Even though he’s a brand-new resident, receiving hands-on experience under the guidance of the Rev. Jonathan French and other seasoned leaders at Grace, Ocala, for Indiana native and former missionary Brian Stankich, the new role is the culmination of a calling he’s felt since he was a young man. While he was working in the banking industry in Denver, Colorado, after graduating from college, a friend began evangelizing him, and he accepted Christ at a Billy Graham crusade in 1987. In his late 20s, he and his wife, Dona, sensed a call not only to missions but also pastoring.

“The idea was to be a pastor, and over the 20-plus years in missions, I’ve also used my pastoral giftings,” he said. “To me, it was the fulfillment of what God was doing in me.”

Stankich finished his Master of Divinity at Denver Seminary in Littleton, Colorado, and the couple joined the ecumenical evangelical group Pioneers, ministering to the unreached people groups across Europe, North Africa and the Middle East.

“The Egyptian people are a lot of fun,” he said. “They have a great sense of humor. They have a sense of almost destiny about them because of their history. They’ve been on the world stage. So I found myself standing there in front of the pyramids, thinking, ‘This is crazy.’ The friends that we had, both Christians and Muslims, were very interesting. They are really good with hospitality.”

The Stankiches, who have three grown sons, also served in North Macedonia, ministering to the Roma people (formerly called “gypsies,” now considered a pejorative term), planting a small church in the city of Shutka. A few years ago, after relocating to Orlando and joining The Episcopal Church, Stankich began thinking that perhaps he should seek the priesthood here.

“Being a part of the Cathedral Church of St. Luke in downtown Orlando was a renewing of my faith experience,” he said. “Experiencing the liturgy from the Book of Common Prayer and just the approach to discipleship that this church has really renewed me, encouraged me and gave me a pathway for how this tradition can be used to honor God and to proclaim the good news.” The fact that the Book of Common Prayer is “totally gospel-driven” also drew him in, he told Grace, Ocala, verger Dave Rubin in this article.

Stankich read about the diocesan residency program online and contacted French, rector at Grace and residency program coordinator for the Diocese of Central Florida, about securing a spot.

Unlike a curacy, or “junior priest” position, a residency is tailored to the individual needs of the resident and is crafted to ensure learning not just as a byproduct, but as its aim. As a result, the diocese has seen aspiring priests with varying levels of ministry and academic experience enter the program.

And Stankich sees a lot of potential in his new assignment, nestled in a city in the middle of change.

“It’s a fascinating town in transition in that it feels small town, and yet it’s becoming a big city,” he said. “A lot of people are moving here for different reasons: for retirement, for work, to be closer to family. Geographically and in other ways, it feels like Ocala is right in the middle of kind of a boom, and so I just wonder how God is going to use that.”

Stankich will be ordained to the transitional diaconate on Thursday, July 27, at Grace, Ocala, still progressing on the path set before him many years ago.

“I’ve not really served as a pastor in a formal pastoral role before, so it’s something totally new,” he said. “We’re new to The Episcopal Church and tradition. Everything about it is new. But it’s also what I’ve been doing most of my adult life, which is caring for people, teaching the Bible and helping to build the kingdom of God.”