“Aligning your ministries with a missional focus on a discipleship mission”
Your Church Has a Purpose. Its the greatest commandment and the great commission fused together in one calling to make disciples.
Every Ministry Has a Part. We believe every ministry in your church has a part to play in accomplishing this mission.
Your Church is Inter-connected. We like the word “alignment.” When in alignment, different pieces are put in the right relationship with each other and work together for the same purpose.
CMAD Updates | Re-Entry After COVID-19
The current COVID-19 crisis has caused us to pivot in many ways. However, the mission remains the same. Here in CMAD we’re committed to serving you and helping you live out the great commission.
Watch the video to the left for a word of encouragement form our Executive Director, Anita Eastlack. Below are resources to help you continue to carry out this mission.
CMAD Coronavirus Resource Page
What Should Discipleship Look Like In My Church
This Discipleship tool has been created for you to evaluate your discipleship model in your context, and to adapt it to your zip code.
Movement Over Model
Connecting pastors and churches for effective discipleship and multiplication is one of Church Multiplication and Discipleship’s main approaches.
Leading Like Jesus
Learning to lead like Jesus.
The idea of being a leader can be intimidating to some and sought after by others. Servant leadership is truly an oxymoron. But that is where the Holy Spirit comes in. By his power, we can lead like Jesus!
COVID-19 Celebrations
These are very challenging times. People everywhere are trying to adjust to a new normal – from juggling work hours (at home) and family hours, to home duties, church responsibilities and community opportunities.
Many are trying to grapple with what it can look like to have social distancing but not social isolation; to have social distancing but still have social listening.
We, at CMAD, have listened to and seen SO MANY things to celebrate during these very difficult, but opportunity, stretching times. Thank you for allowing us to encourage you with just a few. God is at work!!!
Fuel WebCon
During the week of April 20-24th, hundreds of Next Gen leaders, pastors & volunteers gathered online for Fuel WebCon 2020. Leaders from from the US, Canada, UK, Australia, and the Caribbean joined throughout the week. Fuel WebCon gave great ways to collaborate and learn from one another, and the teachings helped shape what ministry currently looks like and can look like as pastors and leaders adjust during this season. We are celebrating that so many are hungry to learn, grow, encourage, and collaborate!
RESURRECTION LIFE CHURCH, Tuscon, AZ - Pastor Shalom Liddick
While for some leaders this pandemic has been confusing, for Pastor Shalom, God has given her more clarity in things like tithe online giving. Also, she shared that there are several sub-divisions in their community, and she has begun launching missional communities (her way of reproducing). This pandemic made her realize that she was putting too much emphasis on which home to have the people in the sub-division meet in. She has created links for each sub-division. They are all connecting with each other. The physical gathering does not matter now but will come later and more naturally once the people become cohesive as a group.
Johanna Rugh/Elmonte Wesleyan Church (Hispanic District)
The many, many, many who have been valiantly faithful to allow stretching in the technological arena as they think through how to stay connected with their church family and with their community. We celebrate leaders like Johanna Rugh/Elmonte Wesleyan Church (Hispanic District) who shared about their “You’ll get through this” study group moving to zoom meetings where the Spirit of God is transforming these technology-challenged sisters into warriors of faith. God is giving courage!!
Wes Smith, Northwest District Network of Churches
Intentional focus in being the church “beyond the walls” to share God’s amazing grace. Many pastors reporting they have connected with hundreds more people through live-stream services – and with diverse engagement! DS Wes Smith emailed, “I think the Northwest District Network of Churches just had its best weekend ever! I think we engaged with more people over the weekend than on any previous weekend-other than perhaps an Easter weekend. New channels of connection were opened up and a high percentage of unreached people are ‘tuning in’.” God is loving and forgiving!!
Co-Pastors Danielle and John Freed, Waterline Church
Churches and organizations, like Waterline Church/co-pastors Danielle and John Freed (Crossroads District), who are effectively making NextGen resources available for parents to “pastor” the young lives God has entrusted to them. Parents excitedly sharing that God is talking to our children during family devotions – they are reading His Word with a new desire and perspective! God is instilling His truth!!
