Regional Conference
Arrive: Tuesday, November 4th
Depart: Saturday, November 8th
Location: Albania
Purpose
Gather for inspirational worship, motivational preaching/teaching/workshops, interactive fellowship and a celebration of what God is doing in diverse, multi linguistic, and multicultural worship experiences.
Audience
District Superintendents and Families, Missionaries and Families, Significant Leaders, Young Leaders, Church Members, and Laypersons in the Church of the Nazarene on the Eurasia Region!
Mission Experience – Nov 8 – 9
Stay a couple of extra nights to be part of Mission Experience Albania!
Contribute to the work of the Church of the Nazarene in Albania by reaching and impacting the community through service, compassion, and love. Work alongside the local pastor and church members, share a meal together, and join the church family for Sunday morning services.
Participants will experience a comprehensive cross-cultural experience that draws them closer to God, challenges their faith, and plants a deep desire to actively contribute to the expansion of God’s Kingdom. Possible activities include community service (offering food packages), evangelism, educational and recreational activities for children, support for kindergartens and a Child Development Center, and working on a new church building doing painting and cleaning.
Will require additional night’s stay at the conference hotel for the nights of 8 & 9 November at the published conference rate. Check “Mission Experience” as an area of interest when you register.
Speakers
Dr. Carla Sunberg
Past Jurisdictional GS
Dr. Carla Sunberg was elected 43rd general superintendent of the Church of the Nazarene at the 29th General Assembly in Indianapolis, Indiana, in June 2017. At the time of her election, Dr. Sunberg was president of Nazarene Theological Seminary, where she had been serving since January 2014.
She was ordained on the Russia North District, where she and her husband, Chuck, served the Church of the Nazarene for 13 years as pioneer missionaries to the former Soviet Union.
Carla was born in Germany, the daughter of missionaries. She loves to teach and train leaders for the future of the church and has served as adjunct faculty for a number of institutions. Her heartfelt passion is a life of holiness and service for the Lord. Carla and Chuck are proud parents of two adult daughters, Christa, who along with her husband, Iain Maciver, lives in England; and Cara, who with her husband, Justin Shonamon, and daughters Mackenzie and Alice, lives in Shawnee, Kansas.
Dr. Mark Louw
Eurasia Regional Director
Mark and his wife, Linda, have served as global missionaries since 1999, spending five years in Cote d’Ivoire, seven years in Senegal, and 10 months in South Africa before moving to Singapore when Mark was elected Regional Director for Asia-Pacific in 2012
While still in Africa, Mark served as regional education coordinator and Africa West field strategy coordinator, while Linda worked in key roles to support the ministries of Africa West field leadership. Prior to answering the call to missions, the Louws were youth pastors on the Sacramento, California, USA district. Mark, originally from South Africa, holds a bachelor’s degree in Liberal Arts and Sciences from Pennsylvania State University (USA) and a master’s degree in theology from Manchester University (UK). Korea Nazarene University conferred upon Mark the Doctor of Divinity degree in recognition of his contribution to global church development and expansion.
Together, the Louws are proud parents to four adult daughters and even prouder grandparents to two young grandchildren.
Dr. Filimão Chambo
Jurisdictional GS
On 26 June 2017, he was elected as the 42nd General Superintendent at the 29th General Assembly of the Church of the Nazarene. Prior to being elected as General Superintendent, he served as the Africa Regional Director of the Church of the Nazarene.
Filimão was raised in a pastor’s home in Mozambique. His parents, Rev. Manuel Tshambe and Rev. Bessie Louisa Tshambe, met at the Nazarene Bible College in Tavarne, Mozambique, where they were married in January, 1969. His mother became senior pastor of the Central Maputo congregation in 1992. Filimão first felt a call to Christian ministry at nine years of age. With a heart for discipleship and evangelism, his leadership continues to shape the church’s mission, building on his years of service across Africa.
Dr. Chambo is married to the Rev. Samantha Chambo, also an ordained elder in the Church of the Nazarene. Together, they have two children, a daughter, Tsakani Gabriella, and a son, Emanuel.
Rev. Jim Ritchie
Global Missions Director
Ordained in 1998 in the Church of Scotland, he has pastored several local congregations in Scotland and Canada. His ordination credential was recognized by the Church of the Nazarene in 2013. He served in dual leadership roles as British Isles North District superintendent and as senior pastor of the Trinity Church of the Nazarene, Perth, Scotland, prior to being appointed Eurasia Regional Director.
Ritchie gave his life to Christ at 16 and said he “almost immediately had a passion for missions.” Jim and his wife, Maggie have five adult children, two grandsons, and one granddaughter.
Dr. Deirdre Brower
Principal and Senior Lecturer in Pastoral and Social Theology
Born in Canada, the daughter of passionate Christian parents who joined a love for God with a love of learning. She moved between the UK and Canada several times before finally settling in Manchester in her late teens. She has pastored churches in Urban Bristol and Manchester serving in both settings in co-vocational roles – as Youth Pastor and then as lecturer in Pastoral and Social Theology at NTC in Manchester. As a result of her pastoral work she became increasingly interested in issues of justice and transformation, urban realities and practices – all joined with an intense love of learning and theology. She has academic expertise in the areas of urban mission and ministry (including issues of social justice and poverty), contextual and practical theology, and Wesleyan theology.
Rev. Cezi Glendenning
Central Europe Field Strategy Coordinator
Cezi is originally from Albania and in 2001, she moved to Florence, Italy where she studied, worked and served as an NYI leader, and NMI president and other local ministries for seven years. She has a degree in Theology and her Masters Degree in Missional Leadership from Northwest Nazarene University. In 2023, she became the first woman, outside of the US, to be appointed as a Field Strategy Coordinator. Living in Croatia with her husband, Martin and their two boys, she serves in the local church as well as on the field. She loves serving the Lord and the Kingdom and she has a special heart for refugees and those who are oppressed.
Rev. Chad Gibbons
Eurasia Regional Discipleship Coordinator
Chad and his wife Crystal have been missionaries since 2021, first serving as field missionaries to the Eurasia North Field. Chad has served as lead pastor and teaching pastor for several years prior to that, and is currently working on his Masters in Theology at NTC. He is passionate about Discipleship and the ways in which we fulfill the Great Commission. Chad is working to bring new tools and insight to the local church on how we develop disciples for Christ in our communities.