POW – Page 4 – Alumni Blog

September 28, 2017September 28, 2017

Pastor of the Week: Garrett Howell at Awaken Ministries

By: Dezaray Barr

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Garrett Howell is the Founder of Awaken Ministries. He graduated from Indiana Wesleyan University in 2013 with a bachelor’s degree in Christian Ministries and in 2016 with a graduate degree in Practical Theology.

“Being an IWU student taught me the importance of seeking God’s presence in my everyday life,” Howell said. “I vividly remember spending hours in my hall chapel as a freshman, praying and seeking God for a fresh movement of His Spirit in my life. I was surrounded by students and professors who encouraged this pursuit of the Lord, and they added wisdom and insight into my walk with the Lord.”

One of Howell’s favorite professors was Dr. Chris Bounds. “He taught our Theology 1 course and our Theology 2 courses. These classes were powerful and pushed us as students to seek the work of the Holy Spirit in our own lives,” Howell shared. “I remember having tears in my eyes during many class periods as we studied about the work of God in our lives, because I was so needy and hungry for the reality of God’s transforming work in my own life. These courses taught us the reality of God’s work in our lives and that we can and should expect and seek that work today. Bounds was a pastor to us all, and still is a pastor to me.” Bounds also currently serves on the board of directors for Awaken.

When Awaken began at Indiana Wesleyan, 10 students were selected to be part of the first discipleship group on campus. “These 10 became a close-knit, deeply passionate team that often resembled a spiritual family: they cared for one another and urged one another on toward Christ,” Howell said. “I will never forget a retreat we took as a team one Spring semester. We went to one of the student’s homes for a weekend of fun. We played Frisbee and soccer, ate great food and laughed a lot. But most of all, we spent time praying over one another and speaking into each other’s lives. The authenticity and vulnerability of that community was the most powerful thing I had ever felt in my life. I knew, at that moment, that this was the right thing for me to be focusing on in life. It was an undeniable reminder that my life should be spent seeing young believers wake up in their faith and become fully sold out to the Gospel.”

Howell has seen many incredible moments at the hands of God through Awaken. “I remember a night when our weekly Awaken service was about to begin at Indiana Wesleyan University. Just before the service, our student interns walked through the student center to invite additional students to join the event. During this walk, one of our interns encountered an IWU student who was less than enthusiastic about joining the service; in fact, this student was very much opposed to joining our worship event. For reasons we still don’t know, this student decided to take the interns’ advice and attend Awaken anyway. As the service began, the presence of God was overwhelmingly present in an undeniable way. People began to come forward to the altar and receive prayer, in spite of the fact that no altar call had been made. The student who didn’t want to come was watching this, clearly surprised at what was going on. As the service continued, this student began to feel a sense of conviction, and the Spirit moving in his own life. Crying hard, he walked forward and knelt down to the ground, where one of his friends came and prayed with him. Needless to say, God was moving powerfully that evening!” Howell explained.

Howell encourages IWU students to be strong in their faith now, “Don’t wait,” he said. “The way you live life now is creating your lifestyle for the future. You are becoming the husband, wife, father, mother, businessman, pastor, coworker and Christ-follower that you’ll be the rest of your life by how you’re living today.”

Indiana Wesleyan University’s Homecoming schedule this year includes the Awaken Night of Worship on Thursday, October 5th. This event will be a worship service that gathers alumni and current students together to seek a fresh movement of God’s Spirit in our lives and in our community. Worship band Alanna Story will be leading worship. and Garrett Howell will be preaching. Doors open at 9 pm, and the service begins at 9:30 pm. We would love to see you there!

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Written by Dezaray Barr, PR Specialist for the Alumni Office. Dezaray is a junior Strategic Communication and Honors Humanities double major at Indiana Wesleyan University in the John Wesley Honors College. At IWU, Dezaray runs both the JWHC Blog and her own blog. Visit Dez’s website at www.dezaraybarr.weebly.com.

September 21, 2017

Pastor of the Week: Logan Patriquin

By: Dezaray Barr

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Logan Patriquin graduated from Southern Wesleyan University in 2012 with B.A. in Religion and from Asbury Theological Seminary in 2016 with an M.A. in Theological Studies.

