I N D I A N A S O U T HI N D I A N A S O U T H

WESLEYANNovember 2005

How To Stay ThankfulBy Rev. LaMar Brown

Pastor of Milan Wesleyan Church

Psychiatrists tell us that our attitude

can hurt us or help us. Anger, bit-

terness and resentment actually cause

us physical harm. In contrast, feelings

of love, forgiveness, concern and

thanksgiving heal us. The attitude of

revenge hurts us most. The attitude of

gratitude helps us most.

God gives us a fundamental principle for living. He asks that we re-

main thankful. How do we keep thanksgiving going? Paul offered some

practical suggestions in Ephesians 5:19-21.

Express your thanks by singing. Paul emphasized the use of psalms,

hymns, and spiritual songs in thanksgiving to God. Positive praise and

singing helps us to give thanks to God and lift our spirits both in wor-

ship and in devotions.

Make melody with the music of the heart. When you sing in your

heart, God’s Spirit lifts you. Why not try praying with your hymnbook

along with your Bible, reading and thinking about some of the great

hymns of the church? Internalize thanksgiving.

Give thanks to God for everything. Eph. 5:20 has four phrases: Be

thankful “always,” be thankful “for all things,” be thankful “unto God,”

be thankful, “in the Name of Jesus.” The Bible does not suggest that ev-

erything is good, but it does suggest we should give thanks for some-

thing good. Jesus never suggested we rejoice in evil. Rather, in the face

of insult, hardship and persecution we must rely on God’s power and

find something positive for which to be thankful.

If you are upset about the cost of gasoline, thank God you at least

have a car or truck for mobility. Has someone been angry with you this

week? Pray for them and thank God for those who love you. If you can

read the obituary column in the newspaper, rejoice and be glad, you are

alive!

Paul suggested a final way to remain thankful. Submit to each other

in honor of Christ. The secret of submission comes from an attitude, not

a role. The joy of thanksgiving increases as we learn to serve others.

Give thanks always unto God and to one another!

Superintendent’s Schedule

NOVEMBER

5 DBA Meeting

6 A.M. Fort BranchP.M. Princeton

13 A.M. Milan

P.M. Versailles

20 A.M. Greenfield

P.M. Salem

24 Happy Thanksgiving

27 A.M. Church Visit

P.M. Church Visit

DECEMBER

2 Pastor’s Annual ChristmasDinner - Orleans

4 A.M. West Terre Haute 8th St.

P.M. Brazil

11 A.M. Connersville

P.M. Blue River

12 DBA Christmas Dinner

25 Christmas Day

Dr. Mark S. F. Eckart

DIST. SUPERINTENDENT

Page 2/ NOVEMBER 2005 INDIANA SOUTH WESLEYAN

Pastor’s Annual Combined

Zone Christmas DinnerAll Pastors, Associates, Youth

Pastors, and Retired Pastors andtheir spouse or guest and childrenare invited to our 3rd AnnualChristmas Dinner. It will be held onFriday, December 5th at 6:30 p.m. atthe Orleans Wesleyan Church Fel-lowship Center.

Looking forward to seeing youthere!

Ministerial Classes 2006Methods of Bible Study – C14

Professor: Dr. Mark Eckart

February 4th & 18th

@ Paoli Wesleyan Church

TEENS

Don’t Forget Logos5December 28 – 31, 2005

@ Grand Rapids MichiganFor more information go to:

www.wesleyan.org

INDIANA SOUTH WESLEYAN(USPS 334-970)NOVEMBER 2005

Vol. 32 No. 11Executive Editor Dr. Mark EckartOffice Editor Carolyn ManshipEditorial Assistant Joshua Eckart

Periodical postage paid at Orleans, IN47452, and additional mailing offices.

Publication Office: P.O. Box 174,Orleans, IN 47452

Published monthly by the Indiana SouthDistrict of The Wesleyan Church.

