Future leaders: Giovanny Sanchez, 36

Now: Serving a residency at Iglesia Evangelica Luterana del Espiritu Santo (Holy Spirit Lutheran Church), Brooklyn, N.Y.

Hometown: Guatemala City, Guatemala, and Brooklyn, N.Y.

Favorite Bible verse: Philippians 4:13.

Why ministry?: My sense of serving the church has always been there. I grew up in the church, attending Sunday school, serving on different committees and the church council. After college I began to serve as an assistant to Antonio Contreras, my congregation’s interim pastor. When I went through Rutgers law school, Newark, N.J., I focused on academics. But after I graduated I became Pastor Contreras’ assistant again. One day he asked me to seriously consider attending seminary and serving the congregation.

Ultimately, that’s the call we all have as Christians. He told me how he was called and how God calls all of us differently. He said it was going to be challenging because I’d have to go to seminary and put things aside.