Church Planting Celebrations
Even amidst this crazy COVID-19 time, the Kingdom of God is alive and taking ground. As part of the CMAD team in charge of assessments, training, coaching and residencies, we are in continued awe of all that God is doing with church planting in The Wesleyan Church. One big area of celebration is in Church Planter Assessment Center (CPAC) . These events have not only pivoted and adjusted during this, but have increased in frequency and attendance. While January and February CPACs were in person, the March and April CPACs required a virtual platform. Both went extremely well and even reached capacity for number of candidates involved. The response has been so great CMAD has had to ADD yet another virtual CPAC, scheduled for June 1-3. So far this year 20 church plant candidates have gone through a CPAC with 6 more scheduled in June (in comparison, a total of 29 candidates went through assessment in all of 2019). Movement makers are stepping up to God’s call for church planting in The Wesleyan Church.
MOVEMENT CHURCH, Eau Claire, WI (launching in Sept.) Pastor Matt Labbe
We’ve seen a number of people come to know Christ through our online experiences. There’s a woman 3 hours away who found our church, and I had the chance to talk to her yesterday and she said that she’s been longing to find a church like Movement and gave her life to Christ two weeks ago during one of our services. It’s awesome to hear her passion as she’s talking to her kids and grandkids about their relationship with God and how she’s found what she’s been looking for her whole life.
Pastor Jervie Windom, Resonate Church
So many churches and leaders are creatively finding ways to connect with their communities. Communities are even reaching out to churches. Resonate Church/Pastor Jervie Windom (Mountain Plains District) had the mayor’s office call wanting their upcoming programming times so city hall could put it out via their channels, uplifting people community-wide. Illinois State of Corrections asked Heritage Church/Pastor Shawn Cossin (Great Lakes Region) to live stream their service into ALL their state’s prisons. God is showing up in unexpected places!
Pastor AJ Plaizier, Atlantic District
For the many pastors connecting with their church family via Facebook Live – for encouragement, uplifting thoughts, fun, devotions like Pastor AJ Plaizier (Atlantic District) who has not used Facebook live personally before, but is willing to do whatever it takes. God is giving creative ideas!
Pastor Mark Leist, Encounter Church
Celebrating pastors, leaders, individuals who are seeing needs and jumping into action. Concerned people like Encounter Church/Pastor Mark Leist (Great OH District) realized with school out, this would impact students who would be without breakfast and lunch during the week; so Lisa Swickard organized a food outreach. Brandon Center Wesleyan Church/Pastor Juanita Brooks (Northeast District) opened her church for a drive-through food bank and a delivery service. God is supplying needs!
RENOVATE CHURCH, Delmar, MD – Pastor Marilyn Searcey
Pastor Marilyn shares on Facebook – “Praise the Lord today!! A woman messaged us and said she started watching our online service since the pandemic began. She said the Lord is changing her heart and she is eager to begin walking with Christ. The church isn’t closed friends!! She said she is so overwhelmed with the Holy Spirit!!! She said she has never felt so much peach and joy in her life. She is trying to understand what is happening. Discipling and mentoring have already started to happen through Zoom calls with several women. So beautiful what is happening!!!”
COASTAL CHURCH, (Launched 6 months ago) Pastor Jason Baker
A woman who just connected just walked her son through accepting Christ and is now doing a discipleship resource with him.
Pastor Kevin Myers, 12Stone
Celebrating also those who realized the personal touch with their church family is so important and are taking the time and effort to call every attender individually. 12 Stone/Pastor Kevin Myers (South Coastal District) wants his people to know they are still loved, prayed for and finding out needs. God is showing His personal presence!
Pastor Mike and Kristen Oliver, Table Church
Does church planting have a different look right now? YES! But thank God for the perseverance of our heroes, the church planters!! Pastor Mike and Kristen Oliver /Table Church (Florida District) creatively launched in the middle of these tough times. God is giving grit!
