Lauren Lacson

The Southern California Conference (SCC) is pleased to welcome Pastor Jaime Heras as its new Hispanic Region director. Heras has worked for 30 years in the local church context—28 of those years were spent pastoring SCC churches. Heras had served as senior pastor at Paramount Spanish church for only 11 months when he received this…

“But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.” 2 Corinthians 4:7 Pastor Kevin Camato chose to have this verse read at his ordination service in December. Prior to reading the verse, Orville Ortiz, SCC treasurer, shared Kevin’s reasoning. “This verse, I…

Last fall, more than 100 women set out to discover the answer to that question at Camp Cedar Falls at the 37th annual Southern California Conference Women’s Ministries fall retreat.  Dimple Fields, SCC Women’s Ministries liaison, remembered the instance that inspired the retreat’s theme. During a meeting, Sunland-Tujunga church Pastor Mabel Duncan was praying over…

“I thought, ‘We’ve gotta do something more,’” Pastor Branden Stoltz remembered, referring to the Hollywood community’s greater welfare needs. The Hollywood church had started a shower ministry in 2013, opening the church three days each week to offer showers to their neighbors on the street. The shower ministry has since served hundreds of people—for no…

There are two million Vietnamese people living in the United States, yet there are only 17 Vietnamese congregations and three full-time pastors. For every 2,000 Vietnamese in the U.S., there is only one Adventist. “How can we reach all these people?” thought El Monte Vietnamese church Pastor Vinh Nguyen. Vietnamese people from throughout the country…

What does it mean to be fully alive? What steps can one take to pursue a life of health and hope? This September, the Southern California Conference family explored these questions through the theme of its first conference-wide convocation in more than 16 years: “Alive: A Journey to Health & Hope.” Church members and leaders…

The Los Angeles Cantonese Adventist Fellowship Group in San Gabriel, Calif., was officially recognized as a Company with a special celebration service on Aug. 12. The L.A. Cantonese Adventist Fellowship Group originally grew out of the L.A. Chinese church. “We found there is a great need for outreach to Cantonese-speaking people in the community,” recalled…

Eagle Rock church held its 5th annual National Night Out (NNO) block party on its campus this summer. The national event is a chance for community members and vendors to get acquainted with one another and with the church. The Target in the local mall was the official location in the city of Eagle Rock…

On September 23, the Southern California Conference held its first conference-wide convocation in more than 16 years, themed “Alive: A Journey to Health & Hope.” The day-long event brought together church members and leaders from all throughout the SCC family for a special reunion and worship time. From blessed fellowship and personal testimonies, to inspiring messages and beautiful…