Charalambos N. Tokatloglou

Charalambos Nikolaou Tokatloglou (Mr. Tok or Tok) 1/4/2013

Tok was born to John and Maria Tokatloglou in Ankara, Turkey on February 10th, 1915. He went home to be with his Lord and Savior from Denver, Colorado on December 15th, 2012. He is survived by his daughter Eunice Tokatloglou, son Timothy Tokatloglou, and son-in-law Ray Bondi all of Denver, Colorado. He is also survived by hundreds in Colorado and around the world that look up this five foot tall giant as their spiritual father, grandfather, or mentor.

His family left Turkey as refugees when Tok was seven and relocated to Salonika, Greece (known as Thessaloniki of Macedonia in the Scriptures).

After serving in the Greek Army, Tok attended Anatolia College. He attended the Missionary Training Colony in London until it shut down in 1939. From the end of 1939 to 1943 he worked at Sandes Soldiers Home at Catterick Camp outside of London, during World War II.

In 1945 Tok went to West Africa under the Worldwide Evangelization Crusade. He started his work in the Cote d'Ivoire (the Ivory Coast). He was sent to the Gold Coast (now called Ghana) for three months of service, but ended up staying for three years. While in Ghana, he sat at the feet of a Muslim Imam (prayer leader) and learned the Arabic script.

In 1948 Tok was transferred from the Worldwide Evangelization Crusade to the Sudan Interior Mission. This resulted in his moving to Ethiopia, East Africa, and then to Arabia. In June of 1950, he was married to J. Carol Ruhf, a missionary from Lansing, Michigan. They were married 56 years, until she was called home on September 26th, 2006.

While in Michigan in 1952, Tok was ordained.

Mr. Tok became a naturalized American citizen in 1959.

Tok attended Michigan State University in Lansing, Michigan, where he assisted the Foreign Student Advisor.

He started working with the Officers' Christian Union, later known as the Officers' Christian Fellowship, first as a part time conference speaker in 1960 and then became the Coordinator for Allied Officers and Prayer Partners in 1962.

Tok served on the following boards: Association of Christian Conferences, Teaching and Service and Set Free Prison Ministry of Denver.

Tok served as an elder at Southwest Bible Chapel for several years. He also spoke at Denver Gospel Hall (now Denver Gospel Church) one or two Sundays a month up through November 2012, when he got pneumonia.

Other churches that he was involved with at the time of his death are: Central Bible Church, Horizon Christian Fellowship, and Littleton Bible Chapel.

He was involved in the following personal ministries:
• A home Bible study that he led for more than 40 years in Lakewood, Colorado.
• A second home Bible study that he led in his own neighborhood for the last 10 years.
• Team teaching a Precept Bible Study with his daughter Eunice at Platte Canyon Community Church in Bailey, Colorado for several years.
• Local and long distant telephone Bible Studies with individuals over the years.
• Discipleship, phone counseling, and readily answering questions.

Tok's life was one dedicated to doing what he felt God wanted him to do whether popular or not. His concern for believers is that they are not being urged or taught to be like the Bereans of Acts 17:11. Therefore many are would be misled and unprepared because they do not know the scriptures. His concern was based on the verse "My people perish for lack of knowledge." Without a good foundation in the scriptures, people will not be ready for the persecution that is coming to this country and around the world. Tok knew by life's experiences that God's ways are not men's ways and His thoughts are not ours.

He also daily encouraged anyone he had contact with to spend time getting to know and love Christ, following the principle of needing to redeem the time for our days here are very short.