Mountain View Conference Pastor Ordained: A Journey of Faith and Service

Story by Liz Bailey

Jose L. Espinoza has been a member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church for almost 25 years. Born in Peru, his faith was nurtured in an Adventist church near his home. At 13 years old, he made one of the greatest decisions in life by being baptized. His desire to be a pastor grew as he served the church in various departments.

After high school, his family moved to Lima. It was there that Espinoza studied at Universidad Peruana Unión, where he made the second biggest decision in life: to study theology. Espinoza had the opportunity to enter the canvassing ministry, and it was there that he met a friend, Carmen Zevallos.

A year before completing his theology degree, he served as a missionary for the Hispanic community in the Mountain View Conference territory. Upon returning from his trip, he earned a bachelor’s degree in theology from the Universidad Peruana Unión.

In 2017, Espinoza accepted the invitation to return to the MVC, where he continued working as a missionary, until a year later when he entered full-time ministry. In 2022, Espinoza made the third biggest decision in life: marrying Zevallos, with whom he now has a beautiful daughter, Esmeralda. That same year, he was challenged to work with English-speaking churches, where he is developing his leadership, administration and evangelism skills. He currently pastors the Kingwood, Mountaintop, Morgantown and Morgantown Spanish churches.