Who we are

After the Revolution, more and more Romanians came, and many of them joined this church. The needs of the newcomers were great, and the church made sustained efforts to support the new immigrants. If before the revolution the members of the church were people who had been persecuted under communism, such as the Banu and Chiu families or sister Sinziana Moisescu, after '89 those who came were young professionals with experience in the market economy. At the same time, ties with Romania were resumed, and the Golgotha church sponsored the construction of houses of worship, charitable projects, and the printing of books there.

From September '91 until October '93, the pastor was brother John Banu, who was very interested in the serious study of Scripture; he sought to plant in the children a love for the Bible. Thus it came about that in the second half of the '90s the church had a distinctive character: a large number of teenagers (boys) who studied the Scripture and sang in a men's choir, something rare at that time in the emigration.

From October 1993 until April 2011, the church was pastored by brother Cornel Dragoi. A friendly man with a love of reading, brother Dragoi became well known in the Romanian community, regardless of confession. During his pastorate, the church reached 105 adult members, in addition to some 50 other friends and children.

Over the years, church music was served with dedication by sisters Burca and A. Dragoi, brother and sister Netza, sister E. Codreanu, sister Anca Ciora, and brother M. Mitrofan. The worship blends the traditional Romanian Baptist style with the contemporary American one, in which groups of young people lead the worship through songs of praise to God. The preaching of the message of Scripture has priority in the services of the Golgotha church, and the study of the Bible and Christian fellowship are part of the daily life of the believers.

The children are educated in the knowledge of the Scripture and of the Savior in Sunday schools led by teachers specialized in this field. Baptisms, on the basis of the personal profession of faith, are held either in the church building or in the nearby rivers.

Among the better-known personalities in the emigration who visited the church were the courageous Orthodox priest Gheorghe Calciu Dumitreasa, the poet and senator Ioan Alexandru, the Baptist pastors and fighters for religious liberty and freedom of conscience Aurel Popescu of Portland and Pavel Nicolescu of New York, as well as the best-known Romanian pastor in the USA, the venerable Pitt Popovici.

On the cultural side, worth noting is brother Julian Chiu, a member of the church, who in '94 and '95 ran an art gallery in Downtown Detroit, where exhibitions were organized for painters from Romania and from America, such as that of sister Mariana Sain Morar of San Diego. Her themes, inspired by Byzantine art and by the life without freedom under communism, surprised the students of The Art Institute of Michigan who were present at the opening.

In 1996, the church moved to Madison Heights (John R & 11 Mile Rd), and in 1998 it purchased and then fitted out the present property at 25220 Mound Rd, Warren, southeast of the Mound & I-696 intersection. Having two worship halls and a welcoming heart, the believers of Golgotha hosted, with Christian and Romanian hospitality, for several months the Bethesda Pentecostal church and, later, the Saint Nicholas Orthodox church, while those communities were finishing their own houses of worship.

In 2008 and 2009, Golgotha helped 150 refugees from Iraq settle in America, in collaboration with an American charitable association.

From Golgotha several Christian missions have gone out, such as Charity Cup, whose founder is brother Daniel Bora. The mission cares for orphaned children and street youth in Moldova, Honduras, and elsewhere, and gathers its funds through sports competitions for Romanian teams. Later were added the mission in Moldova, led by the family of Silvia and Mihai Raetchi, and brother Dragoi's mission of evangelism in Romania. From this church also began the Desculți movement, initiated by brother Florian Guler. This original movement is an annual gathering of Romanian Christians who praise God and worship through song.

Between 2009 and 2011, the church took part, alongside other American churches, in evangelism and relief efforts in Warren, within the actions known by the acronym EACH, a mission coordinated by brothers Raetchi and Crisan.

The Golgotha church is part, together with the majority of Romanian Baptist churches, of the Association of Baptist Churches of the USA and Canada, as well as of the Southern Baptist Convention.

From June 2012 until September 2013, the church was pastored by the young Claudiu Handaric, and from November 2013 until the present, by Pastor Stefan Ghinescu. Pastor Ghinescu has been deeply involved in worship through music and in the work of discipling the young and the new Christians. Since 2017, the church has also had on the pastoral team Pastor Gabriel Hana, who is likewise involved in worship through song.

Through the grace of God, the children and young people of the church are becoming ever more integrated in the USA, becoming professionals and business people respected in their fields, and succeeding in founding lasting Christian families in the spirit of the Christian teaching and the Romanian upbringing received from their parents.

Doru Radu, Warren, Michigan, October 2013, revised in 2023.