By RMCNews – Greeley, Colorado … With family, friends, church members, and colleagues, Mark Bridgeman, The Adventure Adventist church associate pastor, was ordained to the gospel ministry on July 31.

Born and raised in California, Bridgeman attended Monterey Bay Academy in 1993 and pursued his bachelor’s degree at William Jessup University studying Bible and theology with a second major in youth ministry.

Bridgeman recalls growing up as an Adventist and remembers the moment he decided to walk with Jesus on the journey called life. “I was raised in an Adventist home and attended Adventist schools through high school. I graduated from Monterey Bay Academy in 1993, but it was at Camp Wawona at the age of 11 that I gave my life to Christ, and was baptized a few months later on my 12th birthday.”

During his college years, Bridgeman drifted away from the journey with Christ. “I fell away during college as I started to live for myself. Then came a day when I realized that I had robbed God of the last four years of my life. I wanted to get on track with God.” Bridgeman continued, “The Lord led me to become a student missionary in Brazil through ADRA. It was nine months of challenges. When I returned home, I was unsure of the next step, I asked a friend for advice. She suggested becoming a youth pastor. The Lord poured out the Holy Spirit like never before and it was made clear that I was being called to ministry. Two months later, I was a full-time student and a part-time youth pastor at a local church.”

Being ordained is humbling for Bridgeman. “It is definitely an honor to be ordained, but I must say that my journey has been a humbling experience. Because in the life of a believer, it [being ordained] has nothing to do with you attaining something but has everything to do with maintaining a close and personal walk with the Lord and listening to His leading. When our ears are attentive and we seek to do his bidding, then the only one that gets all the credit is Jesus.”

The path of ministry has been difficult for Bridgeman as he has had to overcome his fear of public speaking. “My call to ministry has always been extremely difficult for me due to major fears over public speaking. I had given it to God 1000 times. The frustration of receiving a call to ministry, and having panic attacks when getting upfront in any way [made the path a difficult one]. If He called me, then why did He not take the burden away from me? But we need to realize that a walk with God is more about trust than understanding. We are not given full understanding, but we are called to trust.”

Bridgeman met his partner in ministry, Alissa, in 2000 at Sunnyvale Adventist church in California, his home church. They are blessed with two children–their son Asher, 12, and their daughter Logan, 10.

Bridgeman’s motto in life is simple: “The believer walks the straightest when they are leaning on Jesus.”

–RMCNews; photos by Susan Inglish