As pastors gathered around Jared Kigori and his wife, Zipporah (“Zippy”), to pray during the Central States Conference camp meeting, the message throughout the ordination service was simple: the church was recognizing what God had already done.
“The Holy Spirit has already moved,” conference leaders reminded the congregation. “It’s our privilege to simply acknowledge what God has already done.”
For Kigori, that truth captures the meaning of ordination. “I view ordination as both a sacred privilege and a solemn responsibility,” he said. “It is not a promotion or a personal achievement I have attained, but the church’s recognition of God’s calling and faithfulness to me over the years.”
Kigori serves as senior pastor of United Central Seventh-day Adventist Church, The Mountain Experience Seventh-day Adventist Church, and Kushite Oromo Mission in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He also serves as assistant to the president for Great Lakes Adventist Ministries and represents the region on the Central States Conference executive committee.
“Because of Pastor Kigori’s deep spirituality and deep commitment to ministry, he was asked to serve as the assistant to the president for the Great Lakes Adventist Ministries in our Central States Conference,” said Central States Conference president Elder Cryston Josiah. “He fulfills his responsibilities with a spirit of excellence.”
Kigori’s journey began thousands of miles away in western Kenya, where he first sensed God’s call while becoming increasingly involved in church ministry. He studied at Bugema University in Uganda and later at the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago. His ministry has included serving as a high school chaplain and pastor in Uganda and as a Bible worker and volunteer pastor in North Carolina before coming to Minnesota.
Looking back, Kigori sees God’s leading not as one defining moment but as a lifetime of faithful direction. “For me, God’s call to ministry has not been a straight line—it has been a long, winding road with detours, sharp corners and even what seemed like dead ends,” Kigori reflected. “Today, I view my calling not as a single moment, but as a lifelong journey of faithfully saying ‘yes’ to God as He continues to lead.”
During the ordination message, Mid-America Union executive secretary Hubert Morel Jr. reminded Kigori that a pastor’s calling begins with God. “Don’t ever forget, God chose you,” Morel said. “God handpicked you.”
While ministry has taken Kigori across continents and cultures, he acknowledges that he has never served alone. He credits his parents, mentors, professors, conference leaders and fellow pastors for helping shape his ministry. Above all, he points to Zippy as his closest ministry partner. “There are moments it has felt lonely, low and sometimes empty,” he said. “I have always turned to my wife.”
Together with their four children—Ivan, Baraka, Bahati and Neema—the Kigori family has embraced ministry as a shared calling.
Although his ordination marks an important milestone, Kigori sees it less as an arrival and more as a renewed commitment to serve Christ with humility, integrity and compassion. That perspective shapes his advice to others sensing God’s call. “If you sense God calling you, don’t ignore His voice because of fear or feelings of inadequacy,” Kigori said. “God does not call those who are already qualified; He equips those He calls.”
It is a lesson he has lived from western Kenya to Minnesota—a reminder that God’s call is not measured by geography, titles or accomplishments, but by a willingness to faithfully say “yes” wherever He leads.
