Evangel Fellowship International began in 1983.  At that time I was Senior Pastor of Evangel Cathedral in Spartanburg, SC.  Evelyn and I moved to Spartanburg from Mableton, GA where I had pastored the First Assembly of God Church in Mableton. 

Prior to 1983, I had served on the Board of Directors of the National Leadership Conference for several years.  Serving on the board with me were John Hagee, Jamie Buckingham, Ken Sumrall, and Jim Jackson.  We conducted an annual conference for pastors and leaders at Ridgecrest, NC for a number of years.

Also in 1982, I began to meet with a number of pastors for encouragement and mentoring.  These pastors requested that I pastor them.  At first I recommended that they join another existing fellowship rather than start something new.  Their answer was “We don’t relate to them.  You are our pastor.” 

We informally organized in January 1983.  If I remember correctly we started out with ten couples.  This gathering was followed up with a retreat both in the spring and in the fall.  The following year we received our exempt status (501 c3) with the IRS. 

From that time on we held conferences twice a year until the year 2005 when we decided to go with one conference a year.  During this period of time we had outstanding pastors and ministers to speak at our conferences.  This includes T.D. Jakes, Miles Monroe, Charles Blake, Bob Mumford, Rick Godwin, Tommy Barnett, Jamie Buckingham, and Ken Sumrall.

In addition to Minister’s Conferences we launched luncheon meetings for ministers held every January through the southeast.  Also, an annual Youth Retreat is held in February at Gatlinburg, TN called “Ski Invasion.”  We had men retreats and ladies retreats for the laity of our churches.  These were held in the spring and fall.

Today, EFI has 36 missionaries serving in countries around the world.  In 1991, we launched “Operation Russia”, an effort to take the gospel to the Russian people.  In 1992, we did 25 evangelistic campaigns throughout Russia.  Many additional campaigns were done in the following years.  I personally, with a team from my church, did six crusades a year for several years.  Thousands of people surrendered their lives to Christ.  Everyone who attended a crusade was given a New Testament in the Russian language.

St. Basil, Red Square, Moscow

In 1993 we started conferences in Moscow.  These were followed up later with Regional Pastor’s Conferences in various cities in Russia.  For years we maintained an office in Moscow.  The team there booked our campaigns, did the airport pickups, and translated our material, and distributed Bibles and books.

    Passing Out Bibles

In 1993, I printed 5,000 copies of a book I wrote entitled, Sermon on the Mount in the Russian language.  These books were distributed throughout Russia.  Although we did meetings in other countries belonging to the Commonwealth of Independent States, our main push has always been Russia which was the dominant country.  Today we are working with 672 churches in that country.  My 45th trip to Russia was in October 2007.

In addition to Russia, EFI has sponsored ministry around the world.  I have led teams to India, Burma, Vietnam, China, Australia, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Hungary, Romania, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Chile, Peru, Croatia, Latvia, Ukraine, Belarus, Mexico and Kazakhstan.  Next year we have  conferences planned for the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua.

     Pastor’s Conference 1991   

    Youth Conference, Moscow 1992

    Pastor Victor & Dianna Sudakov and Daughters

    Novorosysk Conference

     Ministry Team

     Kazakhstan

     Feeding the Multitudes

December 18, 2007

More about EFI in the next blog –

November has been a very busy time for Evelyn and me.  On November 4, I was privileged to dedicate my great-granddaughter to the Lord in a service at Evangel Cathedral in Spartanburg, SC.  Her name is Isabella and she is the daughter of Joseph and Rachel Pellegrino.  Rachel, of course, is my granddaughter.  Isabella is their second child.

The following Saturday, November 10, I flew to Raleigh, NC to be with Pastor David Sutphin and his wife, Marilyn, for a service on Sunday, November 11 at Faith Community Church.  I had a great time of fellowship in this, my second visit to their church.  They have a wonderful group of people.

The following weekend I flew to Cincinnati to be with Pastors Dale and Cathi Campfield.  Their church, Eastgate Community Church, is only one month old.  They meet in a rented facility.  That Sunday we had 479 in attendance.  I’ve never seen a church with more excited members!  They are off to a great start and have a great future.

Evelyn and I went to Myrtle Beach for some relaxation.  While there we met with Tom Whidden and his wife, Betty, for a meal and conversation.  We had a great time with them.  Tom and Betty pioneered and pastored a church in Concord, NC for 44 years.