Postmaster send address changes to:INDIANA SOUTH WESLEYAN

PO BOX 174ORLEANS, IN 47452

English Wesleyan Homecoming & Mortgage

Burning of Fellowship Center

In the picture above arePastor Philo Jones, Dr.Eckart, and some of theboard members from theEnglish Wesleyan Church.This was a Sunday to cele-brate the mortgage burningfor their fellowship center.They have a beautifulbuilding and the Pastor andchurch are to be congratu-lated.

Saturday Ministerial ClassAbove are the students that recently took the Introduction to Homiletics

class. Dr. Eckart enjoyed teaching these students and he thought there weresome excellent sermonettes given by these preachers in training!

SympathyHeartfelt Sympathy goes to the family of Rev. Raymond Noble Ferren

who went to be with the Lord on September 25, 2005. Rev. Ferren served asvisitation pastor at Terre Haute Faith Wesleyan Church, and served as pastorof several other churches during his ministry. Our loss is Heaven’s gain.

A Servant’s Heart

Pictured is David Arthur

Brandon, son of Pastor David

Brandon of Somerville Wes-

leyan. David diligently mowed

the church lawn all summer on a

volunteer basis. May God bless

him for his service.

HappyThanksgiving!

INDIANA SOUTH WESLEYAN NOVEMBER 2005 / Page 3

Caution: Changes AheadBy Rev. Mel Linville

Several months ago, I received an e-mail from a friend who isalso a pastor in our district. He pointed out that the format of theChurch Growth report in the district paper does not adequatelyreflect the health of the church in light of changes that have oc-curred church-wide in the last several years. My pastor/friendwas correct. For better or worse, Sunday School is no longer theprimary service in our churches as it was thirty years ago. Sincethe arrival of that e-mail, I have given much thought to thattopic and had several conversations with Dr. Eckart regardingthis as well. Together with input and approval from the DistrictBoard of Administration, we have revamped the format of themonthly report, which appears in the paper to indicate a moreaccurate and up-to-date reflection of the health of the localchurch. In addition, the new reporting format will place a properemphasis on conversions and sanctification.

Therefore, I would like to introduce the changes that will bemade in the attendance report section of the district paper. Nodefinite timetable for the changes has been established as yet.The changes will take effect within the next few months. Myhope is that the changes will not cause a great amount of stress.

Currently the report which is in the district paper includes thefollowing information each month: Sunday School attendancefor the current year as well as for the previous year; two columnswhich show the numeric gain/loss and percentage gain, if any; At-tendance for A.M. worship, P.M. worship and mid-week services.Older attendance cards which are still in circulation had also a

place to list the number of conversions although there was never acolumn in the paper for that information.

The District Board of Administration has approved that cer-tain changes be made in order to reflect more accurately theprogress of the local churches and to reflect what the prioritiesof the local church ought to be.

In the coming months, the following changes will be made:1. The monthly report will show the previous year’s figures

for morning worship as well as Sunday School.2. The monthly reports will no longer show the numeric and

percentage calculations to indicate gain or loss.3. The monthly report will include a column to show num-

ber of conversions and sanctifications for the month. To keepthe report as concise and simple as possible, both conversionsand sanctifications will be combined into one column.

4. Instead of having the “Top Ten” list for numeric and per-centage gain in Sunday School, the monthly report will have thefollowing “top five” lists:

a. Top five for numeric gain in Sunday Schoolb. Top five for percentage gain in Sunday Schoolc. Top five for numeric gain in Morning Worshipd. Top five for percentage numeric gain in Morning WorshipMaking changes is seldom easy. But hopefully these will help

us understand the development of our church and district. Ifyou have questions regarding the changes, please contact me.Contact information is in the conference journal.

