“A Word Called Favor” — Pastor Gregory Fontus, Sr.
Pastor Gregory Fontus, senior pastor of Beacon Light Seventh-day Adventist Church in Kansas City, Missouri, described his ordination in a single word: favor.
“When I reflect on my journey toward ordination, the one word that comes to mind is favor,” Fontus said. “Over the past four years, I have seen the unmistakable hand of God moving in my life, in my family, and in my church.”
When he first arrived in the Central States Conference in June 2021, Fontus recalled coming with his wife and their nine-month-old daughter. Today, that daughter is about to turn five, and the family has grown to include a three-year-old son. “God has not only expanded our family,” he shared, “but He has faithfully guided us every step of the way—growing us spiritually, emotionally, and in our understanding of what it means to serve Him.”
At Beacon Light Church, Fontus has also seen God’s favor in tangible ways. Under his leadership, the congregation has renovated 75% of its building debt-free, increased youth and young adult engagement, strengthened community outreach, and witnessed more than 40 baptisms and professions of faith.
“There is a renewed energy and excitement among our members,” he said. “It is nothing more than a testament to the favor that only God could have orchestrated.”
Fontus described ordination as the church’s public recognition of a call that God had already placed on his life. As a second-career pastor, with more than a decade of experience in higher education and the corporate world before ministry, answering God’s call required a leap of faith.
“God has led me every step of the way,” Fontus said. “Ordination serves as a confirmation that He has indeed called, equipped, and been with me in this season.”
Looking ahead, Fontus said the moment grounds him more deeply in God’s grace and renews his commitment to serve with integrity.
“I don’t take this mantle lightly because I carry it with gratitude, humility, and a renewed commitment to do all that God has called me to do,” he said. “I’m looking forward to what God will do for me and through me.”
“Saying Yes Again” — Pastor Elijah Johnson
For Pastor Elijah Johnson, known to many as “Pastor EJ,” ordination was more than a ceremonial milestone. He called it a holy “yes” that has echoed through the years of his walk with God.
“On August 2, 2025, I stepped into a sacred milestone—ordination into gospel ministry,” he said. “Yet, more than a ceremony, it felt like a holy ‘yes’ echoing through the years.”
Johnson’s ministry began with music. As a student at Oakwood University, he believed the only way God could use him was through song. Worship leading, he thought, was his highest calling. But God had other plans.
“He revealed there was more He had ordained me to be,” Johnson reflected. “That was the moment I accepted the call to pastoral ministry.”
Since then, Johnson has embraced preaching, evangelism, Bible study leadership, and even creative tools such as graphic design to reach people for Christ.
Quoting Jeremiah 1:5, Johnson said he came to understand that God’s call on his life was established long before he was born: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I consecrated you.”
His journey also included God’s provision in his personal life. In 2019, while hosting Bible studies, Johnson met his future wife, Chevelle. They married in 2020 and now serve together as a ministry team in Iowa, leading the Philadelphia SDA Church in Des Moines and New Life Christian Ministry in Waterloo.
When the day of ordination arrived, Johnson admitted he thought of the times he wanted to run from the call. Yet he testified that God’s grace sustained him through doubt and fear.
“Standing alongside my brother Greg Fontus in ordination, I realized the moment was more than recognition of ministry,” he said. “It was a testimony of grace—the grace that called, carried, and continues to mold us.”
For Johnson, ordination was also a chance to recommit:
“So I say: This is what grace looks like. And with a grateful heart, I say ‘yes’ again to the next season God has already prepared.”
A Testimony of Grace
Through their words, both Fontus and Johnson pointed not to themselves but to God’s favor and grace as the foundation of their ministry.
View images from their ordination service here.
