Committed to Serve: The Ordination of Marcos Bernal

Church members and conference leaders gathered with friends, family, and fellow church members of Marcos Bernal on November 18, 2023, at the Mount Pisgah Seventh-day Adventist Church for his ordination service. Elder Samuel Romero, retired director of Hispanic Ministries in the Carolina Conference, returned from Collegedale, Tennessee, to share the ordination sermon for Pastor Bernal. Following a hearty recommendation by elders from his present and previous district, Elder Bernal confirmed his commitment to follow God and faithfully serve his churches. Elder Leslie Louis, Carolina Conference President, and Haskell Williams, Ministerial Director, welcomed Pastor Marcos and his wife, Edlin, to the ranks of ordained pastors and placed on him the mantle of service and responsibility with the assurance that He who called him would strengthen him to fulfill his assignment to share the Gospel Commission.

Pastor Bernal was first spotted while a student at Southern Adventist University by Elders Romero and Haskell Williams. After working in auto manufacturing and starting a family, he felt the hand of God on his shoulder and entered the Theology Department for training. Upon completing the program, he was called to serve as Pastor of the Wilmington, New Bern, and Myrtle Beach district on the east coast of N.C. He led and grew the congregations through recovery from a devastating flood due to Hurricane Matthew in 2016. He also played a key role in planting congregations in Morehead City and Jacksonville, N.C.

In January 2023, Pastor Bernal began serving in his current district of congregations in Asheville, Arden, Hendersonville, and Swannanoa, N.C. He is also fulfilling a commitment to his country by serving in the N.C. National Guard Reserves as a Sergeant / E-5.

—Haskell Williams, Ministerial Director