S.C., the next morning to the newly launched newhope church – Columbia campus led by Pastor Benji Kelley and Campus Pastor Aaron McClung. Thiscampus is the most recent satellite of newhope in Raleigh-Durham, N.C. At this stop,Kelley shared about the passion, process, and product of the multi-site/campusing movement. Pastor Mike Hilson from New Life Wesleyan Church in La Plata, Md., shared his story of the campusing movement New Life has initiated in The Chesapeake District.
The group then traveled to ALIVE Wesleyan Churchin Central, S.C. ALIVE is led by Pastor Tom Harding and is currently experiencing dynamic growth. Pastor David Kinnan from Fountain Springs Community Church in Rapid City, S.D., joined Harding in challenging the leaders that church health and growth come through healthy pastors who lead themselves and their inner circle well. Church leaders also visited Southern Wesleyan University in Central, and they caught a glimpse of what is taking place at SWU, including students’ own stories.
Greenville First Wesleyan in Greenville, S.C., was the next stop, where the group spent time in prayer and took communion together. Steve Stanley, Frankie Rodriguez (Greenville First), Karl and Anita Eastlack (Penn-Jersey District), and Mark Parker (Central Canada District) shared about the ethnic and cultural diversity that is on the rise in the multi-congregational strategy within the health and multiplication movement.
From church planting and multi-site/campusing, to dynamic church growth and the multi-congregational approach, The Wesleyan Church is on the move and great days can be anticipated. The 2014 Summit will take place in the Pacific Southwest District.
