On Tuesday night of the 143rd Conference, eight Bible Fellowship Church men were ordained or had their previous ordinations recognized. Steve Myers from Redeemer BFC in Topton led musical worship to start the service. Then the members of the Ministerial Credentials Committee read Scripture, prayed, and presented the ordinands to the congregation of pastors, delegates, family members, and other guests.
A Charge to the Ordinands
Pastor Jesse A. Benack, a member of the Ministerial Credentials Committee and pastor of Paradise BFC, gave the charge to the candidates. “It’s valuable to be reminded of what gospel ministry is,” Benack said. “We have a glorious calling to proclaim a glorious Savior for a glorious purpose.”
“We are debtors to God’s grace. We are saved only by grace and we minister only by
grace,” he added. “We must not mistake giftedness for worthiness.” We should never forget that
our ministry is a gift from God to unworthy sinners. It’s only by His grace.”
Ordination Vows
Next, Pastor Jason L. Hoy from Cedar Crest BFC administered the ordination vows. The members of the Credentials Committee laid hands on and prayed for the ordinands which is always a meaningful moment for the ordinand and all those in attendance to witness such a personal public prayer. Pastor Wayne Rissmiller from Calvary BFC Sinking Spring gave the pronouncement of ordination and greeted the newly-ordained men.
Meet the Ordinands
Each ordinand has an unique story of how God worked in their lives to call them to the gospel ministry.
Jacob B. Dearmon, Associate Pastor of Family Ministries, Calvary BFC, Coopersburg, PA
I am joyfully the product of a faithful Christian home. I’ve known since childhood of my sin and need for a savior. I began sensing a desire to serve more, and potentially a calling to ministry, when I was in middle school and therefore served regularly in my youth group and corporate gatherings in my church.
In late high school, my parents felt it necessary to change churches. It was at this new church that the pastoral staff heard my desire to pursue ministry and gave me many opportunities for discipleship, theological training, teaching, and preaching. I served as a pastoral intern at this church for the four years of my time in college.
It was also at this church that I met my wife, Katie. We married in August of 2020, and we welcomed our firstborn son, Judah, in March 2025 though our hands are often fuller as we also have the joy of serving as foster parents. Katie has been incredibly impactful in both my personal walk with the Lord and in all the ways she helps in the various ministries of the church alongside me. She has been a great (and undeserved) gift from God to me.
After college, I was brought to Calvary BFC as the youth director in August 2020. I was blessed by them to be able to allocate time and resources to attend Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary online where I received my MDiv in 2025, and I am continuing my education pursing a Doctor of Ministry degree in Expository Preaching. As my role evolved over time, I now joyfully serve the church as the Associate Pastor of Family Ministries.
Benenz J. Hitchcock, Teaching Pastor, Zionsville BFC, Zionsville PA
I was saved in my twenties through the Bible teaching ministry of Todd Friel and Wretched Radio. I had known that there was a God of some kind, but I did not know Him. I had hit the lowest point in my life. I had enjoyed the pleasures of this world, but they got me nowhere. It was at this time that the Lord made himself known. What followed was an insatiable appetite for the Word of God and a desire to tell others about Him.
My wife, Krystle, was converted a year after me and we were married one year later in 2012. Since then the Lord has blessed us with five children.
Soon after being converted the Lord gave me a desire to serve in the local church. After attending several local churches, we eventually began attending Grace BFC in Quakertown. It was here that the aspiration for ministry grew. We were also given the opportunity to serve. Krystle and I co-taught children’s Sunday School, and I served as a Deacon and an Elder.
During my time at Grace, the Lord opened an opportunity to attend Reformed Baptist Seminary and I graduated with a Bachelor of Divinity in 2023. While attending seminary, I had several opportunities to preach at a variety of churches all the while having many people from Grace telling me I would make a solid pastor one day. This came to fruition in mid-2023 when I called to pastor Zionsville BFC where I have had the privilege of serving since.
Peter C. Bogert, Lead Pastor, Calvary BFC, Coopersburg, PA
My family began attending a gospel-preaching church in 1964, and I came to trust Christ during my senior high school years. While in college, I was baptized and began sensing a call to ministry. With the encouragement of my pastors, parents, and friends, I enrolled at Northeastern Bible College in New Jersey, graduating in 1975.
That same spring, I was called to serve as a Pastoral Assistant at Ringwood Baptist Church. It was there that I met my wife, Laura. We were married in 1976 and are blessed with three married adult children and seven grandchildren with a great-grandchild on the way. I was ordained in 1978.
We served at Ringwood for three years before, in the summer of 1980, moving to Faith Community Church in Roslyn, PA. There I served as Associate Pastor and spent a season as Administrator of our Christian School. In 2003, I was called to serve as Senior Pastor, a position I held until June 2017.
Laura and I moved to Center Valley in 2017. In 2020, I returned somewhat unexpectantly to ministry serving part-time at Calvary. I began preaching regularly in 2023 and was called to serve as Lead Pastor of this wonderful congregation in February 2024.
