Members of the executive committee, on March 5, 2026, voted to ordain the following pastors, an affirmation of the calling God has placed on their lives.
Bryan Joseph Capeles earned a Bachelor of Business from Kent State University and a Master of Divinity from Andrews University. He and his wife, Jamila, are ministering in the Lafayette and Frankfort Districts.
Justo Enrique Morales earned a bachelor's in near eastern archaeology, classical archaeology and history from Southern Adventist University and a master’s degree in Old Testament from Andrews University.
Since 2022, Morales and his wife Marcella are ministering in the Richmond, Muncie and Connersville churches.
In 2015, he started the first mission work in Ankara, Turkey, founding the first Seventh-day Adventist church in Ankara and pioneered the Iranian ministry in Ankara.
For more than twenty years, Chad Bernard has served God as a teacher, principal, and now Youth Director of the Michigan Conference and associate pastor of the Lansing Seventh-day Adventist Church.
While at Andrews University, he encountered a mentor in the education department, Chris Davisson, who embodied genuine Christianity, which impacted Chad’s teaching career.
He gratefully recognizes the essential support of his wife, Melinda, and their daughter, Adelaide.
Henry Dan Escamilla earned his master’s degree in physical therapy from Loma Linda University in 1994 and went on to enjoy a fulfilling 27-year career as a physical therapist.
In 2021, God opened a new chapter in he and his wife Christina’s journey, calling them into full-time pastoral ministry.
They currently serve the Petoskey, Cheboygan and Carp Lake Seventh-day Adventist churches.
In 2015, while preparing to return to seminary in his native Brazil, God opened a new door for Bruno Gusmão de Menezes to begin the M.Div. program at Andrews University.
Bruno and his wife, Vanessa, visited the campus that year, and he began studying remotely from Brazil in 2016.
They moved to Berrien Springs in 2018, and Bruno graduated in 2020. In 2021, he began a Ph.D. program in the Mission Department.
He pastors St. Joseph on the Way and Dowagiac churches.
Edgar Luna pursued a Master of Divinity at Andrews University while serving as an associate pastor at the Berrien Springs Spanish Church.
He completed his MDiv in May 2025 and now continues his pastoral ministry as pastor of the Benton Harbor Spanish Church and associate pastor at the Berrien Springs Spanish Church.
Today, Edgar thanks God for his beautiful family—his wife Katherine, their two dogs Simba and Nahla, and the joy of welcoming their first child.
Jorge Aurélio Suquina Neketela completed his Master of Divinity degree at Andrews University in spring 2025.
As of August 2025, he and his wife Gleydiane are serving faithfully at the Farmington and Ann Arbor churches, ministering to their congregations and communities through outreach initiatives, public evangelistic meetings and personal discipleship efforts.
While studying at Michigan State University, God began working on Andrew Park’s heart through several avenues—an active public campus ministries student group, supportive family in the area, and the ministry of CAMPUS (Center for Adventist Ministry to Public University Students).
In 2021, an opportunity for pastoral ministry opened, and it became unmistakably clear that God was leading him away from a professional career path and into the calling of full-time ministry.
Until recently, Andrew pastored the Vasser and Bay City churches. He and his wife Nichole recently moved to the conference office to lead public campus ministries.
In 2018, Elijah Ringstaff began studying theology at Andrews University. In his first year at Andrews, Elijah attended the Fairplain Church, where he met his future wife, Melody. The two were married in May 2021, and soon after—through God’s leading—accepted a call to serve in the Michigan Conference at the Shelby and Ludington churches, in August 2021.
Elijah completed his Bachelor of Arts in theology in 2024 and continues to serve faithfully in his district today.
After earning a bachelor’s degree in pastoral evangelism and an associate’s in media ministry at Hartland College, God opened the door for Grady Yonas to do his ministerial residency program with CAMPUS, ministering to students at Michigan State University in East Lansing. While there, he also spent a year assisting in chaplaincy at the University Seventh-day Adventist Church.
After marriage to Eva, they accepted their first call to pastoral ministry in 2021, serving in Gladwin and Marion district. He is pursuing a master’s degree in pastoral ministry at Andrews University.
Compiled by Lake Union Herald staff