“I originally enrolled at Southern Wesleyan University as a Biology major,” Patriquin explained. “I had colorful dreams of working in the field of Chondrichthyology—the study of cartilaginous fishes that includes sharks, skates, rays, and chimaeras. I was particularly interested in the engineering and field-testing of shark repellent technologies. As a freshman Biology student at SWU, your first semester includes Biology 101 for majors. This course was taught by one amazing lady name Dr. Susan Rouse. In 2014, Dr. Rouse passed away after a two-year battle with lung cancer, but not before making a lasting impact in the lives of hundreds of students. I walked into Dr. Rouse’s classroom a puffed-up, arrogant young man who didn’t expect a fair or in-depth presentation of Biology from a conservative Christian school. I was wrong. Dr. Rouse was many things, but arrogant or naïve she was not. I owe so much of my faith to this woman. She taught me through her unwavering kindness, sharp whit, and obvious deep devotion to Christ that one can be a Christian without sacrificing the life of the mind. She even took me on as her lab assistant. I remember feeling awestruck by the way she instructed in the fields of biology, physiology of behavior and scientific literacy. I grew closer to God because of her faithful dedication to her discipline. She sparked in me the desire to read and write in the area of science and theology in order to help others encounter the glory of God in the sciences.

“Fortunately for me, as a Biology major I still had to take Basic Christian Doctrine as a core general education course. Thank God for fine arts educational institutions!” Patriquin said. “In this class, I met the wisdom and humility of Dr. Bob Black. Over the course of a semester, I heard the gospel proclaimed plainly and persuasively. Bob Black was able to color all the way to the edges in the beautiful, full-bodied story of the Christian faith. Honestly, I grew up serving God but never really loved God until someone had the presence of mind to help me work through some challenging theological questions. I owe a debt to him for stirring up in me a genuine love for God.”

It was because of this professor that Patriquin discovered two of his passions: helping people reconcile their Christian faith with the sciences and diving deeper into the mysteries of God. These passions led Patriquin to marry his lovely wife, Shaina, serve briefly as an assistant pastor in Belton, SC and eventually to enroll at Asbury Theological Seminary.

“Asbury was a full dose of humility. I always maintained high grades, but I had to work for them– more than having to, I wanted to,” Patriquin said. “I devoured reading texts and relished the opportunity to ask world-class faculty every question I could. I even audited extra classes every semester because I couldn’t fit everything I wanted to learn into my course schedule or budget. One thing I loved about Asbury was how with rare exception, every professor poured into me and every other student.”

When asked if he could illustrate a time when he knew he had chosen the right path in becoming a pastor, Patriquin said, “I reluctantly changed my major and my career ambitions when over the course of two full months God just wouldn’t be quiet. After I encountered the love of God in a real way at SWU, he started working on me. He asked me to care more about helping people see him then helping people stay away from sharks. After much counsel and internal struggle, I gave in to a call to ministry. This call has been confirmed every step of the way: in my first pastoral position, finishing my religious studies and SWU and Asbury, and now in my role as Lead Pastor at Schuyler Avenue Wesleyan Church. I feel God’s presence in my life and know I am walking in his will.”

Patriquin has been at Schuyler in Lafayette, Indiana since June of 2016. “Schuyler Avenue Wesleyan Church is a community that exists for the 116,000,” Patriquin explained. “During the 2010 United States Census, 116,000 people in Tippecanoe County self-identified as “religiously non-affiliated” or were affiliates of obscure religious groups. Obviously this number is constantly changing, but the 116,000 is a symbol; a symbol that reminds us, ‘the harvest is great but the laborers are few’ (Matt 9:32). The 116,000 serves as a call to action. While the gospel message is supposed to go to the ends of the earth, we know that God has uniquely placed us in this community to be a lighthouse in this darkness. Even in this past year, we have seen a shift take place in our church. While we are still learning how to come together in practical ways to accomplish this mission, it has been amazing to witness the mental shift in our congregation. When we are making decisions, planning events, crafting our worship services or group meeting, people are motivated by the 116,000—thinking practically about how even our internal ministries can have an outreach angle. It is organically beginning to take root in our hearts and beginning to branch out into our community.”

Patriquin encourages IWU students to “allow your time spent in college to transform you. Drink deeply of the well of knowledge and wisdom of your professors. Learn as much as you can as you learn to think for yourselves. Above all, ministry students– seek out local church experience during your education.”

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September 7, 2017

Pastor of the Week: Randall Davis

By: Dezaray Barr

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Randall James Davis is the Chief Ministries Officer of the National Network of Youth Ministries. He gradated from Indiana Wesleyan University in 1986 with a degree in Christian Ministries. “IWU gave me a great start in ministry,” Davis said. “It helped me connect with ministries across the Wesleyan Church and with many who serve in ministry. Dr. Bud Bence was always an encouragement to seek new ways of serving people. The Pastoral Ministries class gave me a great picture of being creative in ministry.”