Daniel A. Cali, Interim Pastor, Bible Fellowship Church of Denville NJ
Daniel Cali was born in Santa Fe, Argentina into a Christian home where faith was a way of life. His grandfather served as pastor of the local church. Daniel accepted Christ as his Savior at the age of ten and was baptized two years later, the foundation on which his entire life would be built. At eighteen, God’s call to pastoral ministry became undeniable. Daniel pursued his Bachelor of Theology and Biblical Sciences at the International Baptist Theological Seminary in Buenos Aires, his Master of Theology at the Latin American Theological Faculty (FATELA), and pursued doctoral studies at the New York Theological Seminary in New York City. It was at the seminary that he met Estela Wutzke who has been his faithful partner in life and ministry ever since. A Medical Assistant by profession, Estela serves her community with the same dedication she brings to the church. Together they have two children: Bryan (19), an Aerospace Engineering student at Purdue University who serves the Lord playing the piano, and Alyson (16), a current high school student at Morris Knolls, who obtained a position for the Stanford University Summer Program Scholar who serves the Lord as a flutist and vocalist.
In 2016, Daniel answered the call to serve as Senior Pastor of the Hispanic Baptist Church in Denville, NJ. He currently serves as Pastor of Bible Fellowship Church of Denville, NJ. Since 2022, he has served on the Board of Hispanic Access Foundation and has partnered with the Luis Palau Evangelistic Association and Rotary Club International in service to the broader community. During the summers of 2023 and 2024, Daniel conducted firsthand research on the Protestant Reformation and the impact of church mission and faith in the 21st century, traveling the Reformer’s Route through Germany, Switzerland, England, Spain, Italy, and France – a journey that deepened his love for the Church and its history.
Jonathan Limm, Discipleship Pastor, Bible Fellowship Church of Newark, DE
Every testimony is a continuation of the Church’s great commission which the Lord has made abundantly clear to me. Scottish missionaries brought the gospel to Korea where my father became a believer. An underground church in China shared the good news with my mother. I grew up in a Christian and Missionary Alliance Church in Maryland where missionaries would visit telling their stories of God’s love for the nations. I believed, was baptized, and learned the Bible through the ministry of that church.
God captured my heart while at Towson University (2003-2007) through a student ministry where I thrived in Christian fellowship. A fellow student named Linsey, a woman whose worth goes beyond words, captured my heart as well. We joined in marriage in 2009. We grew together during a 13 year period where I worked in finance. We attended and served at two church plants during this season while being blessed with two children.
The Lord called me to pastoral ministry while we attended Sycamore Hill Church. I graduated with a Masters in Theological Studies from Gateway Seminary in 2023 and have been in full-time ministry since 2021.
In 2024, the Lord called me to serve at Bible Fellowship Church of Newark DE as Discipleship Pastor. I oversee small groups, young adults ministry, empower lay-led ministries, and preach and teach the Bible. I joyfully serve Christ my King continuing the work of many who have gone before while calling others to follow after.
James D. MacArthur, Director, Board of Missions
Although Jim grew up in a Christian home and made a profession of faith around 10 years old at a Boys’ Brigade Camp, it wasn’t until his first year in tech college that he became serious about his faith. After Lancaster Bible College, he began his construction career as a carpenter. In 1982, Jim and Trudi were called to serve with Christar in Suriname, South America, initially to run a camp and later to serve as church planters. With the church established, he was asked to be US Director of Christar. The MacArthur’s last year in missions was spent in Indonesia with the goal of church planting. Jim then was called to be the Executive pastor of New Life Bible Fellowship Church in Oley, PA, a role he served in for 18 years. In early 2024, Dave Allen reached out to ask him to become the Director of the Board of Missions. The Lord worked in his heart for several months and he was approved at Annual Conference 2024. Jim has been serving in that role since July 2024.
Jim and Trudi have five sons, three daughters-in-law and eight grandchildren.
John P. Sullivan, Senior Pastor, Grace BFC, Nazareth PA
I grew up in a mostly nominal Christian church but came to Christ in high school through the influence of my dad and high school friend, Roy. Up until that point, I always believed in Christianity in theory but finally came to see the depth of my own sin and my need to Christ to be first in my life. The truth and mercy of the gospel opened my eyes and I turned to Him.
During the summer between high school and college, I delved deep into Scripture for the first time. I began reading and devouring the Bible, listening to expositional sermons almost daily, and attending church services or Bible studies 4-5 times a week. In college, campus ministries grew my passion for discipleship, evangelism, and reaching our culture.
Through these campus ministries, I began regularly leading Bible studies and personal evangelism sensing a growing call to ministry. I eventually served with Campus Crusade, went on to Westminster Seminary and interned at Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia. All through this, I gained valuable experience and knowledge and my call to ministry was further confirmed. In the following years, I moved into increasingly pastoral roles.
My wife and I met at Tenth Presbyterian in 2010 and we married in 2014. We have been best friends ever since we met and today we have three crazy kids to chase around. We started at Grace BFC Nazareth in 2024 and it has been the greatest joy. The entire congregation has welcomed, loved, and supported us and it’s been encouraging to see God bring many new faces in recent months as well.
Reception Celebration for the Ordinands
Jeremy L. Harkins, who was ordained in 2025 but was unable to attend the ordination service due to illness, was also included in the service. You can find his testimony here. The service ended with Conference and guests singing “Yet Not I, But Through Christ in Me” as a closing hymn. The service was followed by a reception in honor of these newly-ordained men followed in Pinebrook’s Fellowship Hall.
Photo credit to Andrew Orton and Loren Skinker
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