by Noel Santiago
While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.
Acts 13:2, NIV
In this text, the leaders of the early church gathered in worship and fasting. Amid this gathering, the Holy Spirit calls for Barnabas and Saul to be set apart for the work of Jesus.
Today, we too participate in acts of “setting apart” on various fronts, although we think more in terms of “calling” or “being called”. The first and foremost of these is when we place our faith and trust in Jesus Christ and reorient our lives around the mission of God. This is an act of being “set apart” to God where we begin the journey of following Jesus as Lord in all of life.
Throughout our Anabaptist history, we have recognized the call of God on people’s lives and have used various methods to recognize, call, and set apart these people for service to God. From choosing by lot, to shoulder tapping, and seeking to develop a Culture of Call, to credentialing processes that include filling out Ministerial Leadership Information forms, references, and interviews, God’s calling is discerned and recognized in a diversity of ways.
On Sunday, June 2, 2024, Iglesia Nueva Vida Norristown New Life (PA) was joined by Providence Mennonite (Collegeville, PA) to celebrate the recognition of one of these being set apart. It was the ordination and installation to ministerial office of Pastor Nering Huete at Iglesia Nueva Vida Norristown New Life. Pastor John Holsey of the Providence congregation brought the message from this passage
Pastor Nering was born in Tegucigalpa, Honduras where he ministered in a variety of church settings, ultimately in the Mennonite Church of Tegucigalpa. In 1984 the Lord called him to be the pastor of Iglesia Menonita El Buen Pastor in Lancaster, PA. Later he served as a chaplain in Chester County, from where he retired.
However, God still had more for Pastor Nering. God again called him into ministry at Mosaic congregation Iglesia Menonita Ebenezer in Souderton, PA and now at Iglesia Nueva Vida Norristown New Life. His partnership with Providence came about as a new Partner in Ministry formed there called Iglesia Menonita Jesucristo Viene.
On this day, however, the community of faith gathered in worship, prayer, scripture reading, preaching of the word and celebration of covenant making as we recognized, affirmed, and set apart Pastor Nering for the work of ministry. Family, friends, and sisters and brothers in Christ gathered around him in prayer and together, we all recommitted ourselves to the work of Jesus’ ministry.
Of course, we did do one thing a bit differently than the early church in the Acts 13 passage; we had a wonderful time of fellowship afterwards with food from a variety of different countries. To God be the glory!
Noel Santiago
Noel Santiago is the Leadership Minister for Missional Transformation for Mosaic Conference.
The opinions expressed in articles posted on Mosaic’s website are those of the author and may not reflect the official policy of Mosaic Conference. Mosaic is a large conference, crossing ethnicities, geographies, generations, theologies, and politics. Each person can only speak for themselves; no one can represent “the conference.” May God give us the grace to hear what the Spirit is speaking to us through people with whom we disagree and the humility and courage to love one another even when those disagreements can’t be bridged.