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Essential Characteristics for Cultivating Our Mission
Every organization needs direction and purpose. As part of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, the Southern California Conference (SCC) joins in the church’s mission of proclaiming the gospel to all people with a Christ-centered message of hope and wholeness. But how we do that is unique to our context and territory. In August 2024, “Exalting Christ…
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North Hills Church Creates a Path for Intentional Discipleship
What does it mean to develop intentional disciples in our modern context? North Hills church set out to explore this through creating a discipleship journey framework based on Jesus’s call in Matthew 28:19-20 to go make disciples. “This has been something that has percolated a long time for me,” said Tim Cress, North Hills church…
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Marco Topete Is Ordained
“I remember telling my pastor,” Marco Topete recalled, “once upon a time, way before I ever did any form of full-time ministry, I said, ‘I want to become a pastor.’ And he said, ‘Why do you want to become a pastor?’ I replied, ‘Because I love preaching.’ And he shared with me after I made…
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SCC Equip Training Comes Back for a Second Year
This May, hundreds of leaders in SCC churches gathered for training and fellowship from all areas of the conference—from Santa Barbarato Rolling Hills—for Equip26. Thirteen breakout sessions included classes titled “Reaching Gen Z Today,” “Seeking the Shalom of the City: The Church in the New Mission Field,” “The Steward’s Calling: Managing God’s Resources With Integrity,”…
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San Fernando Spanish Church Celebrates God’s Faithfulness Throughout 50 Years
This summer, San Fernando Spanish church celebrated decades of ministry. A small group that would become San Fernando Spanish church met to worship together for the first time in the 1940s. A church building was later purchased, where the congregation met until a 1971 earthquake damaged the buildingbeyond repair. But this didn’t dim the congregation’s…
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SCC Adventurer Fun Day 2026: “We Are Family”
This spring, more than 600 participants gathered at Glendale Adventist Academy for the Southern California Conference (SCC) Adventurer Fun Day organized by SCC Youth Ministries. More than 30 Adventurer clubs came together for a joyful day centered around this year’s theme: “We Are Family.” The day began with an opening ceremony where instructions were shared…
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Echo Youth: Church Connects With Schools
Twice a year, Echo youth ministry from The Place Adventist Fellowship church meets for an eight-week series in the fall and spring for worship, teaching, and fellowship. This ministry is led almost entirely by youth who attend Newbury Park Adventist Academy (NPAA). This doesn’t mean that only NPAA students go to Echo—roughly 46 percent of…
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A Weekend of Training and Fellowship in SCC
This weekend, many of the leaders in SCC churches gathered for training and fellowship. Hundreds of members drove to Glendale from all areas of the conference—from Santa Barbara to Rolling Hills—on Sabbath afternoon for Equip26. Thirteen breakout sessions included classes titled “Empowered to Empower: Strengthening Yourself While Building Others,” “Reaching Gen Z Today,” “Seeking the…
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Interactive Program Rekindles Interest in Reading at NPAA
Students share their projects. Newbury Park Adventist Academy (NPAA) is striving to bring back the joy of reading for students through a new independent reading program that launched last summer and continued throughout the 2025-2026 academic year. As a longtime educator, Mike Taylor, NPAA English and journalism teacher, has noticed with each new generation that…
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Pastor Zaid Is Ordained
“Do you know God’s purpose for your life?” This was the question Pastor Zaid was asked in his 20s that set him on a path he didn’t expect to walk. “When I was approached with that question, I didn’t have an answer,” Zaid recalled. “That caused me to really fast, pray, seek God, hear his…
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Grace Hill at Vallejo Drive Church Takes First Global Mission Trip to the Philippines
This year, Grace Hill at Vallejo Drive church lived out its belief in global evangelism by taking its first global mission trip to the city of Tuguegarao, Cagayan, Philippines. The team spent one week involved in evangelistic meetings, medical and dental services, a gospel concert, and more. During the two days of medical and dental…
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“Less Preaching, More Teaching”: Hispanic Region Lay Evangelism School Provides Intentional Training
“The mission of the church requires more than preaching—it requires intentional training,” Juan Osorio, Hispanic Region director of the Southern California Conference (SCC), said to summarize Ellen G. White’s emphasis on “less preaching, more teaching.” This is the foundation of the Lay Evangelism School of SCC’s Hispanic Region, which was created to train active disciples,…
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Campus Connect Ministries Is Building Bridges for Adventist Students on Public Campuses
Dafne Enriquez heard about Campus Connect Ministries through the Office of Religious and Spiritual Life at the University of Southern California (USC). To Enriquez, the ministry is “a bridge for Adventist students at colleges—a place where you can get plugged into an Adventist Christian community on your campus and also meet other students who share…
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A Business Built on Faith: Fehoko Concrete Opens With $20,000 Church Donation
On Sunday, March 29, in Los Angeles, Timote and Saane Fehoko marked the grand opening and ribbon cutting of their Fehoko Concrete Inc. office with a $20,000 donation to their home church, Hawthorne Seventh-day Adventist, a milestone years in the making. Of that gift, $15,000 was directed toward the church budget, $2,500 to the youth…
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San Fernando Valley Academy Junior High Basketball Team Earns Back-to-Back Championship
This spring, the San Fernando Valley Academy (SFVA) junior high basketball team celebrated a back-to-back championship when they won the Division 1 playoff game against New West Charter School this March. As part of the Foundation for Interscholastic Youth Athletics (FIYA) league, SFVA Huskies participates with other elementary and middle schools across the greater Los…
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Outdoor Learning Takes Root at Conejo
At Conejo Adventist Elementary School (CAES), kindergarten and first-grade students are learning beyond the walls of the traditional classroom. Every morning, these young learners have worship outside before heading out to hike one of the various trails around the campus. On these daily excursions, imagination, sense of wonder, and exploration are nurtured as they observe…
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Table Tennis Serves Up Fun at SGA
High school sports often bring to mind basketball, soccer, or volleyball. But 10 years ago, when then-principal Angel Nair encouraged San Gabriel Academy Elementary teachers to bring extracurricular, elective options that would be creative and different, a new option came up. Junior high teacher Sean Lehnhoff, who teaches grades 5-8, immediately thought of table tennis.…
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Oakwood University President Visits Historic Church in Los Angeles
On the weekend when Gina Spivey-Brown, Ph.D., was inaugurated as the incoming president of Oakwood University, Lawrence S. Dorsey II, director of the Greater Los Angeles Region of the Southern California Conference (SCC), was introduced to her by a mutual friend. “Immediately after I told her what I did, she asked me, ‘What can you…
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SCC Conference-Wide VBS 2026 Workshop: A Day of Inspiration and Purpose
A few Sundays ago, our conference family gathered for a beautiful and spirit-filled VBS 2026 training held at Temple City church. It was truly a joy to see children’s ministries leaders from across all regions equipping their hearts and hands for one of the most meaningful evangelistic opportunities of the year—Vacation Bible School. The conference…
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Youth Ministries Teen Weekend “His Beloved” Inspires Teens and Parents
Southern California Conference (SCC) Youth Ministries recently hosted a teen weekend with the theme “His Beloved” at White Memorial church, bringing together approximately 150 teens and parents for a weekend centered on faith, identity, and a closer walk with Jesus. This annual event began in 2010 as the Teen Leadership Training (TLT) event held the last weekend in January and led by TLT coordinators Lynnette and Steve Clement. In 2022, the conference…