The Ministerial Committee makes decisions on ministry credentials and policies that promote the support, health, and training of credentialed leaders and safe church practices for congregations. They meet quarterly to act on recommendations from the credentials committee, review and revise current policies around credentialed leaders, and provide leadership in cases of misconduct.
Report from the June 2026 Ministerial Committee Meeting:
Licenses Approved
License Toward Ordination (LTO) – grants the person all the privileges and responsibilities accorded to an ordained person, except to ordain someone else. This license is issued for a three-year period with the purpose of testing the inner and outer call to ministry, further discerning of ministerial gifts, abilities and aptitude and may or may not lead to ordination.
- Henny Vina Krisnadi – Whitehall (PA) Mennonite; Church planter
- Yesenia Perez Morales – Iglesia Evangelica Menonita Shalom (Tampa, FL); Associate Pastor
- Jacob Wibowo – Philadelphia (PA) Praise Center; Associate Pastor
- Laura Alderfer – Salford (PA) Mennonite; Music Pastor
Ordination – grants the person the full range of ministerial privileges and responsibilities. This is a long-term, leadership ministry credential appropriate for all pastors, area conference ministry staff, chaplains, missionaries, evangelists, and those determined by the church to have a continuing ministerial-leadership role in, and on behalf of, the church.
- Joe Paparone – Bethany Mennonite (Bridgewater Corners, VT); Community organizer/Pastor
- Dave Moyer – Zion Mennonite (Souderton, PA); Associate Pastor
- Eszter Bjorkman – Neffsville Mennonite (Lancaster, PA); Associate Pastor
License Extension (for 3 years) – Issued for a three-year period with the purpose of testing the inner and outer call to ministry, further discerning of ministerial gifts, abilities and aptitude and may or may not lead to ordination. It is extended for three more years as needed.
- Kirby King – Souderton (PA) Mennonite, License for Specific Ministry – Bible Department Chair/Teacher – Dock Mennonite Academy (Lansdale, PA)
- Joseph Brooks – College Hill Mennonite (Tampa, FL), License towards Ordination – Associate Pastor
Moved to Active without Charge – held by those not presently holding a ministry assignment
- Hunter Hess (Neffsville Mennonite)
- Mary Nitzsche (since 2024 when she resigned leadership minister role with Mosaic Conference)
- Randy Heacock (Doylestown [PA] Mennonite)
Moved to Inactive – held by those who have been without a ministerial assignment for more than three consecutive years. This credential is not valid for performing ministerial functions.
- Daniel Tran (Vietnamese Gospel [Allentown, PA])
Withdrawn
- Nathan Good (Swamp Mennonite [Quakertown, PA])
- Tracy Commons (Swamp Mennonite [Quakertown, PA])
- Dania Hernández (Peña de Horeb [Philadelphia, PA])
- Mike Spinelli (Perkiomenville [PA] Mennonite)
- Bob Helverson (Salem Mennonite [Quakertown, PA])
- Bruce Eglinton-Woods (Salem Mennonite [Quakertown, PA])
Moved to Active
- Gwen Groff – Interim role at Taftsville (VT) Mennonite
Committee Updates and Discussions
Credentialing Leaders Profile – (Form that candidating pastors fill out, and the corresponding reference forms). The committee discussed further revisions of the profile and reference forms.
Credentialing Procedure Update – (Internal working policy for credentialing process for licenses and renewals). The committee will review in its September meeting
Abuse and Misconduct Policy and Procedure – (Policy and procedure for response to allegations of abuse). The committee was informed that GRACE has written the first draft of a policy for Mosaic Conference. It is currently being reviewed by a select group of people from the board, ministerial, and credentials committees then will be returned to GRACE for updates. Further review will be done through intercultural and language lenses, after which it will given to the ministerial committee and board for final approval.
Centering Posture Document application in Ministerial Committee and Credentials Committee – The committee was reminded that we have been asked to use the Mosaic Centering document (A Mosaic Identity: Clarifying Our Center) as a guide for our policies and actions. For example, the questions that the Credentials Committee asks have changed to reflect Mosaic priorities and values.
Congregational Change Updates
- Peña de Horeb (Philadelphia, PA) is withdrawing membership in Mosaic Conference
- Hope Church (Temecula, CA) is requesting to join Mosaic Conference
- Iglesia Menonita Fuente de Agua Viva (Monterrey, Mexico) is requesting to join Mosaic Conference
Committee Members – The Nominating Committee is working to name new committee members, including:
- The Chair of the Credentials Committee will join when affirmed by the Credentials Committee. The Credentials Committee will also name Spanish-speaking vice chair who may or may not join the Ministerial Committee.
- Boendianto from JKIA (Jemaat Kristen Indonesia Anugerah [Sierra Madre, CA]) has been affirmed by the Nominating Committee and named to the Ministerial Committee.
- Staff committee members – There are currently two committee members on the Ministerial Committee who have joined the Mosaic Conference staff during their committee term. According to our bylaws, staff members who are on committees would be non-voting members. The committee discussed options and gave input for addressing committee members who are conference staff (voting vs non-voting roles).
- ACTION: The committee voted unanimously that Rose Bender Cook and Josh Meyer will become non-voting committee members when new members are selected and onboarded at the beginning of next year.
Mosaic values two-way communication and encourages our constituents to respond with feedback, questions, or encouragement. To share your thoughts or send a message to the author(s), contact us at communication@mosaicmennonites.org.