Davis knows that he has done well in being a pastor when he watches his former students. “It is an amazing blessing to see and hear the stories of those former students, serving others with the love of Christ,” Davis explained. “They are in ministry, education, medicine and business. They are leading their families and friends to grow in an understanding of the Kingdom of God and the calling God has placed on their lives. That makes everything that I have been blessed to be a part of worth it!”

The National Network of Youth Ministries (NNYM) serves youth leaders (full-time, part-time or volunteers), helping them connect with other youth leaders so they never feel like they are doing ministry alone. NNYM also helps youth leaders advance their ministry to every teenager in their community. “We know that most youth pastors stay an average of 3.3 years,” Davis stated. “If we connect them to a youth ministry network where they do not feel alone, they stay in that ministry 9.2 years.”

This ministry is important and most definitely needed across our country. “There are 32 million teenagers in the USA, 26 million on 67,000 high school and junior high campuses,” Davis said. “There are 1,200 Juvenile Detention Centers across the states, housing about 1 million teenagers with another million in half way houses, ‘last chance’ schools and probation. We have to have healthy youth leaders, in every community, reaching out to every teenager.”

As Chief Ministries Officer, Davis works with the NNYM staff that is spread out across the country. This ministry is currently serving over 6,000 youth leaders. He also works with the denominational youth ministry leaders and para-church ministry leaders of over 170 denominations and organizations. “We work to network youth leaders in every community to help teenagers become lifelong followers of Jesus Christ. This will only happen if Christ followers in every community will share the gospel and work to advance ministry to every teenager,” Davis said.

Every year, NNYM hosts the Youth Ministry Executive Council that invites the leaders from the 170+ partner organizations and denominations to gather for united prayer for every teenager, relational connections allowing each to work together, and challenges to improve our ministry and leadership. “Not everyone can come every year,” Davis said, “but we always have a great time seeing the Kingdom of God come together.”

Randall has been married to his wife, Jama, for 33 years. They have two children (both married), Ian and Jessica Davis and Amanda and Michael Alexander.

“Through the years I have taken an interest in following Randall and his ministry. I know the wonderful impact that he has made. I know how vital his ministry in for our world today. Youth pastors and ministry leaders are on the front lines for the hearts and minds of our youth where the battle rages every day,” Rick Carder, IWU’s Director of Alumni and Church Engagement, said.

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September 1, 2017

Pastor of the Week: Alan Downing

By: Dezaray Barr

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Reverend Alan Bennett Downing is the Lead Pastor of First Wesleyan Church in Frankfort, Indiana. He’s been there since August 2014.

Downing grew up in a United Methodist Church near Lafayette, Indiana. He played the piano and organ, and he helped with the choir as needed. “As I got older and out of school, I ventured into the military but continued to offer my musical gifts with the churches in the communities that I lived in,” Downing said. “It seemed clear to me that God’s musical gifts that were imparted to me for the church. How wrong I was in thinking that was all I was going to do.”

Downing graduated from Indiana Wesleyan University in 2008 with a Christian Ministry’s degree. “My future had already been influenced by God, and that’s what landed me at IWU,” Downing said. “The teaching staff at IWU are incredible. They each have powerful testimonies to what brought them to the Lord, as well as how they ended up at IWU. Dr. David Smith, Dr. Keith Drury, Dr. Christopher Bounds, Dr. Jim Lo, and Dr. Constance Cherry invested deeply into not only me, but my peers as well.”

Downing’s time at IWU was not particularly easy. “Everyone at IWU personally invested in me when I reached the lowest points of my life in regards to health issues, watching a parent slip away, or just needing to have someone to talk to,” Downing explained. “They loved on me, cried with me, laughed with me, admonished me, and I knew from the feelings I had on a daily basis, were praying fervently for me.”

Downing’s time at First Wesleyan in Frankfort has been an incredible time for him and the church. “Our congregation is diversified in age, there are two retired pastors who worship there (which can be very intimidating at times), and we are in the midst of growth and change,” Downing explained. “It makes each day different than the one before in regards to what the focus is on. But at the end of the day, God is a providing and loving God and His will is be done at FWC!”

Rick Carder, IWU’s Director of Alumni and Church Engagement, said, “Alan is a person that knows everyone and makes everyone feel special. Recently I worked with him as he volunteered his time at the State UMC Conference serving in the IWU booth. He was positive, friendly, and well-known.”

