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About our Church

The North Georgia Romanian Seventh-day Adventist Church is part of the worldwide family of Seventh-day Adventists currently with a membership of over 21 million in 13 regions of the globe. 

 

The Mission of the North Georgia Romanian Seventh-day Adventist Church — Is to spread the good news gospel of hope and wholeness to all people, including our own Romanians, and to commission them to become fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ.

 

The current membership of our local church is slightly under 100 members and growing. 

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Our History

In June of 2003, about 25 members from the Atlanta Romanian Seventh-day Adventist church in Lawrenceville decided to form a new Romanian congregation in the northern part of Georgia where they were living.  

At the beginning, the group had its meetings in the basement of Brother Teo Alexa’s home in the community of Sugar Hill for a few months. After the number of believers had grown to about 35-40 members, Pastor Benjamin Stan was hired by the Georgia-Cumberland Conference to serve as its part time pastor. 

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In 2005, the group was recognized by the Conference as the North Georgia Romanian Seventh-day Adventist Company. A few months later, in June of 2005, after many prayers and blessings from God, the new company, with the support of the Conference, purchased 5 acres of land together with a small 2,200 square foot ranch house that was remodeled to use for meetings and worship services until a new church would be built. 

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In the summer of 2006, Pastor Benjamin Stan returned to Romania to serve as pastor and Chaplain. 

Next, Pastor Stefan Radu, a former pastor of the Atlanta Romanian SDA church in Lawrenceville, was assigned by the Conference to serve as the new pastor. Under his leadership, the congregation grew to about 120 members and the building funds increased. In May of 2008, the Georgia-Cumberland Conference officially recognized the company as the North Georgia Romanian Seventh-day Adventist Church. 

The following year, In 2009, Pastor Stefan Radu retired and bade farewell to the church. 

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One year later, Pastor Licinius Chiriac and his family relocated from Romania to Georgia. For several months, he worked as a volunteer pastor and later on was hired by the Conference to become the new part time leader of the congregation. 

In 2012, all plans for the new church were ready and approved and the construction of the building began. Many church leaders and members volunteered their time to help build the church.

After two years, the construction was completed in the Fall of 2014. Pastor Licinius Chiriac, together with the church members, the Conference president, Pastor Ed Wright, and conference leadership – celebrated the opening of the new facility. 

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In 2015, Pastor Nicu Butoiu followed Pastor Licinius Chiriac as the next part time pastor. Under his leadership and with the support of the members, Jesus Market – a broadcast evangelistic ministry — was launched. Thousands of people, both in the United States as well as in Romania tuned into the church services live on Facebook to learn about Jesus. 

In June 2018, Pastor Butoiu accepted a full-time position with Conference and transferred to a new district. 

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Starting in June 2018, Pastor Donald King together with his wife, Dr. Lois King, accepted the calling from God and the Georgia Cumberland Conference to serve as the next part-time pastor of the church. 

Under Dr. King‘s dynamic leadership, mortgage payments were brought up to date and maintained, a beautiful grand piano and organ were  purchased for the sanctuary worship, a benevolent project to help the homeless was launched, and the Sabbath worship services were streamed every Saturday on Facebook Live. 

On Sabbath, October 5, 2019, the church celebrated its 5th Anniversary and invited Pastor Gary Rustad, the newly elected president of the Georgia-Cumberland Conference along with his ministerial colleagues—Dr. Victor Maddox and Dr. Neil Reid, to attend. Also in attendance as invited guests were — Charlotte Nash, chairman of Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners; and Christine Sinclair, gospel vocalist. 

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Starting February 2024, Pastor Stephen Ruff together with his wife, Diane Ruff, accepted the calling from God and the invitation from Georgia Cumberland Conference to serve as our next part-time pastor. With a deep commitment to spiritual guidance and community outreach, Pastor Stephen Ruff brings a compassionate heart and a wealth of experience to lead us on our spiritual journey.

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Currently, the church is blessed to have both a choir and an orchestra that brings musical inspiration to our members week after week. 

The numbers of youth have increased with emphasis on a weekly Friday Youth Night program. Vacation Bible School has become an annual event with many children from the church and community participating.

We invite you to join the members of the North Georgia Romanian Seventh-day Adventist church in prayer as it continues to grow and move forward under the leadership and mighty name of Jesus Christ our Savior and soon coming King.

Our Pastoral Team

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