- Written by Paul R. Kopenkoskey
Ordination Marks New Chapter in John Smith’s Ministerial Life
(photo left to right) Bishop John Williams places a clerical collar around Rev. John Smith’s neck.
When he walked into Living Word Christian Center in Southeast Grand Rapids on a recent Sunday afternoon, Dr. John W. Smith's black clergy shirt was unbuttoned at the top. Later, he left the building wearing a clerical collar. Wearing the collar signals a new chapter not only in Smith's life but also with the presbytery that ordained him and the ministry he now serves under Bishop John Williams. As such, Smith has found himself juggling several ministerial balls. With his ordination, Smith is now vice president of Central Bible Ministries International (CBMI), a nonprofit ministry based in Grand Rapids founded in 1981. CBMI's ministry focus includes missions, building churches, schools and orphanages and providing sanitation and vocational training in Tanzania, Liberia and Kenya. Williams is the CBMI's president and CEO.
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