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July 20, 2017August 23, 2017

Pastor of the Week: Rick Weesner

By: Emily Neideck

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Rick Weesner is the pastor at Garrison Hills Wesleyan in Battle Creek, Michigan, a small church with a close-knit group of attendees. On top of his work as a pastor, Weesner runs an adoption ministry and is actively involved in the Wesleyan Church Campus Challenge scholarship program.

Weesner felt his call to ministry is 1984 and began attending a program through the Wesleyan Headquarters’ Education Department that would allow him to take ministerial courses at surrounding colleges and eventually become ordained. The program was appealing to students with families and full-time careers because it allowed flexibility. Weesner was ordained in 1989, and he spent time pastoring other Michigan churches before settling in Battle Creek.

Weesner’s church, Garrison Hills Wesleyan, has a unique focus on children and youth ministries. Weesner said about his biggest struggle, “Ministry has changed over the years. I’ve always felt the call to a smaller church and that is difficult in today’s world when the focus is on everything big.”

Weesner and his family have a passion for the country of Colombia. The family has two adopted daughters from Colombia, and they have two biological daughters. Their second daughter has adopted two daughters from Colombia as well. After going through the adoption process multiple times, the family realized that the process was financially taxing, and they wanted to do something to help. Weesner and his family created an organization called Project Hope Ministries. The organization provides affordable housing for families that need to stay in a country for adoption purposes. Weesner said, “Our ministry also is working with the communities to help with education.”

Weesner is also involved in Wesleyan Church Campus Challenge and has been for 25 years. He stated, “My kids were also involved. They wanted to go to Indiana Wesleyan, so we looked for ways to raise money for that. Because the challenge was helpful in enabling my daughters to go to IWU, I’ve always wanted to help other kids as well, and the challenge provided that opportunity. I’ve always found enjoyment in hearing the success stories.” Indiana Wesleyan University is the most successful of competitions. Currently, Weesner is the director of the IWU competition.

The Wesleyan Church Campus Challenge will take place on IWU’s campus on July 29th. To learn more about the competition, click here.

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Written by Emily Neideck, writer for the Alumni Center and a junior Writing major at IWU. She is active on the cross country and track teams. She is passionate about using her writing skills to share the good news of Christ with others and writes often on her personal blog at www.emilylehner.wordpress.com.

June 15, 2017August 23, 2017

Pastor of the Week: Dan Berry

By: Emily Neideck

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14595655_10154431891886278_3195805330511801868_n — Dan Berry, photo obtained from Facebook

Dr. Dan Berry is the District Superintendent for the South Coastal District of the Wesleyan Church. Before his position as District Superintendent, Berry served as a pastor in different churches in Pennsylvania, as the District Superintendent for the New England region of the Wesleyan Church and at a church in Warsaw, Indiana.

Although Berry graduated from United Wesleyan College in Allentown, PA, his sons Jason and Joshua and first wife Shelley and second wife Debbie, were graduates of Indiana Wesleyan University. Berry’s second wife, Debbie, has two sons that also attended Indiana Wesleyan.

Berry graduated from United Wesleyan College with a bachelor’s degree in Pastoral Ministry. He has since continued to pursue a master’s degree in Pastoral Ministry from Evangelical School of Theology, and he also completed a Doctorate of Ministry degree from Drew University in Madison, NJ.

As District Superintendent, Berry oversees over 100 pastors. The South Coastal District is also home to the largest Wesleyan Church, 12Stone Church in Lawrenceville, GA. The church has grown immensely since Berry has been in the district. He stated, “District Superintendent is sort of a pastor to the pastors. Having my previous pastoral experience, I understand what it is they [the pastors] are dealing with. You know what you have gone through, and there is probably nothing that happens today that you haven’t been through and are able to help with.”

Berry’s calling to ministry came through a single, personal moment during his freshman year of college. He said, “I had a moment of surrender, and when I surrendered my life to Christ, I knew that would be my call to be a pastor. I was fighting that because my father is a pastor.” Berry’s life since college has been an example of the deep surrender that he experienced in college.

In 2007, Berry and his first wife were in a terrible accident. He said, “The greatest life changing event took place in 2007 when my first wife Shelley and I were in a very serious accident. She was in a coma for three months and experienced months of rehab. I provided 24/7 home care for 2 ½ years until her death on March 5, 2010.” Much like Berry’s call to ministry, this event changed his life forever. He stated, “The death of my wife, Shelley, was the most painful, most difficult challenge I have ever had.”

