Church leaders speak to 1,500 employed ministers still pending ordination

April 29, 2015 | Miami, Florida, United States | Libna Stevens/IAD

IAD President Pastor Israel Leito (center) speaks to hundreds of non-ordained ministers throughout Inter-America who were encouraged in the task of preparing people for eternity during online special event held earlier today from IAD Headquarters in Miami, Florida. Next to Pastor Leito are Pastors Melchor Ferreyra (left) IAD personal ministries director and Hector Sanchez (right) ministerial association secretary Images by Libna Stevens/IAD

Top Seventh-day Adventist leaders in Inter-America sent a clear message to some 1,500 ministers who are not yet ordained and who oversee hundreds of congregations: continue your efforts in preparing a people for eternity.

The message was delivered during a two-hour special program streamed live over the internet earlier today from the Inter-American Division headquarters in Miami, Florida.

“As pastors, we have this blessed opportunity to prepare the way for the coming of the Lord by preparing a people,” said Pastor Israel Leito, president of the church in Inter-America as the program began. “You must prepare people to stay on God’s path and work to keep them there.”

Church leaders reminded the non-ordained pastors – nearly half of the 3,400 ministers employed by the IAD – that their work is key to expanding the mission of the church.

“We want you to continue your commitment in shepherding congregations and work toward getting ordained for greater effectiveness in the ministry,” said Pastor Hector Sanchez, ministerial secretary for the church in Inter-America.

Pastor Hector Sanchez, IAD ministerial association secretary, said some 1,500 employed ministers in Inter-America are still pending ordination.

Greater effectiveness as an ordained minister includes being able to perform weddings, baptisms, and organize and dissolve churches—a significant task of advancing the rapid growth the church the IAD sees, said Sanchez.

As the number of new members in Inter-America rises about 180,000 on average annually, it is crucial to not delay the work and have all ordained ministers moving forward together, explained Sanchez.

To become an ordained minister, as included in the polices of the church in the IAD, after a theology student completes his seminary training, he has a period of two years where he works under the supervision of a mentor pastor, added Sanchez.

“There must be clear evidence of his calling, commitment to God and the church during that initial time,” stated Sanchez. After the minister demonstrates the commitment of his calling, he is assigned one or two congregations within a district and is overseen and evaluated during the next two to four years, after which his name may be recommended for ordination. Ministers are overseen by the ministerial leadership of the local regional church organization.

“That’s the ideal process it should progress,” said Sanchez. However, because of the limited number of pastors ministering to more than 20,000 churches and congregations, many ministers could be overlooked and their ordination delayed, he explained.

Leaders are not sure how many of those 1,500 are ministers are in their first period of evaluation, in their four to six years before ordination is recommended, or simply if some of them have had more than 10 years or so and have yet to be ordained.
Either way, said Sanchez, “we are concerned and want that figure to decrease.”

Pastor Roberto Herrera reminded ministers of their role in training and equipping church members to fulfill the mission of the church.

During the online event, Pastor Leito expressed his concerns and said that just yesterday the IAD’s retirement committee approved the retirement of an individual whose service record showed that he was ordained 18 years into the ministry.

The online program was also directed to church leaders across the 24 major church regions in Inter-America as an appeal to be more intensive in evaluating and ensuring that no more than seven years go by before a minister is ordained, said Sanchez.

“Of course ordination is not a right,” said Pastor Leito, “but if in seven years the minister has not shown evidence of his committed calling, then perhaps he needs to look for another occupation.”

Although ordination is not an automatic plus, ministers must be very clear of their mission to lead, nurture, and equip members to share the good news of salvation, organizers said.

“If we want healthy and growing churches, we have to be always helping members grow,” said Pastor Herrera, IAD’s public affairs and religious liberty director. “You need to answer this question as a minister: ‘Who is my commitment with?’ Your commitment should be with God with a clear mission to be educators for the church.”

After that wholehearted commitment to God, family should come second, said Leticia De Los Santos, Shepherdess Coordinator for the IAD.

“You must not only be committed to the church but your spouse, your family must be a priority,” said De Los Santos. The problem comes in when after God, ministers take care of their congregations and neglect their spouses and families. “I challenge you to keep God first, then your family then your church family in that order and you will be successful in your ministry.”

Leticia De Los Santos urged ministers to ensure that their priorities are set straight: first God, then family, then church family.

Ministers were also reminded to be clear on the mission to grow the church in numbers and conserving members reached. “You must establish goals, prepare engage members in evangelism efforts, train them for outreach so that you can move forward in your visitation and continue with pastoral responsibilities,” said pastor Braham, IAD’s associate ministerial director.

Ministers from the Atlantic Caribbean and Inter-Oceanic Mexican Union shared testimonies from their ministries and posed several questions online.

Online questions submitted during the program included how to balance time between overworked ministers and their families, pre-requisites of a minister for ordination, how to utilize members in the mission of the church, and more.

Pastor Sanchez said that top church leaders will continue to dialogue with ministers and will work on training ministerial leaders in overseeing the ministers still in need of ordination throughout the IAD later this year.

The ministerial program was the one of two events, which addressed non-ordained ministers and graduating theology students this week, as part of scheduled activities during IAD’s celebration of the Year of the Pastor this year.

To view the two-hour online event for non-ordained ministers, click HERE