News: 2008 Evangelists' Conference

The second annual Evangelists' Conference was held from February 14-17, 2008, in Hosanna, Ethiopia. Director Dereje Shiferaw invited twenty-one evangelists and pastors adopted through the Adopt an Evangelist program and nine teachers trained to teach the Certificate program. Also attending the conference was David Suda from Minnesota, USA, who spent two months with Dereje teaching English to Ezra Rural Ministry Training Center students. David said in an email to family, "It was wonderful getting to meet all of the sponsored pastors! They are all wonderful men who have a tremendous love for God and serving Him!"

During the conference, the mornings were devoted to the study of the Second Letter to the Thessalonians; the afternoons were devoted to discussion. A guest speaker addressed the topic of ethics in ministry and Dereje discussed the idea of "tent-making" according to Acts 18:3-4 and I Thessalonians 2:9. The idea comes from the Apostle Paul's work as a tent-maker, which allowed him to be self-supporting while preaching the Gospel wherever and whenever he was called of God to do so.

On the final evening of the conference, the attendees built a campfire, prepared food together, and put on a short skit about the life of the minister. As Dereje said, "We had wonderful laughing and enjoying time together."

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