Church of the Full Gospel was the host and organizer of the second Foursquare Conference for Southeast European churches (“Southeast European Foursquare Fellowship”), which took place from January 9th- 11th, 2025, at the Westin Hotel in Zagreb.

The goal of the conference was to strengthen those ministering in the Foursquare churches of Southeast Europe through uplifting sermons, fellowship, and connection. January is a good time for fresh encouragements and motivation, as it represents a kind of new beginning, and it is typically a time when we reflect on the past year. Therefore, it is an exceptional blessing to hear about the ways God is leading other ministers, what achievements they have accomplished for God’s kingdom in the past year, as well as the challenges they have faced and how they have overcome them. Here, we meet those for whom the situations we face are not unfamiliar, allowing us to enrich ourselves with good and useful advice and to share our experiences.

The conference was opened by Jochen Geiselhardt, Germany’s Foursquare National Leader, with a thematic sermon in which he compared all those working together for the Lord to rowers in an eight- person crew. The rowers face backwards facing the coxswain, who is the one directing and leading them. Even though he is not the most visible person, and observers think that the rowers are the ones leading it is precisely the one who is unseen guiding them. On the other hand, the rowers cannot not see where he is guiding them, but they must trust and submit to him. This is how we are all striving together toward the same goal and working for God’s kingdom, as we need to surrender to God and trust Him, even if we often do not know where He wants to lead us.

Other speakers included Meic Pearse, Mario Dučić, and Ivan Rukavina, who concluded the conference with a discussion on what Biblical success is.

During these three days, the Westin Hotel was a meeting place for gospel ministers from various parts of Croatia, as well as from other countries in the region, such as Macedonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and there were pastors from Germany and the USA present as well. In addition to thematic lectures, the emphasis was primarily on fellowship and connection, meeting new people, and strengthening existing friendships, and there was ample time for that. Proverbs 27:9 says that „As oil and incense bring joy to the heart, so does the sweetness of friendship comfort the soul.“ Nowhere is the truth of these verses felt more profoundly than when you are in the company of those who are dedicated to serving God’s Kingdom and are going through similar experiences as you. Through the sweetness of friendship, new acquaintances, and the renewal of old ones, we strengthen, uplift, and encourage one another. There is nothing more precious than this opportunity for fellowship, which is why we joyfully look forward to this conference every year!