16113941_10154747202756278_7745398110278736400_n — Dan and his wife Debbie, photo obtained from Facebook

However, in the midst of this hardship, Berry has been able to have joy. He said, “I am confident that she [Shelley] is at home with the Lord Jesus Christ. God has turned my “mourning into joy” by providing me a second chance with a new marriage and a new family.”

Challenges have arisen in both Berry’s personal life and his pastoral life, and he said about his pastoral challenges, “I think that the toughest thing is criticism and the personal expectations that are unrealistic that we place on ourselves. We hold ourselves higher than God. I’ve had to learn to lead for an audience of one. The only one I am trying to please is God.” To accomplish this, Berry, once again, practices complete surrender – an act of keeping God at the center of his pastoring.

Berry spoke of God’s ability to know each of our unique gifts and talents. He said, “Remember that God has called you to be you and not someone else. He has called you with your talents, personalities, and skills and you have to trust that God knows exactly what you bring to the church, your job and your community. Just go ahead and be yourself – of course, be your best self.”

“It is a pleasure for us to honor Dr. Daniel A. Berry as this week’s Pastor of the Week,” says Rev. Rick Carder, Indiana Wesleyan University’s Office of Alumni & Church Engagement. Berry’s story of personal trial and triumph is inspiring to us all and a reminder of God’s faithfulness.

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May 31, 2017

Alex Falder and Relational Evangelism (Pastor of the Week)

By: Emily Lehner

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Alex Falder and his family Photo obtained from Facebook — Alex Falder and his family
Photo obtained from Facebook

Alex Falder graduated from Lakeview Christian High School, and although it was a tough decision between Indiana Wesleyan and Taylor University, Falder chose Taylor University. His call to ministry goes back farther than college. Falder’s youth pastor was Charlie Alcock.

Falder said, “My call to ministry was really felt during my senior year of high school- particularly to youth ministry. So, I studied Recreation and Leadership, with a minor in Youth Ministry.” This major focused on using the outdoors to shape one’s faith. Falder planned to pursue camp ministry after college.

During college, Falder worked for Springhill Camps doing wilderness trips. After college, his brother, who worked for Youth for Christ, hired him to begin a Campus Life in Ithaca, Michigan. In this position, Falder encouraged children in the area to join churches.

Following this job, Falder moved to Pittsburgh to work as a youth pastor. “I really grew in a love for the church and ministry in the church. After four years, I came back to get my master’s at Huntington University. This was a time when it became very clear that my talents were meant to be used inside the church.”

After completing his master’s, Falder began his internship at Wabash Friends Church, his home church. Within six months, Falder discovered that the senior pastor at the church was transitioning out. The church leadership believed that he was the one to be the replacement. Falder stated, “I don’t think I was ever planning to be a senior pastor. It just kind of happened.”

As senior pastor, Falder focuses on four main categories of the church. He believes being proactive in every person’s faith walk is of high importance. He said, “A healthy church has 25% quadrants. 25% of your people are exploring Christ, maybe that haven’t even come to know him yet. 25% of the people are coming to know Christ. They’re figuring out who He is. Then, you have 25% who are close to Christ, but they are still figuring out things in life. And then lastly, you have 25% who are all in. They’re serving and devoted to Christ. As a pastor, I am constantly thinking about how I can assist these four groups in moving forward.” Falder said he is always attempting to envision which programs and events and messages will help each group.

As far as reaching out, Falder believes a relationship is the most important and primary step in discipleship. He said, “I really have wrestled with the idea that church is the place where evangelism takes place. Really, it should be just not the staff’s job, but the church’s job to be meeting people where they are at, helping them walk down that road.” Falder spends his days thinking of ways to reach out to the Wabash community and also helping to encourage growth within the congregation members. “We are trying to make the person’s first exposure to Christ relational and not walking through the doors of the church,” he said.

Wabash Friends Church partners with community organizations to pursue this type of relationship with others. Falder said, “The way we look at missions is that we don’t just want to fund it, but we want to have people involved. So, we have people who are going and participating.”

The church focuses heavily on youth. For example, Wabash Friends has a partnership with Kids Hope. Members of the church visit local schools and mentor the elementary students. They currently have approximately 25 mentors. Falder said, “We also have a partnership with Youth for Christ. This is something that has grown in Wabash. Now, all four schools have a Youth for Christ program.” The church also partners with FCA and The Access. “We see these as opportunities to be a part of kids’ lives. We want to walk along them from an early age,” he said.

