Hill Reports on Far East Tour
First Assistant General Overseer Tim Hill recently returned from a 13 day, three country tour of the Church of God in Asia. Upon his return, Hill was enthused with the status of the Church of God in Korea, Japan and the Philippines.
“The Far East and Southeast Asia are one of the strongest and largest regions of the globe for the Church of God,” Hill stated. “We have many viable congregations and others being planted on a regular basis.” Hill noted the efforts of Sang-Ehil Han who has been instrumental in overseeing and organizing new churches and missions in South Korea. Hill was guest speaker at a missions conference in Seoul attended by over 400 pastors, church leaders and laity. Hill then spoke at the chapel service at Han Young Theological University.
Hill then traveled to Tokyo, Japan where he was met by former International Executive Council member Kazumoto Yatsuzuka who serves as senior pastor of the Lighthouse Church of God.
“They have an incredible facility there in Tokyo,” Hill said. “The four story building is a shining example of how the Church is doing in this region. Brother Yatsuzuka is a dynamic leader.”
The final leg of the tour took Hill to the Philippines where he spent five days meeting with leaders of that region, some of whom traveled to Manila for a Care Conference in the city. The conference, jointly sponsored by Church of God Care Ministries and the Chaplains Commission, was hosted by Word for the World Christian Fellowship and Pastor Gerald Holloway. The conference was entitled “Leaders of Care,” and attracted pastors, church administrators and laypersons from 60 denominations and several surrounding countries. Hill was one of the keynote speakers at the conference. Also in attendance were Church of God leaders Dr. Robert Crick, Jake Popejoy, Tom Offut and Johnny Sweet.
The meeting was followed up with a lunch gathering of regional overseers in Makati City where Hill met with church leaders, representatives and pastors from the Philippines and Nepal. The group included Marc Morris, founder of Samaritan’s Place outside Manila, pastor/overseer Anthony Velasco and National Overseer Marcos Ligero. The Church of God in the Philippines has over 600 churches and more than 50,000 members.
