Dr. Jerry F. O’Neill retires this year as president of The Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary after 23 years of service. He has tirelessly recruited young men to explore God’s call to labor in pastoral service. He has prayed for faithfulness over fruitfulness, and the Lord has granted him both.
Before he was president of RPTS, he served in our presbytery (Great Lakes-Gulf, RPCNA) and was a member of our Candidates and Credentials Committee. Being the visionary that he is, Jerry led the committee by writing to me and to a number of my friends when we were still in high school. On that now-yellowed paper, he invited us to consider theological training and God’s call. In that endeavor, he certainly walked by faith more than by sight! The Lord used his letter, copied below, as part of the process to draw several of us into pastoral ministry.
His quarter-century-old words still challenge me, especially now that I now serve on the same committee. Do we have the same vision to reach out and call young men to service? Whether we do or not, one thing is certain: Jerry will keep setting Jesus’ call before young men for as long as he has breath. I pray that we keep following his example.
Jerry is a great recruiter. None of us could hope to equal him. But, let me take this opportunity to recruit you to celebrate the ministry that the Lord has given him at RPTS. You can find information regarding the April 20, 2018 dinner in his honor here. The Lord has given us a great reason to celebrate; you would be blessed to join us in honoring this faithful servant!
Pastor James Faris
[This article was originally posted on the Gentle Reformation Blog check it out for more reports and articles by RP ministers from around the world.]
