Nine Ministers Ordained to the Gospel Ministry

KEENE, TEX. – On Nov. 11, 2023, nine Texas-based ministers were ordained at the Keene Seventh-day Adventist Church, with Texas Conference and Southwestern Union administrators participating in the service. Ordination candidates included, from left to right, Russell (with Rachel) Huggins, pastor at the Hurst Seventh-day Adventist Church; Michael Conrad (with Fiona) Bobb-Semple, pastor at the San Antonio Philadelphia and Atascosa Seventh-day Adventist Churches; Edwin “Danny” (with Vanessa) Cano, youth pastor at the Arlington Seventh-day Adventist Church; Vicente (with Isela) Osorio, pastor at the Houston Spanish North and Katy Bear Creek Spanish Seventh-day Adventist Churches; Manuel (with Estefania) Ibuado, pastor at the Keene Spanish Seventh-day Adventist Church; Ruben (with Cassandra) Casabona, media and communications pastor at Keene Seventh-day Adventist Church; Antonio “Tony” (with Blanca) Correa, trust officer and stewardship coordinator of the south Texas area for the Texas Conference of Seventh-day Adventists; Deivi (with Dania) Garcia, associate pastor at the Houston Spanish Spring Branch Seventh-day Adventist Church and Austen (with Aurianna) Powell, special assistant to the president at Southwestern Adventist University.

“The annual ordination service is a special event,” Texas Conference Executive Secretary David Montoya stated. “Every year, the Texas Conference ordination review committee looks at individuals working in ministry to assess their contributions to their churches and communities.”

Once individuals are prayerfully selected, they go through an interview process with the ordination review committee. The committee discusses the importance of the Seventh-day Adventists’ fundamental beliefs and determines if the ordination candidates follow the core qualities of ministry. “It is a high calling to be ordained to the gospel ministry,” Montoya added.

“We have one of the best pastoral teams,” Texas Conference President Elton DeMoraes said. “Always learning and growing, our pastors are committed to sharing the gospel within their circle of influence and worldwide through online communication methods.” Ordained individuals with valid ministerial credentials can serve worldwide in any Seventh-day Adventist Church.

The live-streamed ordination service from the Keene church media team is at YouTube.com/texasadventist under “live.”

By Tamara Michalenko Terry
Associate Director for Communication & Public Relations