Four Pastors Ordained to Gospel Ministry

Story by Eduardo Monteiro

New Jersey Conference (NJC) leaders recently ordained four pastors to the gospel ministry during the English and Hispanic camp meeting services held at Tranquility Camp in Andover.

At the English-speaking camp meeting, pastors Jay (Sungmin) Cheong and Webster Sterling joined conference officials onstage for the ordination ceremony. Cheong is the pastor of the Central New Jersey Korean church in Edison. He and his wife, Celeste, have one son. Sterling is the pastor of the All Nations Community church in Maplewood and also serves as the chaplain of Lake Nelson Adventist Academy (LNAA) in Piscataway. He and his wife, Michelle, have two daughters.

“The ordination service was a very spiritual encounter, the sacredness of the call was evident, and I felt privileged, as well as in awe of the awesome responsibility to be a minister of the gospel,” says Sterling. “The presence of my family, the church and LNAA made the occasion even more meaningful.”

At the Hispanic camp meeting, pastors Albert Perez and Carlos Portanova were ordained to the gospel ministry. Perez is the pastor of the First Bilingual church in Middlesex, the Bound Brook Spanish company and the Flemington Spanish Company. He and his wife, Margarita, have two children. Portanova is the treasurer of the NJC. He and his wife, Cinthia, have three children.

“I am beyond grateful to the Lord for the opportunity that He is giving me to serve Him and His church in this capacity,” says Portanova. “The support from my wife and children and the conference pastors and administrators made the ordination very special.”