Ordination Service for Pete Manni

On Sunday, June 27, our worship gathering will be an Ordination Service for Pete Manni, our Associate Minister (at 10:30 a.m., in the FLC).  After that service, Pete will be recognized as our Associate Pastor.

The Elders and I have been developing plans for over a year for Pete’s ordination.  His desire to take this step and our affirmation of him and his ministry have, together, led us prayerfully to move forward.

So what is ordination?  There are some differences in how various church traditions view the ordination of their pastoral leaders.  Here at Goshen, we see ordination as an act of the local church, in consultation with leaders from like-minded churches and ministries, recognizing that one of our leaders has been called and gifted by God to serve in vocational ministry in the office of pastor.  By ordaining someone to the pastoral ministry, we are affirming that person’s spiritual leadership and expressing our support as a congregation.

Although we will have an Ordination Service on June 27, it is helpful to think of an ordination process rather than a single event.  Since late last year, Pete and I have been meeting on a regular basis to study and discuss an array of materials about church ministry, pastoral leadership, and Bible-based theology.  Over the past several months, Pete has also been working long and hard to prepare a set of documents that summarize his conversion to Christ, calling to ministry, philosophy of ministry, and his theological convictions.

On Saturday, June 12, an Ordination Council (made up of seven experienced and respected area pastors and ministry leaders) met with Pete to examine those documents and dialogue about his Christian experience and beliefs.  The Council then conferred together, and they have recommended to the GBC Elders to move forward with Pete’s ordination.

Which brings us back to June 27:  Join us for this special service of worship and dedication, as Pete is given a charge to serve as a pastor of Goshen Baptist Church.  He will make vows of commitment, and we will pray for him as he takes this step.  We as a church family will also make vows of commitment, and we will receive a charge on this occasion from guest preacher, Paul Tripp.

It is a serious and wonderful thing to serve the Lord as a pastor in a local church.  “If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task” (1 Timothy 3:1).  Pastors are charged to shepherd the flock and guard the gospel, and to “preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching” (2 Timothy 4:1-2).  It is a high calling.  Please be in prayer for Pete—as well as for our whole ministry staff and team of Elders.