Falder said that his time spent in college allowed him to see his need for relationship. “I need to have people around me that will sharpen me,” he stated. He puts these insights into practice at Wabash Friends Church and in the surrounding Wabash community, building relationships with all he comes into contact with.

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Written by Emily Lehner, a writer for the Alumni Center and a junior Writing major at IWU. She is active on the cross country and track teams. She is passionate about using her writing skills to share the good news of Christ with others.

April 7, 2017

Pastor of the Week: Dwight Elliott

By: Heather Cox

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Dwight Elliott

Dwight Clark Elliott graduated from Indiana Wesleyan University with his B.A. in General Studies with a focus on Biblical Studies in 2013.

Today, Elliott is the Senior Pastor at Amboy Friend’s Church in Amboy, Indiana.

Elliott said that Indiana Wesleyan University greatly influenced his future. He said IWU helped him focus on core values and the importance of a Christian education– not just in the workplace, but in every place.

Some of Elliott’s favorite courses through IWU included Old and New Testament. He said that though he didn’t have Wilbur Williams, he had Greg Smith for Old Testament, and he really enjoyed his class.

As for how he transitioned into God’s call for his life, Elliott decided to first further his education.

“I grew up on a farm and had returned to working with my father, and was called from the pig pin to a pulpit,” Elliott said. “When I came behind the pulpit to work full time in ministry, I had already had a background of working part time ministry for a number of years, but I knew at that time the Lord was calling me to sharpen my focus to continue to be a leader, which means that I needed to be a learner. So I returned back to school to finish my bachelors degree in that time.”

Since then, Elliott said there have been a number of times in which God has confirmed this calling into ministry. One of these confirmations came shortly after obtaining his bachelor’s degree.

“Shortly after my graduation there was a knock on the door here at the church. It was a man to say he was had just been released from jail. We ended up getting him some help, because he said he wanted out of that lifestyle. It took a while to get him into a rehabilitation house, but shortly thereafter he was in that house living. I went to go visit one day, and he introduced me to the other guys in the house as his best friend,” Elliott explained. “It just … humbled me to think here’s this guy–he’s been through hardship in life–and yet God is kind of confirming that call. Because God may not necessarily always call the qualified, but he definitely qualifies those that He calls, and that was one moment I could say for certain I felt that confirmation of that call.”

Though Elliott has experienced confirmation from the Lord, there have been difficult times throughout this journey and process as well.

“I think sometimes the biggest difficulty we face is when we allow pain to to get between us and what the Lord is trying to do in our lives. And sometimes we let that pain block Him out, and it can become a distraction or a detour. When the truth is, we need to see that as an opportunity where the Lord’s working on us,” Elliott said.

Elliott also went on to describe some of the challenges he has faced in his life. Elliott explained he has a 15 year old son who is autistic and nonverbal, and he said he continues to learn from his son who always radiates joy.

“He reminds me every day of the fact that we shouldn’t take life for granted and to see joy in the smallest of things. Because the frustration that he must have every single day is hard for me to imagine– not being able to express vocally what he wants, what his needs are– yet he shows patience, and he is such a happy guy. I mean he is… he’s full of joy and we see that reflected in his eyes, in his smile, and his laugh,” Elliott explained. “It helps remind us that even in the midst of struggle and strife, and even a midst of pain, there is joy and that joy helps us to look past that pain, past that distraction, past that detour, to see the very thing that God wants us to focus on and is praising him.”

Elliott explained that his congregation at Amboy Friend’s Church is unique and values reaching out to the community. The church is from the Friend’s denomination. Elliott said another way of explaining that would be to use the “old school term Quaker.”

Elliott said one of the unique things the church does is a monthly outreach program with the community, called “Free Meal Ministry.”

“We give a meal that is absolutely free. We put it on here at the church, and we often make deliveries in the area. On average we have been serving about 175 meals every month for, I think we’re in our fifth maybe sixth year at this point, and we continue to reach out to community,” Elliott said. “There are people that will come into our family life center for a meal that would not feel comfortable coming into the church but on enter into our gym and there are some very healthy things that begin around the table.”

Elliott went on to say that healing begins to take place during these meals, as people share their stories, their struggles, their hurt, and what they need prayer for.

Elliott said another unique factor about the congregation, is the wide variety of generations.

“We have a lot of folks from previous generations, but we have held their hand as they went on to be with the Lord… and then we’re seeing more young families are coming into the congregation. It’s kind of a transition time a Amboy Friend’s. We’re seeing more and more young families coming into our church. Which is a blessing, and it’s an encouragement to see that happen,” Elliott said.