Also while in Myrtle Beach we visited with Henry and Lynn Brock.  Prior to moving to North Myrtle Beach, the Brocks lived in Spartanburg, SC.  As a matter of fact, I was their pastor in Spartanburg for 23 years.  They have lived in North Myrtle Beach for 13 years.  They went to North Myrtle Beach to operate the Myrtle Beach Christian Retreat.  They have done this for the past 13 years.  A few years ago they started a church, Spirit and Life Worship Center.  Today their son-in-law, Jay Ortiz, pastors the church.

Not satisfied to be content with the church and retreat center, they now have plans to build condos on their five acre property which is on Highway 17 and also only a few blocks from the ocean.  They are planning to build Solomon’s Temple on the property as a tourist attraction.  Presently, they are raising funds for this project.

It was good to see them again and also to meet their extended family.  In addition to spending Thanksgiving with them, it was also my privilege to preach for them in their church on Sunday.  Both Evelyn and I had a most delightful time with them.

Holy Trinity Church, Omsk, Russia

On my first blog I would like to report on my trip to Russia last month.  Since 1991, I have made 45 trips to Russia, four trips to Latvia, three trips to Ukraine, two trips to Kazakhstan, two trips to Moldova and one trip to Belarus.  I chose to concentrate on Russia as it is the dominant country and what happens there affects all the surrounding countries.  My wife, Evelyn, accompanied me on most of the trips.  In addition, on her own, she, with a team of women conducted several Women’s Conferences in Russia and Ukraine.  Later, I will write more on Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States but will stick to Omsk, Russia for this blog.

In April of 1992, with a team from Evangel Cathedral in Spartanburg, SC, we flew into Moscow and then caught a flight on Aerolfot on to Omsk.  Yuroslav Pikulyak was the pastor there.  He went there after graduating from Calvary Bible School in Jelgava, Latvia.  He stared his church a year before we arrived.  A hall seating about 800 was rented for our meeting.  We had meetings there for several nights.  Practically everyone in attendance accepted Christ in these services.

Out of the 800 in attendance each night, only five or six people indicated that they owned a Bible.  We gave a New Testament to everyone who attended.  I returned for another evangelistic campaign the following year and then in 1995, we rented a large sports arena that seated approximately 8,000.  An estimated 5,000 people were in attendance each night.  We rented this arena for two nights paying $10,000 each night, a total of $20,000 and an extra $1000 for police protection.  80% of the people came forward to accept Christ.  Each person in attendance received a free New Testament.

 After this crusade a newspaper article went out all over Russia with absurd statements that the American preachers were buying the souls of the Russian people and stealing their children.  Altogether, I have made 10 trips to Omsk.  Each time I took a team with me.  We went back to teach the church and to strengthen the believers.  Also, we sent several containers of humanitarian aid to Omsk.

A lady by the name of Holt Erwin went to Omsk where she spent several years in ministry.  She was a member of Evangel Cathedral in Spartanburg, SC.  Pastor Yuroslav has since moved to the USA.  The church now is led by Pastor Innokente Shantin.  Our greatest opposition has been the Russian Orthodox Church.  They feel that we are encroaching on their territory and stealing their members.  However, the people we reach are unchurched.  There really is no competition.

The church in Omsk, Holy Trinity Church, now has their own building.  For 15 years they rented a cultural center in downtown Omsk.  A few years ago a house was purchased sitting on a large lot on the outskirst of the city but on the bus line.  The house was torn down and a beautiful new church is being built.  Buses are important in Russia as the vast majority of the population still do not own automobiles.

 Holy Trinity Church is well established with a congregation of hundreds of people.

Next week I will write more on Evangel Fellowship International and our work in Russia.

The Ministry Team

(L to R) VitalyYevseyev, Interpreter, Pastor Innokente, Bishop Miles, Debbie & Steve Sawyer, & Stanley Fant.

 Inside Holy Trinity Church 

(L to R) Dr. Steve & Debbie Sawyer, Vitaly, Bishop Miles & Stanley Fant.                       

Prayer Line

Children that came forward for prayer.

Team at Holy Trinity Church

Choir

 Children Sharing In Service

November 15, 2007

In the near future I will be sharing weekly messages with you.  In the meantime, visit Evangel Fellowship International’s web site at www.efiglobal.org