Trust and Obey - The History of ServingHIM
In June 1998, a small group of dentists, including dental technicians and lay people, went on a mission trip to Romania to provide badly needed dental care to the citizens of Braila, Romania. Braila, a city of approximately 250,000, is located in Southeastern Romania. The Southeast region of Romania is among the poorest areas in all of Eastern Europe. The USA sponsor for this trip was Global Missions Fellowship, the forerunner of the modern e3 Partners Ministry. This team was led by Dr. Kevin Seidler, a dentist located in The Colony, Texas.
The Romanian sponsor of that 1998 Mission effort was Pastor Joseph Stefanuti, Senior Pastor of the Holy Trinity Church in Braila. The church had a small medical clinic which had been sponsored by a ministry from Spokane, Washington. This clinic was organized and housed in a converted residence in Braila. Because the clinic did not have any of the necessary dental equipment, Dr. Seidler and his team collected used dental equipment, (chairs, tools, lights, medicines and dental supplies, power generators, air compressors and x-ray machines) to equip the clinic for future use as a mission point for dental missions. In March 1999, a 40-foot container was shipped to coincide with the arrival of the 1999 mission team. This team was also coordinated through GMF.
Based upon the success of these two mission trips and the relationship that Dr. Seidler and his team had established with the church in Romania and Pastor Stefanuti, the idea for Serve Healthcare International Ministries (ServingHIM) was born.
On March 27, 2000 Serve Healthcare International Ministries was chartered in the state of Texas. The group conducts business under the name ServingHIM. God inspired and anointed ServingHIM established as its Vision Statement, “Bringing Hope and Healing Worldwide.” It started with the concept of offering little cost or no cost dental care to the people in the Braila and Galati counties, offering them a clear presentation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and inviting them to visit Holy Trinity Church and other evangelical churches in the area.
Through prayers of a faithful pastor and a God-given vision, Pastor Stefanuti and many friends of ServingHIM were able to raise funds to help Holy Trinity Church build a four-story state-of-the-art medical/dental facility. The Grand Opening of the Diaconia Medical Center in June 2008 represented the completion of the first phase of construction.
The first phase represents primary care in several disciplines of medicine and dentistry. The second phase is currently planned to involve, “Centers of Excellence”, an Outpatient Surgical Center, Lasik Eye Care, MRI Radiology, and multiple medical/dental systems. In the intervening nine years the Diaconia Medical Center has treated well over 40,000 patients. The Medical Center has come to be recognized as one of the best clinics in Romania. This building also serves as ServingHIM’s International Headquarters. As such, it provides a platform to reach Eastern Europe and other countries for Christ.
In September, 2004 the first ServingHIM trip to Guatemala was made. Working in conjunction with Dr. Tim Trone, an ENT in Dallas, ServingHIM initiated annual medical and dental mission campaigns. In 2017, ServingHIM completed construction on our new clinic.
In February 2009, ServingHIM decided to add “Making Disciples of Jesus Christ” to the existing vision of “Bringing Hope and Healing Worldwide.” That simple addition brought new clarity and purpose to our work. With that clarity, the ministry has expanded and is positioned to increase dramatically.
In November 2014, ServingHIM, in conjunction with Holy Trinity Church in Chisinau, Moldova, opened a new dental clinic to serve this capital city.
In 2017-2018, we celebrated our 20th year on mission. We began raising funds to build Phase III in Romania, our Surgery Center at the Diaconia Medical Center.
At the end of 2021, we received the final authorization from the Romanian government to move forward with building the Diaconia Baptist Hospital. In 2022, we began an intense capital campaign to raise the funds to start building out. On September 3, 2022, we held a groundbreaking ceremony outside the building.
In October, 2023, the Board of ServingHIM determined that our outreach is regional and changed our terminology to be Eastern Europe and Central America. At the time of this writing, we continue to seek God’s will in other areas of the world. As we pray and are obedient to the Lord we wait upon Him for guidance. Just as He has done through the history of ServingHIM, He will guide our steps and our path to other countries and opportunities. “To whom much is given much is required” …The journey continues…