Pastor Dick Osborne, Vantage Pointe Church
God is calling pastors out of retirement to help churches continue to thrive. Seasoned pastors, like Pastor Dick Osborne/Vantage Pointe Church (Northeast District), are finding God doing amazing things beyond their imagination! Exciting days!! God is asking everyone to join Him!
Movement over Model. We will not prescribe top-down, one-size-fits-all solutions. Instead, we champion a movement that includes different methods and leave it to you to prayerfully choose the best model for your ZIP code and your context.
Connect over Create. We recognize that some of the best resources we have are created by practitioners in the local church, and we are providing a variety of ways to facilitate a connection between you and those resources.
All Hands on Deck. We believe that if we are going to have a discipleship and church multiplication movement, we are going to need more than one kind of person. Seeing a movement will require pastors and lay people, young and old, every ethnicity and both men and women.
“Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations…”
Matthew 28:19
Church Multiplication & Discipleship Staff
We are here to serve you!
Dr. Anita Eastlack
Executive Director of Church Multiplication & Discipleship
Anita Eastlack serves as the executive director of Church Multiplication and Discipleship, serving to multiply spirit-led disciples, ministries and churches for The Wesleyan Church and beyond. After serving 31 years in local church leadership and four years in district leadership, Anita is passionate about using her spiritual gifts and experiences to serve the kingdom of God through The Wesleyan Church Headquarters.
Anita is an ordained minister in The Wesleyan Church who previously served as co-district superintendent of Penn-Jersey District. She had the privilege of growing up in a church-planting Christian home, where she gave her heart and life fully to the Lord at an early age. A graduate of Houghton College and Wesley Seminary, she has repeatedly proven to be a change agent for the Church. Her wide-ranging ministry experiences include church health, church planting, church growth, fund-raising, networking, vision casting, property acquisition, overseeing district-wide events, missions, providing pastoral and organizational leadership and care and founding and directing a preschool. In her previous role as co-district superintendent, Anita provided leadership and care for congregations who are diverse in location, setting, size, membership composition and ministry focus.
Anita is loved by her husband Karl and her family, and beloved by the many people she serves. Anita is known for being a strategic thinker, an agent of change and a fervent, faithful follower of Christ.
Dr. Ed Love
Director of Church Multiplication
Rev. Kimberly Gladden
Director of Discipleship
Rev. Zach Coffin
Director of Next Gen Multiplication & Discipleship
Josmar Trent
Translation Specialist and Administrative Assistant for Multiethnic
Carolyn Little
Administrative Assistant for Multiplication
Stephana Bledsoe
Administrative Assistant for Discipleship
Christen Carlson
Administrative Assistant for Next Gen Multiplication & Discipleship
Jackie Bledsoe
Digital Communications Specialist
Rhonda Moore
Executive Assistant for Anita Eastlack
Celebrating every time a disciple makes a disciple and a church multiplies itself, until The Wesleyan Church has a transforming presence in every zip code.
A Message from our General Superintendent
There are certain priorities and pursuits that matter and last. They start in the heart of God and through focused prayer capture the heart of The Wesleyan Church. We are commissioned and empowered to be a disciple-making movement (Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 1:8) in multiplying locations. This calls for Kingdom risks, an entrepreneurism of eternal consequence.
We celebrate every time a disciple makes a disciple and a congregation’s spiritual fervor boils over so intensely the church multiplies itself. There must be a variety of models in that multiplication because the church was not mean to stay put. This will require “all hands on deck” — engaging laity as well as clergy, the full giftedness of women in leadership, a range of generations and multiple ethnicities. We will celebrate these things until our people are bringing a transforming presence into communities scattered across the mission field of North America and to the ends of the earth.
Likewise, discipleship can happen in a classroom, a coffee shop or a car. These are all potential contexts for discipleship, but they are not the catalysts for discipleship. Discipleship is people – lay and clergy, male and female, all ethnicities and generations – reaching to those who need to be discipled toward faith or discipled in their faith. Every believer is both a disciple and a disciple-maker.
I unapologetically challenge you to join me in giving yourself to the spread of the Gospel… for the glory of God.
Dr. Wayne Schmidt
General Superintendent
