Maybe you are in Fall in your life - a time of change where the winds of transition are blowing and you recognize that something is dying. You may not even know what is coming next, but it is a time of transition.

Maybe you are in Winter in your life - a time when hope is hard to find. A time when life is covered up by the cover of snow, branches are bare and you are holding on, hoping for new life to begin one day.

Maybe you are in Spring in your life - a time when you sense the beginning of new life. You are beginning to hope again and the smell of something new is in the air. It is easier to believe and more comfortable to try new things.

Maybe you are in Summer in your life - a time when things come relatively easy. The sun is shining and you are enjoying the warmth of friendship and family. Things are good and joy comes easy.

We are a people who want Summer all of the time in our lives.

But God never promised us endless Summers.

In fact, He told us through his servant Solomon that there is a season for everything (Ecclesiastes 3:1).

We miss the lessons (and joy) of Winter when we long for Summer. We miss the lessons (and joy) of Summer if we fear the coming Winter.

God knows the season of life we are in and He has a purpose for every season under heaven.

BE ok in the season you are in.

And let your people BE ok with the season they are in.

For God has a purpose and is at work.

Several years ago, Nichole Nordeman wrote a song called Every Season. It is a great reminder that God is at work in every season of our lives.

And... this theme of seasons would be a great theme to use during Advent this year as a suggestion. Take your people through Advent using a different season each Sunday and re-telling the story of Jesus' birth through the lens of those involved and the season of life where they found themselves or the season of promise/anticipation in the history of God's purposes.

Here is a link to Every Season by Nichole Nordeman:

God bless

Superintendent John

Democratic Republic of the Congo update

As I shared with you last week, the violence in the DRC has escalated over the past few week. Several of our Wabash/New South pastors have had their villages attacked and burned by rebel forces.

Family members of our pastors and people in the region have fled and are hiding. At least 12 Free Methodist Churches have been burned. And there are several thousand refugees now hiding out at the Linda Stryker Academy and the Free Methodist Church nearby.

We have set up a fund through the Wabash Conference and Lifeway Free Methodist Church to give aid directly to people in need.

You can either give to Lifeway and mark it for Congo relief:

Lifeway FMC

5900 W 46th Street

Indianapolis, IN 46254

or through the Wabash Conference website to the Congo Relief Fund: WabashConference.org

HEY Free Methodist Youth Workers!

I hope you’ve heard, FMYC 2022 is happening! We’ll gather on the campus of Colorado State University in Ft. Collins, Colorado June 27-July 1, 2022.

FMYC (Free Methodist Youth Conference) is a week-long event designed for your high school students. (Bringing Middle School students is up to the discretion of the Youth Worker. But again – please know that the event is programmed with high school students in mind.)

The Scriptures tell us that followers of Jesus are “a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession…” (1 Peter 2:9). We are Marked. Our identity is in Jesus. This next Summer we’ll spend a week together in Colorado, looking at what this means!

Pastors - There are still a few slots left for the Forge America ONLINE Cohort that begins THURSDAY OCTOBER 21st at night.

Please connect with Dwight Weber at dwight.weber@missionigniter.org if you want more information or would like to be a part of this cohort.