Branko and Rada Tihojevic
Branko was raised in the former Yugoslavia, now Serbia, which was a communist and atheistic country. In 1971, as a young man, he went to Western Europe to find work and fortune, and settled in Vienna, Austria. It was in Vienna that Branko heard the Gospel for the first time, from British missionaries who were working in Vienna. Jack Murray was one of those missionaries. Hearing the Good News about Lord Jesus was to Branko, like finding that one pearl of great price. He had traveled to the West to find work and earthly treasure, but instead found the greatest treasure of all.
After his conversion, Branko’s heart was burning for lost souls. God then called him into the pastoral ministry and he went in 1973 to Great Britain for Bible training. In 1977 upon completion of his formal training, Branko went back to Serbia, got married, and served as a Baptist Pastor in the town of Leskovac in the South of the country.
In 1983 after five years of pastoral experience, God called Branko and his family to start Church planting in his hometown of Negotin, in the Eastern part of Serbia near the Romanian and Bulgarian borders. Until then, the Gospel had never been preached in Negotin.
Branko needed to find work in Negotin to support the family, and found a job in the chemical industry. This was God’s plan, because the first converts to Christ were his colleagues at work. Branko and his family then started a House Church in their home.
Branko used various means of evangelism to win people to Christ: personal contact, distribution of Christian literature at market places and public schools, a half hour Christian Radio program on Sunday morning, the Jesus film, etc. The House Church grew, and after 10 years the church body needed to move to a larger facility. In 1994 a building in Negotin was rented for the church.
While the House Church was growing, God put on Branko’s heart the vision to spread the Gospel to other places in the area, and to plant 10 new churches. In 1994, the same year the House Church acquired rented facilities, a new church in Bor was formed and three house groups started in other towns. This year with the continued support of CPC they will move to the largest of these towns to start a new church where no biblical witness exists today.
In 1995 Branko and other local pastors worked together to establish and run Christian camps. Eventually they received a vision to establish a permanent Christian Camp and Conference Center. In the spring of 2004 they bought 18 acres of farmland for a permanent Camp Center. The Camp Center is now complete. It is used for youth and children gatherings, spiritual formation and recreation, family and married couple conferences, and other ministries. The Camp itself has a capacity of 100 beds.
Branko and Rada have three children: Tamara, Elizabeth and David. Tamara is married to Novica and they will soon be working at the Camp Center. Elizabeth and David are studying music at the university in Serbia.
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