As for words of wisdom for current IWU students, Elliott wants to encourage students to persevere in the pursuit of their education, and to evaluate what is truly important in life.

“I would just encourage them to continue to continue their path. My bachelor’s degree was held up for a lot of years because of me, and I got in the way of it–in truth I should have completed it a lot earlier, but I was in the way of it,” Elliott explained. “Sometimes life has a habit of doing that, but if anything, I really learned through the online experience at Indiana Wesleyan how to be disciplined and focused so that my studies have their place in my life. There are plenty of times in life where ‘urgent’ is going to try to crowd out what’s important, and it seems to challenge us on a daily basis, but my time in Indiana Wesleyan really helped me to determine what was important, so that when ‘urgent’ came along, I knew exactly what ‘urgent’ was, but I knew truly what was important.”

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Written by Heather Cox, writer for the Alumni Office. Heather is a junior Journalism major at IWU. She is also the Editor of GrantCOnnected.net, a community news site run by IWU students. She is unsure of where life will take her after college, but she knows she never wants to stop writing!

March 24, 2017

Pastor of the Week: Matthew Schwarzentraub

By: Dezaray Barr

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Matthew Schwarzentraub, the Connections Pastor at Croswell Wesleyan Church in Croswell Michigan, graduated from IWU in 2012 with bachelor’s degrees in Christian Ministries and Biblical Literature. He graduated just this last year from Wesley Seminary with his masters of divinity from IWU as well.

Schwarzentraub has been a pastor of Croswell Wesleyan five years this June. He began as an intern in the children’s ministry. In the fall of 2013 he resigned, but just a few weeks later he was called back by the senior pastor to be the connections pastor.

“My job is to serve as the connections pastor, focusing on hospitality, connections and life groups,” Schwarzentraub said.

While a student at IWU, Schwarzentraub was involved in the young adult ministry at College Wesleyan Church and was a senator in IWU’s Student Government Association. Both involvements and his friends at IWU affected him in large ways.

Schwarzentraub said, “I believe that, even though I did not see it at the time, those two activities shaped the way I minister to this day. Another equally influential factor is the close-knit friendships that I made at IWU. I learned more about God and more about how he created me through my friends. We encouraged each other to lean into who we were made to be.”

Schwarzentraub favorite professor during his time at IWU was Dr. David Vardaman who taught Church Leadership and Wesleyan Church History. “What I love about him is that he is real, and he cares deeply about his students. I could sense that he wanted to teach knowledge, but he also wanted to teach character,” Schwarzentraub said. “I always knew that he cared about me personally.”

Matthew Schwarzentraub during his time in children's ministry — Matthew Schwarzentraub during his time in children’s ministry

One of Schwarzentraub’s favorite people at IWU was Dr. Keith Newman. “I’m not exactly sure how I got connected with him in the first place. It was probably through SGA,” Schwarzentraub said, “but I remember sitting down with him and discussing options for seminary. I had my mind on an established, more prominent program. He told me a story about a surgeon and a family doctor. The surgeon sees people, operates on them and doesn’t see them again. The family doctor sees patients, knows them and checks on them frequently throughout their lifetime. Dr. Newman then asked me to think about being a professor or a pastor. The more prominent seminary will train you to be a professor and you will know students for a semester and then send them off. This other newer seminary will help you continue to develop the heart of a pastor and you will know people for a lifetime. Which one do you want?”

Schwarzentraub knew his calling to be a pastor was real as a child. “One of the most distinct experiences came from my senior pastor when I was younger,” Schwarzentraub said. “It was at North Lakeport Wesleyan. I was involved in the Wednesday night CYC (youth) program, and we had to interview the pastor. As I finished my interview with Rev. Steve DeNeff, he asked if he could ask me a question. ‘Matt, what do you want to do with your life?’ I replied, ‘I want to be a pastor.’ He smiled, and later he was talking to my parents and recalled the conversation. After telling them what I said Pastor Steve said, ‘If he would have said anything else, I would not have believed him.’”

If Schwarzentraub could give current IWU students one piece of advice, it would be, “Put people first. It is easy to get distracted and be focused on results,” Schwarzentraub said, “but people need hope and the best way to show them hope is by listening, encouraging and caring.”

