Wabash New South Connection #8

Wabash & New South

Connection

‌

Superintendent's Notes

Greetings Wabash and New South Conferences.

I recently had someone in one of our churches ask me: "How do you plant a church mid Covid?"

And all I could think is - "But God..."

You know the "but God" passages in scripture, don't you?

Here is a blog with just a taste of them: But God Verses

Today I want to introduce to you A.J. and Angela Hicks. God has called them to plant a church mid Covid - "but God!"

AJ and Angela are living in Griffith, Indiana with a heart to plant a multi-cultural church in the greater Chicago area.

Their story is a "but God" story.

Having planted churches in St. Louis and in Ferguson, AJ and Angela felt called to plant a church in the greater Chicago area. But God kept them waiting.

Angela finished school and accepted a teaching position in northern Illinois in 2020.

During the week that we were closing our Griffith Free Methodist Church, I learned about AJ and Angela from Superintendent Ben Tolly of the Gateway Conference.

Angela's school was just a few minutes away from our Griffith FMC, where we had an empty building and an empty parsonage.

But God...

AJ and Angela moved into the Griffith parsonage with their children and the vision for WOW Church Chicagoland became clearer.

They are now in the midst of building a launch team, setting up their financial support and their prayer teams.

If anyone feels led to support their work in anyway, please connect with them and with us.

Here is an update video from Pastor AJ and Angela:

Pastor AJ and Angela

Superintendent John R. Lane

Have you had an opportunity to meet Larry and Deb Walkemeyer, the new FM Strategic Catalysts for Multiplication?

I have always loved their enthusiasm and love for God and others. I hope you get to know them.

Here is the most recent Light & Life Podcast where they talk about what births a movement:

Walkemeyer Podcast

On Saturday, Haiti experienced a 7.2 earthquake. Hundreds of lives have been lost and many buildings in the southern zone of the country have been destroyed.

Bishop Desvariste tells us the Bertrand Free Methodist Church and School have suffered major damage and many members’ homes have been flattened. He is unaware of the toll in terms of the lives of our members at this point and is still assessing the damage to other churches and schools in the region. Our pastors have survived and are ministering in a variety of ways.

Please pray for Haiti, which is still reeling from increased violence in the wake of the assassination of their president a month ago, on top of the economic and health impact of Covid.

Gifts to the Bishops' Crisis Response Fund would be greatly appreciated, as multiple ongoing international crises have depleted the emergency reserves. Thank you for considering a donation today.

PLEASE GIVE HERE: https://give.fmcusa.org/page.aspx?pid=1278

Thank you for caring for our suffering loved ones in Haiti.

Bishop Linda Adams

on behalf of the Board of Bishops

Contacts

Wabash/New South Superintendent: John Lane

superJohnrlane@gmail.com or newsouthsuper@gmail.com

New South

New South Assistant Superintendent - Daryl Diddle

New South Administrator - Charlie Fiskeaux

New South Financial Consultant - Patti McPeake

Eagle Ridge Retreat Center Admin Manager- Scott Clark

Wabash

Wabash Office Manager/MEG Coordinator - Judy Kinnick

Wabash Business Manager - Jody Belton

African Immigrant Ministries Director- Isaac Bujambi

Wabash Park Camp & Retreat Center Director- John Lancaster

Wabash Park Camp & Retreat Center Reservations- Renita Joles