The Word requests us to “acknowledge those who work hard among you, who care for you in the Lord . . . Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work” (1 Thessalonians 5:12, 13, NIV).
Currently our district has 34 churches, missions, Sabbath schools, and fellowships, and three more missions may be a part of our church soon. Only eight of our congregations have a documented pastor serving them. While our goal is to have all the churches led by an ordained minister, that is not our current reality.
So how are these church fellowships being taken care of? By laymen! Our five largest churches are led by these faithful workers. We say “thank you!” to each name listed here (with the church they serve):
North Dakota: Ron Nienhuis (Devils Lake). South Dakota: Daniel Borja (Huron). Minnesota: Noe Barrera (Worthington); Tony Galvin (St. Paul). Illinois: Jonathan Aguilar (Addison); Oscar Lucero (Rockford); Moises Diaz (Waukegan); Adolfo Lugi (Dodgeville); Juan Sotelo (Damen); Daniel Valle (Philadelphia); Pedro Castillo (Zion); Daniel and Aaron Davila (Justice). Wisconsin: Rocael Lopez (Plainfield); Melissa Bagley (Milwaukee). Iowa: Richard Segura (Des Moines). Missouri: Janice Orr (Joplin); David Babbitt (Kansas City); Glen Miller (St. Joseph). Kansas: Jim Craig (Wichita). Colorado: Juan Ramon Mendez (Aurora); Gabe Zaragoza (Denver); Heidi Allums (Colorado Springs). Nebraska: Michael Peterson (Kearney); Jose Retana (Lexington). Mike Wallace (Montana fellowship and Colorado Springs).