United Stewardship Fund Paid As of September 30, 2005Church Monthly Budget Budget Percent-Budget Assessed Paid age

Austin 2,058.60 1,976.08 96%Bedford 2,837.00 500.00 18%Bicknell 1,339.75 535.90 40%Birdseye 240.40 311.23 100%Bloomfield Mt. Calvary 824.70 2,000.00 100%Bloomfield Mt. Zion 1,891.15 1,891.15 100%Bloomfield Southside 667.45 693.27 100%Bloomington Central 2,860.75 6,865.85 100%Bloomington Shepherd 0.00 0.00 0%Blue River 2,221.05 2,531.87 100%Boonville 1,357.95 814.78 60%Brazil 1,007.20 0.00 0%Carthage 676.80 0.00 0%Clarksburg 0.00 0.00 0%Clear Fork 1,277.70 0.00 0%Columbus Bethel 956.65 956.65 100%Columbus Central 1,090.80 1,237.22 100%Columbus Flintwood 4,342.60 4,032.26 93%Columbus Ohio St. 2,838.45 2,290.00 81%Concord 1,311.60 1,647.90 100%Connersville 325.15 0.00 0%Corydon 2,926.05 2,940.84 100%East Enterprise 1,499.55 904.55 60%Edinburgh 979.25 0.00 0%English 3,617.50 3,742.18 100%Evansville Forest Hills 11,746.65 9,400.00 80%Evansville North Park 3,976.90 4,058.14 100%Evansville Trinity 5,409.75 5,540.00 100%Fort Branch 1,443.85 1,443.85 100%Franklin 1,634.95 1,000.00 61%French Lick 3,394.20 3,279.45 97%

Monthly Budget Assessed Paid %

Gnaw Bone 1,557.05 2,000.00 100%Greenfield 1,835.20 2,500.00 100%Greensburg 3,146.70 3,146.70 100%Greenwood 4,437.05 3,265.00 74%Holton 1,220.30 1,464.36 100%Hope 1,470.40 1,470.40 100%Lawrenceburg 1,825.70 750.00 41%Lewis Creek 1,101.85 1,375.64 100%Lewisville Trinity 330.00 326.04 99%Loogootee Mt. Zion 862.50 0.00 0%Madison Calvary 3,532.85 0.00 0%Marengo Valley 5,207.90 4,254.42 82%Martinsville 1,234.10 920.00 75%Martinsville Bethel 773.10 773.10 100%Mecca 3,066.10 2,816.03 92%Medora 1,392.00 1,392.00 100%Milan 2,750.75 2,750.75 100%Mitchell 5,698.50 4,581.96 80%Mooresville 2,865.85 1,229.54 43%Morgantown 354.60 703.20 100%New Albany Spring Ave. 577.70 346.62 60%North Vernon 2,920.40 2,336.32 80%Orleans 3,169.80 2,535.84 80%Otwell 1,038.95 818.56 79%Paoli 9,676.35 0.00 0%Petersburg 174.10 139.28 80%Poplar Grove 2,581.20 1,301.00 50%Prairie Creek 1,589.10 0.00 0%Princeton 3,236.80 2,588.84 80%Rising Sun 523.80 314.28 60%Rodney 1,272.85 200.00 16%

Monthly Budget Assessed Paid %

Rushville 443.45 549.60 100%Salem 685.30 822.36 100%Sandford 594.15 0.00 0%Scott City 113.55 0.00 0%Scottsburg 596.65 619.51 100%Seelyville 582.65 0.00 0%Seymour 2,835.85 2,268.68 80%Shelburn 207.80 374.04 100%Shelbyville Grace 3,565.35 3,565.35 100%Shelbyville Westside 1,002.90 0.00 0%Simpson Chapel 258.85 300.00 100%Somerville 2,218.05 0.00 0%Spearsville 2,300.00 0.00 0%Spencer 1,293.75 0.00 0%Sullivan 1,360.15 1,360.15 100%Sylvania 4,479.30 4,479.30 100%Terre Haute Faith 15,312.95 15,312.95 100%Terre Haute Hulman 2,208.60 2,804.00 100%Terre Haute Northside 1,064.15 0.00 0%Trafalgar 254.45 203.56 80%Valeene 3,062.60 1,200.00 39%Versailles 1,137.15 2,500.00 100%Walker Chapel 1,169.95 1,168.04 100%Washington Main St. 2,790.85 2,232.68 80%Washington Vincinnes 785.35 635.00 81%Wesley Chapel 2,443.75 1,443.65 59%West Terre Haute 6th 978.90 985.72 100%West Terre Haute 8th 2,579.35 2,579.35 100%Westport 3,802.25 3,802.25 100%Wheatland 598.95 359.37 60%Whitehall 1,051.85 2,524.48 100%Wilmington Hills 1,875.25 500.00 27%