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Written by Dezaray Barr, PR Specialist for the Alumni Office. Dezaray is a sophomore Strategic Communication and Honors Humanities double major at Indiana Wesleyan University in the John Wesley Honors College. At IWU Dezaray is involved in PRSSA leadership and runs both the JWHC Blog and her own blog. Visit Dez’s website at www.dezaraybarr.weebly.com.

March 17, 2017March 17, 2017

Aaron Gross: Pastor of the Week

By: Heather Cox

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Aaron and his wife Peggy, photo from Facebook

Rev. Aaron Gross graduated from Indiana Wesleyan University in 2007 with a bachelor’s degree in Christian Ministry and graduated with a Master of Divinity in 2012. He became an adjunct faculty for Wesley Seminary in the fall of 2012 teaching a spiritual formation class for pastors. In addition, Gross is going to begin in the Doctor of Ministry program with a concentration in preaching in the upcoming summer of 2017.

Currently, Gross is the Senior Pastor of the Logansport Church of the Brethren.

For Gross, being an IWU student was a very rewarding journey which he is very thankful for. Gross began his journey at IWU as an adult student taking night classes in Fort Wayne to satisfy his General Studies. From there, he transferred those credits to IWU’s Marion campus to begin his Christian Ministries degree.

Becoming an adjunct faculty was a blessing which came through a very important conversation Gross had with Wesley Seminary’s Dr. Smith.

“I sat with him in Baldwin one day during my undergraduate degree and asked him, ‘How do I know if God wants to me to teach at a college level or continue to preach in His church?’ Dr. Smith said, “‘Is one of them wrong? Is it wrong to teach pastoral ministries or to preach God’s word? This is not a right or wrong answer. Could it be that God just wants to give you the desires of your heart?’” Gross explained.

It was a few years later when Gross was walking across IWU’s campus that he expressed to the Lord what his desire was.

“I remember saying, ‘God, if it is okay with you, I would love to teach young men and women at this campus how to be good pastors,’” said Gross. “It was just days later that Dr. Schenck asked if I would lead one of the cohorts for the master of divinity program when I graduated. Dr. Smith was right, God was just wanting to give me the desires of my heart.”

Gross has a pretty powerful story behind his call into ministry. Though he had started out in his family run business straight out of high school, it was while on a men’s retreat that Gross felt God had ministry in store for his future.

Gross said he was nervous to come home and explain this calling to his parents, as this would now cause his father to have to close their family business at the end of his retirement.

“As I told my parents the story, my dad said, ‘Well, I guess it is time to tell him the story.’ I thought to myself, ‘What story?’ My mom started telling of her having rheumatic fever as a child, her struggles with infertility and being told she would never bear a child. She said, ‘Your dad and I were married and continued to hope that the doctors were wrong, but month after month it seemed if they were right. One night, I got on my knees and prayed, ‘Lord, if you will give me a child, I will give him back to you.’ Nine months later you were born,’” Gross said.

Since hearing this story and being in full-time ministry, Gross treasures this story in the midst of difficult times.

“I have thought back to that day many times. When times get tough and I don’t see God’s hand at work, or when I am just tired of the fight ministry always seems to present, I go back to that moment and remember I am a child of a parent’s prayer, and I continue the work God has called me to do,” Gross said.

Even with this confirmed calling to what Gross does on a daily basis, there are still hardships and difficulties that come with it.

“Ministry has had its ups and downs,” Gross said. “There almost comes a time when you are afraid of good days because you know what is coming. But how do you decide if a problem is big or small? It seems that big problems have a way of diminishing in size and small problems grow into great difficulties.”

Through the difficulties that ministry brings, Gross said he is blessed to serve a growing congregation in a dying city.

“Our town has gone from 22,000 people to 16,000 people in twenty years. But the church has gone from 34 in worship to over 200 on a Sunday morning in that same amount of time,” Gross said.

The church has also added a Friday night service called “Hurts, Habits, and Hang-ups,” which brings in 70 people who are recovering addicts and their families. The church also has a ministry called “Prayer and Share”, in which they partner with teachers and faculty in their local school systems. The ministry brings them cookies and candies once a month, to let them know the church is praying for them.

The church also started a daycare to provide teachers a place close to their schools to bring their children for child care.

“Eighteen years ago, the church was used one day a week. Now we have room numbers on all the rooms to keep track of what is going on each night,” Gross said. “These rooms are filled with activities like exercise groups, accountability groups and meditation groups.”

As for advice for current IWU students, Gross has something practical to tell students.

“When your time at IWU is over, live your life in such a way that others would want to attend this grand university because of what they see in you,” Gross said.

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