Jonathan Ashcraft’s ordination and installation as pastor

Jonathan Ashcraft was ordained into the ministry and installed as pastor of Iglesia Bautista Monte Hebrón on Sunday evening, February 21, 2016. He succeeded his father, Tommy Ashcraft, who had led the congregation since its organization in June 1982. The service marked the culmination of years of preparation within the church and the beginning of a new pastorate, while Tommy continued serving through preaching, teaching, and representing the Bible institute. [1][2]

Years of preparation

Jonathan and Jenny Ashcraft began working at Monte Hebrón in October 2007. Over the following eight years, their responsibilities placed them in regular contact with the congregation, institute students, and ministry leaders. Jonathan preached and taught, directed music, participated in evangelism, and helped oversee practical aspects of the work. Jenny taught musicians and led the orchestra. [3][4][5]

Music provided one of the most visible settings for that service. Jonathan worked regularly with the choir, whose members included active church workers and their families. At the annual conferences, he coordinated the music alongside Jenny and Brenda Ashcraft, who accompanied the services at the piano. The work required preparation outside the services as well as leadership during them. [4][6]

Jonathan also took institute men out for Friday-night evangelism, visited Sunday School classes, and assisted teachers and workers in the children's ministries. These responsibilities gave him experience with both the public and less visible parts of church life: speaking to a congregation, working with volunteers, helping teachers, and responding to the needs of individual ministries. [6]

During 2015, he assumed additional responsibilities as institute duties were redistributed among staff members. His preparation for the pastorate therefore involved an expanding workload within an established ministry rather than a move directly from an outside position into leadership. [5]

Nomination and election

Tommy recommended Jonathan as his successor because he believed Jonathan's experience, relationships with the congregation, and plans for its future equipped him to lead the church. The recommendation followed years of working together and extended discussions about the ministry's direction. [6]

The nomination was put before the congregation for a vote following advance announcement. Voting took place by a standing count, and Tommy recorded 180 votes in favor. [6]

After the vote, Jonathan met with the leaders and assistant pastors and began visiting members' homes. He discussed the direction of the work with those already carrying responsibility and intended to visit the wider membership. These conversations formed part of the practical handover before and around the formal installation. [6]

A conference followed by an installation

The annual Pastors' and Workers' Conference took place February 15–18, immediately before the installation weekend. It brought pastors, missionaries, evangelists, and other visitors to Monte Hebrón for preaching, teaching, fellowship, and evangelism. The program included ninety teaching sessions and ten preaching services, with 130 registered pastors, missionaries, and evangelists and more than 1,600 delegates reported. [1]

Family members were among those visiting during this period. Henry and Tammie González came from their missionary work in El Salvador with three of their children, Joel, Brenda, and Grace. They remained for Jonathan's ordination before returning to El Salvador the following morning. [1]

The conference and installation were distinct events, but their proximity brought together two important aspects of the transition: the church's long-standing ministry to other workers and its recognition of a new pastor.

The service of February 21, 2016

Jonathan's ordination and installation took place in the Sunday evening service. Eight men laid hands on him and prayed. Seven have been identified: [1][7]

• Tommy Ashcraft
• Salvador Aguilar
• Samuel Esquivel
• Roberto García
• Andres Luna
• José Francisco Saenz
• Henry Gonzalez

Henry was Jonathan's brother-in-law and a missionary in El Salvador. The participation of Tommy and the other men placed prayer and recognition by fellow workers at the center of the occasion. [1][7]

The congregation welcomed Jonathan and Jenny into their new responsibilities while honoring Tommy and Brenda's years of service. For Tommy, the reception was a source of gratitude: the church had treated him and Brenda with dignity and had received the new pastor and his wife warmly. [1]

The service joined two milestones in Jonathan's ministry—ordination and formal installation as the congregation's pastor. It also brought Tommy's approximately thirty-four-year pastorate to a close. [1][2]

Making room for a new pastor

The change involved more than transferring responsibility for the pulpit. Tommy stepped away from the familiar weekly pattern of leading staff meetings, directing church activities, teaching, and participating in services as the congregation's pastor. Jonathan now carried the responsibility for the church's direction and the coordination of its leaders and ministries. [6]

Tommy wanted Jonathan to have room to implement his vision. Many of the ideas introduced during the preceding year had already emerged from their conversations and Jonathan's involvement in the work. The transition gave him the authority to develop those plans as pastor. [6]

A Noche de Visión was scheduled for March 6, providing an occasion for Jonathan to present his plans to the congregation. Alongside the meetings with leaders and visits to members, the planned presentation reflected the importance of communicating where the ministry would go under its new leadership. [6]

