Over the past few months, the Victorian Conference has been privileged to recognise God’s calling to ministry over the lives of six of our church members. We’re so excited to introduce to you our newest ordained/commissioned pastors. You can read more about their testimonies below.
Pastor Manuel Tilkulin was ordained on the 12 February at the St Albans Croatian Seventh-day Adventist Church in a service led by Victorian Conference President, Pastor Graeme Christian, Ministerial Secretary Pastor Justin Bone and Australian Union Conference Ministerial Secretary Pastor Brendan Pratt. Manuel accepted the call to ministry after God placed people into his life that suggested that he should think about becoming a minister. Recognising that this was God’s voice, he applied to study theology at his local seminar and was accepted. Manuel described how he put God to the test, trying to determine whether he was following the right path. Doubting Gods calling for his life, Manuel spent hours struggling with this decision in prayer. He compared his experience to Jacob wrestling with God in Genesis 32:22—32. After much prayer, Manuel decided to ask God to show him what He wanted to say to him. He opened the Bible and it fell to Jeremiah 3:33, “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know”. This was a sign for Manuel that God was leading in his life and that he needed to rely on Him. Manuel went on to graduate at the top of his class at the Croatian Adventist Seminary and has been serving as the pastor at St Albans Croatian Seventh-day Adventist Church.
Pastor Daniel Brunt was ordained on the 19 February at Wantirna Seventh-day Adventist Church in a service led by Victorian Conference, President Pastor Graeme Christian, Australian Union Conference Ministerial Secretary Pastor Brendan Pratt, and Ringwood Adventist Church Pastor Jorge Munoz. Daniel described how he previously rejected God’s calling for his life, pursuing a psychology degree and working at Telstra in sales and marketing. In 2014, Daniel finally accepted the call to study theology at Avondale. Struggling with finances, Daniel was working and studying full time as well as doing placement. Throughout this time, Daniel described how he often felt like he was not good enough to be a pastor. However, God continued to lead the way. The Conference sponsored the final part of Daniel’s study, and he began working under the supervision of Pastor Danny Milenkov in 2017 at Kanwal and Bluehaven Churches. Daniel emphasised how God just wanted his faithfulness on this journey and he was able to overcome feelings of discouragement by remembering that our power comes from God, not from ourselves. Daniel is now serving as the Assistant Pastor at Wantirna Seventh-day Adventist Church and Director of Family Ministries at the Victorian Conference.
Pastor Rosemary Andrykanus was commissioned on the 26 February at Nunawading Seventh-day Adventist Church in a service led by Australian Union Conference President, Pastor Terry Johnson, Australian Union Conference Ministerial Secretaries Pastor Lyndelle Peterson and Pastor Brendan Pratt, and Victorian Conference President Pastor Graeme Christian. Rose described herself as a shy kid, who from the age of 14 years worked at Bakers Delight. During her time at Bakers Delight, Rose was forced to come out of her shell as she interacted with customers, and soon began training others. After completing a degree in science majoring in Physical Geography, Sustainability, and Geology at Monash University, Rose was offered a position in the research department of environmental science. Rose described this role as versatile, and an essential part in preparing her for the role of Assistant Youth Director. After volunteering for ADRA in Laos for a year, Rose felt the call from God to go into ministry. Rose took a leap of faith and decided to go to Avondale to study a Graduate Diploma in Ministry and Theology. While there she received three awards in two years and was given scholarships which helped her financially. After graduating, Rose was called to pastor at Lilydale Church and spent two years under the mentorship of Pr. Rob Steed. In 2019, Rose was called to be the Assistant Youth Director of the Victorian Conference and still continues to serve in this role.
Pastor Daniel Maher was ordained on the 5 March at Bendigo Seventh-day Adventist Church in a service led by South New South Wales Conference President Pastor, Christian Copaceanu, Australian Union Conference Ministerial Secretary Pastor Brendan Pratt and Victorian Conference President Pastor Graeme Christian. From a young age, Daniel knew that he wanted to be a pastor. Growing up in a presbyterian family, he attributed this to helping build the foundation of his spiritual ministry. After taking a discipleship course by Bill Gothard, Daniel felt like he had more of an understanding of what it meant to be a disciple. Daniel was still searching for answers when a stranger handed him a book called Disciple. After reading the book and being blessed by it, Daniel promised God that he would accept the next book that was given to him. During his time at Monash University, Daniel stumbled across a Christian book stall. After talking to the girls at the stall, they prayed for him and gave him a book, The Great Controversy. Daniel felt impressed to attend a prophecy seminar, and later started attending the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Daniel was baptised in 2010, and just a year later began to be involved in Bible work. After graduating from Monash University, Daniel went to Avondale to study ministry. Daniel is now the Pastor at Bendigo, Bendigo Karen Remnant and Swan Hill Seventh-day Adventist Churches.
Pastor Jonathon Gillard was ordained on 25 March at Gilson College Community Church in a service led by Pastor Paul Klienmeulman, Australian Union Conference Ministerial Secretary Pastor Brendan Pratt and Victorian Conference President, Pastor Graeme Christian. Jonathon was born and raised in Christchurch, New Zealand, to an Adventist family. Jonathon described how he always enjoyed being involved in Adventurers, Pathfinders, Teen, and Big Camps. Recognising God’s calling for his life from a young age, Jonathon was always involved in church and was passionate about telling others about Jesus. In 2005, Jonothan was baptized and after graduating in 2011, he deferred his studies for a year in order to find his identity and earn the money he needed to pay for his degree. In 2013, Jonathon attended a youth congress in Brisbane and was inspired by Pastor Eddie Hypolite’s sermon. No longer wanting to hold himself back from God’s calling, Jonathon quit his job and reapplied to study a Bachelor of Ministry and Theology at Avondale. During his second year of study, Jonathon was facing financial difficulty. However, after praying to God, he was able to obtain the funds he needed to finish his degree. In 2017, Jonothan completed his internship in New Zealand and was relocated to Victoria where he served as chaplain at Gilson College from 2019 to 2021. Jonathon is now serving as Associate Pastor at Melbourne Asian Seventh-day Adventist Church and Upper Room.
Pastor Emanuel Millen was ordained on the 19 March at Warburton Seventh-day Adventist Church in a service led by Ministerial Association Secretary, Pastor Justin Bone, Victorian Conference President, Pastor Graeme Christian and Australian Union Conference Ministerial Secretary Pastor Brendan Pratt. Emanuel was born into the Seventh-day Adventist Church and was baptised into the Church by his older brother Samuel. After completing a commerce degree, Emanuel worked in finance but was drawn to being involved in ministry. His involvement in outreach and participation in a home group led him to the Seminary at Andrews University. During his time at Andrews, Emanuel was student chaplain, involved in local church and participated in many evangelistic trips to Central America. After completing his master degree, Emanuel went on to do a course in clinical pastoral education. This led him to working as a hospital chaplain for Florida Hospital while also being involved in pastoral ministry at Forest Lake Church. Emanuel has been the Pastor at Yarra Valley Church for the last four years and a Hebrew and Old Testament Lecturer at Avondale University.
Kymberley McMurray
Communications Coordinator for the Victorian Conference