Tom Clark, 43, pastor of the Liberal, Salina and Wichita, Kansas, congregations, accompanied Melvin Rhodes to the West African nation of Ghana in May.

"Tom traveled around Ghana with me and enjoyed the experience immensely," said Mr. Rhodes, who serves as senior pastor for Ghana; pastor of Lansing, Michigan; and senior writer for Church publications. "The Ghanaian members also greatly appreciated Tom."

Effective July 1, Mr. Clark was named associate senior pastor for Ghana, in addition to his other responsibilities. He will now travel to Ghana twice a year, allowing Mr. Rhodes to make two visits instead of four each year.

"It also means we can alternate visits during the more important times of the year, the Days of Unleavened Bread, Feast of Tabernacles and the Ghana Summer Camp," said Mr. Rhodes.

Associate Senior Pastors

Three areas in Africa are served by senior pastors from the United States. At the African conference last September at the home office, it was decided that each of these areas should also have an associate senior pastor.

"We have known for some time that these men can easily wear themselves out traveling to these remote areas four times a year," said Jim Franks, Ministerial Services operation manager. "We have slowly been adding associate pastors to take some of the pressure off the need for them to travel so extensively.

"Two years ago we assigned Mark Mickelson as the associate to the senior pastor in Nigeria [Fred Kellers]... Now we need to work on finding help for John Elliott in East Africa," Mr. Franks said.

"We truly appreciate all of these men and their wives for the tireless example of dedication they are setting," Mr. Franks said. UN