The United Church of God held its first Asian Leadership Conference at the Waterfront Insular Hotel in Davao City, Philippines July 17-19. Messrs. Richard Pinelli and Lyle Welty traveled from the Home Office in Cincinnati as our main presenters.

Mr. Pinelli and Mr. Welty arrived in Manila Thursday evening, July 13. Friday was spent acclimating to the tropics and a new time zone by touring the city of Manila. They enjoyed a lovely dinner Friday evening with Rey and Cynthia Evasco. Mr. Evasco is the pastor of the Manila congregation.

Sabbath morning Mr. Welty and Dave Baker traveled to Tacloban to spend the Sabbath with some of our brethren in Leyte. After the Sabbath service, the members enjoyed lunch and fellowship followed by a Bible study conducted by Mr. Welty. After the study some of the Leyte brethren took Mr. Welty and Mr. Baker to Red Beach, the site of General Douglas MacArthur’s famous landing as he returned to liberate the Philippines during World War II. Mr. Baker and Mr. Welty returned to Manila by early evening.

Mr. Pinelli remained in Manila for the Sabbath and was able to meet with our Manila brethren. After his sermon he also conducted a Q&A for the Manila congregation.

Sunday afternoon, Mr. Pinelli, Welty and Baker traveled to Davao City for the conference. On arrival they were greeted by the Filipino ministry who had arrived earlier in the day. Also present were Mr. Jeff Caudle (New Zealand), Sarangapany Samuthiran (Singapore) and Edward Simanjuntak (Indonesia) who had arrived from Singapore earlier in the day.

Monday, July 17 Mr. Pinelli and Welty gave a number of presentations to the ministry on subjects such as, The Foundation of Leadership and Manpower Development, Ministerial Code of Ethics, Requirements for an Elder in Good Standing, the Role of a Minister’s Wife, Premarital Counseling, and Baptismal Counseling. After the presentations, Mr. Pinelli and Mr. Welty toured the church office located at Ladislawa Avenue. In the evening the ministry was joined by the congregational leaders for dinner. During the meal the group was able to welcome Mr. Joel Meeker and his family who had just arrived from Hong Kong.

Tuesday and Wednesday meetings were attended by 39 ministers and wives and congregational leaders and began with an update on the work in Asia followed by presentations on the History of United Church of God, Format for New Testament Services, Working with Your Pastor, Developing Wisdom and Judgment, Developing a Steadfast Spirit, Your Role in Developing the Character of God, Developing Effective Sermonettes, Split Sermons and Sermons, Conducting Church Ceremonies, and Developing Spiritual Effectiveness. After the meetings concluding on Wednesday evening, Mr. Pinelli, Welty, Caudle, Baker and the Meeker family joined the Evascos in returning to Manila.

Thursday, July 20 the group took a day tour of the famous fortress of Corregidor at the entrance to Manila Bay. Early Friday morning Mr. Pinelli and Mr. Welty returned to the US and Mr. Caudle and Mr. Baker departed for Singapore. Mr. Joel Meeker and his family remained in the Philippines for a few days of rest before continuing their journey on to Australia.

The outcome of the Asian Leadership Conference was very positive. According to Edward Simanjuntak, “The Leadership Training was the most fascinating course I’ve ever taken part in.” As for Sarangapany Samuthiran, “I have had the opportunity to attend leadership courses but this is the only one that truly covers every aspect of living and provides a holistic direction for servant leadership...” Finally, Mr. Pinelli concluded, “We were very impressed with their desire and eagerness to learn. The men and wives were very focused on the material, and they participated enthusiastically.” UNA