Saturday evening rally opens 13th General Conference

The Saturday evening opening rally of the 13th General Conference of The Wesleyan Church featured inspiring stories from the denomination’s history and equally inspiring stories of lives being made new in the present day.

“Tonight, as Wesleyans, is about our past, our present, and our future,” said Dr. Jo Anne Lyon, General Superintendent of The Wesleyan Church.

Remarkable historical artifacts were featured:

The gavel, made from the wood of the dogwood tree on which lay leader Micaijah McPherson was hung and left for dead in pre-Civil War days. Miraculously he survived and served the Lord for 30 more years. The gavel was presented to Dr. Lyon by Wesleyan historian Dr. Bob Black, and she then used it to call the conference to order.
A complete door, with bullet holes, from the Wesleyan church in LaOtto, Indiana, part of the Underground Railroad where escaping slaves were kept and protected in the 19th century.
A communion set from 1848, used at the first Women’s Rights Convention held in the Wesleyan Methodist Chapel in Seneca Falls, N.Y.
An 1848 mourners’ bench from Adam Crooks’ church, where people repented of their sins during church services.
The pulpit used in the service was brought from Fountain City Wesleyan Church in Richmond, Ind. Frederick Douglass, famous abolitionist, preached from this pulpit in the Wesleyan Methodist Church. James Whitcomb Riley, a well-known poet and preacher, and Sojourner Truth, women’s rights activist and abolitionist, also preached from the pulpit.

Stories of the seven missional priorities established at the beginning of this quadrennium were also featured, along with testimonies and video reports introduced by Dr. Lyon:

authentic Christian leaders
Spirit-filled believers
ethnic diversity
urban urgency
focused prayer
church fitness
church multiplication

Examples:

Olivia Eckhart, a student at Indiana Wesleyan University, has created Enlightenment, a worship night initiative that takes place at public high schools. Six hundred students showed up at the first event. Since leading the initial event, four others have taken place, and Olivia has mentored the leaders of those movements. “God has taught me to be present where I am and that will lead me to the future. When we inspire students to be the salt and light, we don’t just see change tomorrow. We see it today.”

A young couple got married and were deeply engrossed in Satan worship. Dan and Elizabeth’s obsession with evil grew, and they began to hate each other. Divorce seemed imminent. Then she heard about an Easter service at Red Cedar Church in Rice Lake, Wisc. At that service she gave her life to Jesus, and at first, her husband wanted a divorce because of it. Now he knows Jesus too and the couple is involved in ministry at Red Cedar.

Andrew Collins, a former crooked cop, and Jameel McGee, falsely accused of drug crimes, used to be enemies and both served time in prison. But now, the two are not only good friends, they are brothers in Christ. Their story of reconciliation illustrates how Jesus’ love transforms as lives are made new.

Some very encouraging positive statistics were reported, showing the progress of the church. In the past four years, for example, over 137,000 people are reported saved in North American churches alone. Dr. Lyon commented, “These are people whom we know, who are being discipled; they are not just raised hands!” Each year there have been record numbers in attendance, salvations, and baptisms.It was also reported that the number of multi-ethnic churches in the North American General Conference has increased to over 20 percent of the total.

Eighteen fraternal delegates from Wesleyan affiliate bodies around the world and from United States sister organizations were introduced as special guests, including leaders such as:

Alberto Patacsil, General Superintendent of the Philippines General Conference
Joel Cumberbatch, General Superintendent of the Caribbean General Conference
Richard Waugh, South Pacific Regional Conference
Sungsam Yeu, General Conference of the Korean Evangelical Holiness Church (new associate member)
Jamir Carvalho, Bishop of The Wesleyan Methodist Church of Brazil (new affiliate)
Toshie Umeda, General Superintendent, Immanuel General Mission (affiliate)
John Lyon, President and CEO of World Hope International
Leaders from Church of the Nazarene, The Free Methodist Church, the Korean Evangelical Church of America, the World Methodist Council, OMS International, Global Wesleyan Alliance, Wesleyan Holiness Consortium, and others.