By Henry Sturcke
AIX-LES-BAINS, France--Taking advantage of the English Channel tunnel, the church brought British and continental ministers together for a joint European ministerial conference in the French alpine spa Aix-les-Bains, April 29 to May 2.
Eighty-seven attendees from 15 European, Middle Eastern and African countries took part. In addition to ministers and wives, administrative personnel from the British and German offices and the French suboffice attended.
Those present from Pasadena were Pastor General Joseph Tkach and his wife, Tammy; Randal Dick, assistant director of Church Administration International, and his wife, Susie; and Charles Albrecht, international operations manager in Church Administration, and his wife, Susi.
In the opening session Monday morning, April 29, Mr. Tkach told conference goers: "Whatever you do, to succeed you have to have the right stuff. If you're going to be a Christian, the right stuff is Jesus Christ."
Mr. Dick led the afternoon session that day, and outlined the church's vision for Europe.
On Tuesday morning, Mr. Tkach answered questions from the participants before leaving with Mr. Dick for Washington, D.C., to attend a Mission America Conference.
They returned to Europe for the weekend to honor commitments made before the Washington opportunity came up, including a board meeting in Britain. Regional director John Halford led the remainder of the conference.
Attendees discussed administrative matters Tuesday afternoon, then the men and women met separately Wednesday morning. The women saw a video by author Ruth Tucker on "Tough Choices," and took part in a discussion on women's ministry led by Mrs. Tkach.
Meanwhile, the men discussed concepts presented by Mr. Tkach and Mr. Dick on Monday.
Mr. Halford, who led the discussion, stressed: "Our goal is not to make Christianity European, but to make Europe Christian."
For many the highlight of the conference was an impromptu discussion with Mr. Tkach Monday night that lasted into the early hours of Tuesday morning.
Jeremy Rapson, Liverpool, England, pastor, said, "Any opportunity to spend time with Mr. Tkach is to be treasured, but the four hours chatting with him was especially helpful."
Margarethe Hellemann, who serves the Berlin, Hamburg and Hannover, Germany, congregations with her husband, Alfred, said, "It was encouraging to hear that Mr. Tkach had gone through the same things we had, that it wasn't easy for him either to accept the changes."
Henry Sturcke is regional pastor for the German-speaking area.
May 21, Worldwide News, page 11
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