CHURCH GROWTH REPORTChurch Pastor Sept. SS '05 Sept. SS '04 Variation % Gain AM PM Wk Day

Austin K. Wingham 12 12 0 0% 15 15 12

Bedford G. Tilley 20 24 4 0% 26 21 23

Bicknell First M. Reed 52 43 9 21% 62 24 100

Birdseye D. Murphy 12 15 3 0% 17 0 0

Bloomfield Mt. Calvary F. Collings 12 16 4 0% 12 0 0

Bloomfield Mt. Zion M. Moore 28 28 0 0% 28 18 15

Bloomfield Southside C. Thomas NO REPORT 0 0%

Bloomington Central E. Hayes 46 52 6 0% 53 26 21

Bloomington Shepherd A. Hendershot 13 0 0 0% 18 14 10

Blue River A. Marshall 24 21 3 14% 43 12 0

Boonville E. Ames 26 23 3 13% 60 32 32

Brazil Jackson Street E. Stewart NO REPORT 0 0%

Carthage New Life H. Smith 8 7 1 14% 17 9 25

Clear Fork C. Uebel 11 14 3 0% 16 11 9

Columbus Bethel B. Carpenter NO REPORT 0 0%

Columbus Central B. Miller 17 22 5 0% 17 10 0

Columbus Flintwood W. Jones 56 55 1 2% 80 53 65

Columbus Ohio Street J. Vandervort 44 39 5 13% 60 48 17

Concord T. Whitham 29 27 2 7% 32 23 18

Connersville Grandview R. Wallace 10 8 2 25% 10 5 4

Corydon New Hope T. Bye 20 21 1 0% 47 26 19

E. Enterprise R. Albring 13 17 4 0% 16 11 16

Edinburgh L. Biddle 36 33 3 9% 36 24 18

English P. Jones 55 72 17 0% 61 42 57

Evansville Forest Hills M. Stoelting 131 145 14 0% 242 68 166

Evansville North Park S. Boardman 45 46 1 0% 62 18 46

Evansville Trinity M. Belt 45 49 4 0% 93 38 37

Fort Branch M. Hughes 24 19 5 26% 27 16 21

Franklin D. Neal 28 24 4 17% 39 33 20

French Lick S.V. J. Moffatt 63 67 4 0% 110 58 38

Gnaw Bone G. Armstrong 18 21 3 0% 23 10 8

Greenfield J. Anderson 20 15 5 33% 30 24 16

Greensburg W. Thompson III 27 34 7 0% 38 14 10

Greenwood J. Hughes NO REPORT 0 0%

Helmsburg DBA NO REPORT 0 0%

Holton W. Vandervort 24 21 3 14% 27 11 7

Hope First E. Boston 39 48 9 0% 40 15 46

Lawrenceburg M. Kessen NO REPORT 0 0%

Lewisville Trinity C. Stroud 27 0 0 0% 27 0 4

Lewis Creek D. Gates 15 9 6 67% 15 0 12

Loogootee Mt. Zion J. Simmons NO REPORT 0 0%

Madison Calvary M. Mahoney 33 36 3 0% 47 38 34

Marengo Valley S. Lock 52 67 15 0% 114 42 46

Martinsville K. Kearby NO REPORT 0 0%

Martinsville Bethel J. Irvin 8 6 2 33% 11 0 7

Mecca New Life C. Todd 41 64 23 0% 70 38 101

Medora C. Morgan 37 42 5 0% 34 19 20

Milan L. Brown 23 23 0 0% 29 20 0

Mitchell S. Jones 115 111 4 4% 221 105 158

Mooresville New Life M. Linville 20 17 3 18% 46 25 20

Morgantown S. Yager NO REPORT 0 0%

New Albany Spring Ave. N. Watters 17 0 0 0% 27 0 0

North Vernon J. Terry 61 49 12 24% 79 33 35

Orleans H. Carr 42 44 2 0% 49 28 20

Otwell R. Stilwell 20 27 7 0% 23 23 0

Paoli L. Manship 87 130 43 0% 216 111 115

