On March 10, 2022, the North American Division committee elected Jorge A. Ramirez for the position of division undersecretary. Ramirez replaces Elden Ramirez, who took a call to serve as executive secretary of the Lake Union this past fall. During the intervening months, Bonita J. Shields has been serving as interim undersecretary.

“Jorge Ramirez comes to the NAD with a rich background in secretariat with more than 15 years of experience. We are excited and blessed to have him and Bexy, his wife, join the NAD family,” said G. Alexander Bryant, NAD president. “God has uniquely prepared him to help lead God’s people in these momentous times.”

Ramirez has served as executive secretary, Ministerial director, and evangelism coordinator of the Arizona Conference. Previously, he worked at Potomac Conference as the vice president.

“We are privileged to see Elder Jorge Ramirez joining NAD Secretariat,” said Kyoshin Ahn, executive secretary for the division. “He is an exceptionally talented administrator whose love for Jesus and the church have been the primary driving force for his ministry.”

While serving at the Potomac Conference, Ramirez assisted the president in leading all the administrative functions of the conference’s mission. In this role, he was responsible for leading three corporations’ mergers. He was instrumental in implementing the following programs/ projects: Child Protection Program, eAdventist, Virginia Tax Scholarship program, and incorporation of early childhood development centers. He also developed a training and certification program for local church clerks.

Before joining the NAD, Ramirez served as senior pastor at Santa Ana Seventh-day Adventist bilingual church in California from 2000 to 2007 and developed a mission and vision focus for this 700-member church, which included transitioning from inward to outward focus resulting in an average of 30-40 baptisms each year.

Ramirez also served as a senior pastor to a 400-member congregation at Loma Linda Spanish Church in California. During this time (1995-2000), separate bilingual worship was created housing more than 200 university students. Title and local giving increased to almost 40 percent. A strong education focus allowed the congregation to send 50 students to Loma Linda Academy.

Ramirez graduated with a bachelor’s degree in theology from Loma Linda University (La Sierra Campus) in 1986. He completed his master’s degree in divinity in 1989 and Doctor of Ministry in 2014 at Andrews University.

Ramirez is married to Bexy, and they are blessed with three young men: Reuben, Ryan, and Reiss.