Pastors Lou Alfalah (Sunnydale Church), Stephen Po (Des Moines Karen Company) and Mark Tagaloa (Independence Samoan and Oak Grove churches) were ordained on Sabbath, June 9, during a special service at the 2018 Iowa-Missouri Camp Meeting.
Representing the conference were president Dean Coridan, executive secretary Robert Wagley, treasurer Rhonda Karr, and ministerial director Lee Rochholz. Special guests included Steve Vail, resident evangelist for the Michigan Conference; Jimmy Shwe, Karen church coordinator for the North American Division; and Douglas Na’a, director of the It Is Written School of Evangelism, SALT (Soul-winning and Leadership Training).
“These pastors have demonstrated a passion for souls and a desire to serve God’s church,” said Rochholz. “Their ministry has been affirmed by their churches, fellow pastors and other colleagues, as well as conference leadership.”
Coridan reminded the pastors that ordination doesn’t bestow anything upon them but merely confirms their divine calling. He challenged them to model the principles of Protestantism in their homes and in their ministry.
Wagley offered a prayer of dedication over the pastors and their wives as fellow pastors from around the conference laid hands on them. “We come today full of joy, thanksgiving and praise in our hearts for this opportunity to recognize what Your grace has wrought in the lives of these men and their wives,” he prayed. “We ask that You continue to write the story of their lives…wherever You may call them, help them to know You are there with them as You promised ‘even to the end of the world.’”
