Care Conference Conducted in Romania
Dr. Tim Hill, first assistant general overseer to the Church of God, arrived in Romania and had the opportunity to speak at several churches. He literally drove from one end of the country to the other, and arrived in Oradea at 3:30 in the morning on Wednesday, October 22.
On Thursday morning he met with the regional leadership in Oradea, and then on Thursday evening he spoke at the kickoff event for the CARE conference. There were about 400 people present at this evening service. Dr. Hill left on Friday after addressing the conference members in the morning meeting. He was accompanied on his Romanian journey by John Buia, a Romanian pastor from Detroit.
Dr. Hill was not the only dignitary visiting from the U.S. The following men and women also attended this first ever CARE conference in Romania: • Dr. Wallace Sibley • Dr. Donnie Smith • Dr. Bob Crick • Dr. Johnny Sweet • Dr. Jake Popejoy • Brother Tom Offutt • Sister Elaine Offutt • English Chaplain Don Williams • Romanian National Overseer Dr. Pavel Rivis Tipei.
The conference started on Thursday evening as mentioned earlier with Dr. Hill speaking on the subject of “Leaders of Care.” Dr. Jake Popejoy began Friday morning with “Caring for the Caregiver”, followed by Dr. Tipei, with “Biblical Principles for Relief and Care.” After lunch Brother Tom Offutt spoke on “Disaster Response Care”, and following him Dr. Sweet shared about the “Global Network of Childcare.” Dr. Wallace Sibley spoke about “A Caring Church” at our Friday evening service. There were approximately 400 to 450 present.
On Saturday morning Dr. Crick spoke on the “Relationships of Care”, followed by Dr. Smith speaking on the “New Ministry Paradigm of Care.” There were approximately 150 pastors and leaders present daily for the conference. All of the Romanian brothers that I spoke to shared with me that this was a very good conference, and that they were blessed.
On Sunday morning the conference speakers all went to different churches in the area and had the occasion to speak. Dr. Sibley and Dr. Popejoy had the opportunity to participate in an ordination ceremony for five ministers. Dr. Johnny Sweet traveled with Brother Buia on Saturday and spoke at a pastor’s conference about 200 km away on Sunday. He spent the night and returned on Monday morning.
Finally, on Sunday afternoon many of the conference speakers had the chance to visit a Romanian prison and participate in a baptismal service there. It was a busy week, but I truly believe real ministry took place, people were blessed, and God was glorified.
Robert and Caroline Schmidt, Missionaries to Romania Project Number 0650488
© 2008 Church of God World Missions