Petersburg L. Lamar 9 9 0 0% 9 0 0

Poplar Grove J. Downs 15 13 2 15% 21 16 11

Prairie Creek T. Fennell 18 18 0 0% 18 13 10

Princeton D. Reed 34 38 4 0% 45 27 46

Rising Sun J. Kelly 8 7 1 14% 9 0 5

Rodney M. Miller 19 19 0 0% 27 19 5

Rushville H. Baker NO REPORT 0 0%

Salem C. Johnson 12 12 0 0% 18 11 14

Sandford C. Hedden 10 12 2 0% 9 7 3

Scott City D. Ault NO REPORT 0 0%

Scottsburg P. Mills 13 9 4 44% 14 9 8

Seelyville F. Burk, Jr. 24 23 1 4% 18 0 6

Seymour I. Holt 28 23 5 22% 34 26 28

Shelburn B. Noel 11 0 0 0% 12 0 0

Shelbyville Grace J. Travis 61 69 8 0% 75 42 15

Shelbyville Westside W. Seymour NO REPORT 0 0%

Simpson Chapel R. Brown NO REPORT 0 0%

Somerville D. Brandon 42 47 5 0% 47 43 21

Spearsville B. Bray 26 35 9 0% 26 28 17

Spencer J. Knight 6 0 0 0% 8 0 0

Sullivan G. Larimer 37 33 4 12% 38 32 33

Sylvania B. England 55 51 4 8% 118 56 43

Terre Haute Faith D. Gormong 151 131 20 15% 243 147 171

Terre Haute Hulman D. Willis 73 84 11 0% 93 0 56

Terre Haute North V. Reed 6 0 0 0% 11 11 7

Trafalgar C. Hilton 4 9 5 0% 4 7 6

Valeene D. Manship 21 0 0 0% 64 36 56

Versailles D. Jewell 24 39 15 0% 25 9 9

Walker Chapel R. Hendershot 18 16 2 13% 42 0 8

Washington Main St. P. Kessen 37 34 3 9% 67 30 31

Washington Vincennes J. Gilley 31 22 9 41% 29 34 22

Wesley Chapel W. Wickard 38 0 0 0% 48 36 25

Westport E. Wakefield NO REPORT 0 0%

West Terre Haute 6th R. Weeks 28 44 16 0% 22 11 14

West Terre Haute 8th P. Shelton 75 68 7 10% 76 49 45

Wheatland K. Mitchell 12 0 0 0% 15 15 11

Whitehall D. Campbell 19 23 4 0% 19 12 12

Wilmington Hills D. Meriwether 0 0 0 0% 25 25 14

TOTALS 2571 2551 20 1% 3794 1962 2200

Top Ten Churches for Numerical Gain for Sept. 2005 Top Ten Percentage Gain for Sept. 2005

Church Pastor Percentage Gain

Lewis Creek Rev. David Gates 67%

Scottsburg Rev. Paul Mills 44%Washington Vin. Ave Rev. Jewell Gilley 41%

Greenfield Rev. John Anderson 33%Fort Branch Rev. Marvin Hughes 26%

Connersville Rev. Ron Wallace 25%North Vernon Rev. Jim Terry 24%

Seymour Rev. Ira Holt 22%Bicknell Rev. Mark Reed 21%

*NR–No Report

Church Pastor Gain

Lewis Creek Rev. David Gates 6

Greenfield Rev. John Anderson 5

Seymour Rev. Ira Holt 5

Fort Branch Rev. Marvin Hughes 5

Columbus Ohio St. Rev. Jerry Vandervort 5

Church Pastor Gain

Terre Haute Faith Rev. Dan Gormong 20

North Vernon Rev. Jim Terry 12

Washington Vin. Ave Rev. Jewell Gilley 9

Bicknell Rev. Mark Reed 9

W. Terre Haute 8th St. Rev. Paul Shelton 7

Church Pastor Sept. SS '05 Sept. SS '04 Variation % Gain AM PM Wk Day

HappyThanksgiving