Tommy's continuing ministry

Leaving the pastorate did not mean retirement for Tommy. At the time of the installation, he already had meetings scheduled in more than thirty churches that year, mostly in Latin America. His work would include preaching, recruiting students, raising support, and representing the Instituto Bíblico Bautista Monte Hebrón. He and Brenda intended to maintain their home in Mexico. [1]

The initial travel plans changed because Brenda needed medical attention. Tommy stayed with her rather than leaving for a missions conference in Huejutla, Hidalgo, immediately after the installation. His continued presence at Monte Hebrón during those days accompanied a real change in responsibility: Jonathan was now pastor, while Tommy's work was entering a different phase. [1]

By the end of April, Tommy had taught and preached forty-seven times since his previous report. His engagements included churches, Bible colleges, a Christian school, a pastors' fellowship, and a missions conference. The transition opened a period in which father and son served in different roles connected with the same broader ministry. [8]

The first months

Jonathan began making schedule changes intended to strengthen the church's outreach. During the first two months, attendance increased and evangelism and baptisms continued. Tommy and Brenda expressed satisfaction with the way Jonathan and Jenny were settling into their responsibilities as pastor and pastor's wife. [8]

The work also continued beyond Monte Hebrón's own services. Institute students traveled to help a graduate beginning a church in San Miguel de Allende. Jonathan met with a church member who wanted to establish a congregation in the area served by his bus route. These efforts continued the connection between the local church, practical training, and the establishment of other churches. [8]

The pastoral change was separate from the institute's later leadership transition. Iván Ramírez served as institute dean from 2015 until leaving for missionary deputation in 2020. Jonathan's directorship of the institute began in 2020, four years after his installation as church pastor. [9]

The first anniversary

In February 2017, Jonathan planned and organized the annual Pastors' and Workers' Conference as pastor. It was the first such conference for which Tommy was no longer in charge. Church members worked for weeks preparing the event, continuing the congregation's tradition of receiving and serving visiting workers. [10]

Jonathan preached the opening message, “Don't Change.” Its emphasis was continuity in the principles and practices that had shaped Monte Hebrón: evangelism, local church ministry, missions, separation, and biblical standards. New leadership was presented alongside a commitment to maintain those foundations. [10]

The conference drew more than one hundred preachers and attendance exceeding 1,300 as the week progressed. About four hundred people participated in the Wednesday evangelistic outing. These activities continued a familiar pattern of combining preaching and instruction with practical outreach. [10]

For Tommy, the congregation's response during the first year and the reception of the conference confirmed his confidence in Jonathan's leadership and in the timing of the handover. The service of February 21, 2016, had marked a formal beginning; the following year gave that beginning its practical expression in the continuing life of the church. [10]

References

[1] Tommy and Brenda Ashcraft, February 22, 2016 prayer letter, p. 1, “February 2016 Prayer Letter Tommy Ashcraft (2).pdf.txt.”

[2] Eva Lemon de Ashcraft, Eva: Las historias de valor, aventura y fe de una madre misionera, epilogue, pp. 248–249.

[3] “Brief Biographical Sketch — Tommy Ashcraft,” October 2015, supplied as “Biography Tommy Ashcraft October 2015.docx.”

[4] Tommy and Brenda Ashcraft, February 2014 conference report, p. 1, “February 2014 Prayer Letter.pdf.txt.”

[5] Tommy and Brenda Ashcraft, September 1, 2015 prayer letter, p. 1, “August 2015 Prayer Letter Edited PDF (2).pdf.txt.”

[6] Tommy Ashcraft, unpublished correspondence concerning the 2016 pastoral transition, supplied by Jonathan Ashcraft for historical reference. Supports the preparation, nomination, standing vote and reported 180 affirmative votes, meetings with leaders, and planned March 6 Noche de Visión. Exact voting date and a complete vote tally have not been established from independent minutes. Personal family discussions are not reproduced.

[7] Jonathan Ashcraft, firsthand identification of seven participants in the laying on of hands, November 2026. The February 22, 2016 report records eight men; the remaining participant's identity is not yet established. Names follow Jonathan's supplied list.

[8] Tommy and Brenda Ashcraft, April 30, 2016 prayer letter, “Prayer letter April 22 2016 2.docx.txt”; date follows the document heading. The reported attendance increase is not accompanied by numerical before-and-after figures.

[9] Jonathan Ashcraft, firsthand clarification of institute leadership, November 2026.

[10] Tommy and Brenda Ashcraft, February 27, 2017 prayer letter, “Prayer Letter February 2017 2.docx.txt.” Conference attendance figures describe that event rather than ordinary weekly church attendance.