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White Memorial Adventist School Students Share a Heartfelt Lesson
In honor of February as Heart Awareness Month, this year, the fifth and sixth grade class of White Memorial Adventist School spent time studying about the heart, healthy heart-friendly habits as well as diseases and illnesses that occur when you don’t take care of your heart. “Upon hearing of the project that Mrs. Tupas-Setser…
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Once-NICCU Patient Shares Baby Blankets of Love and Hope
What began as one newborn’s struggle to survive in the Newborn and Infant Critical Care Unit (NICCU) of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) more than two decades ago has turned into a ministry of love and compassion for the most vulnerable among us — newborn babies with life-threatening conditions. Taylor Ligan, Pasadena church, graduated from…
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WellChurches.com Launched for Pastors, Health Ministry Directors
A church health committee wants to serve its members and community but isn’t sure who to invite for health presentations. Another church is eager to present good lifestyle ministry, and a member’s out-of-state friend is asking to come and conduct a seminar. Pricing, which is high, is an issue; qualifications may not be vetted. How…
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30 Lay Preachers Graduate From Six-Month Evangelism Seminar
Seminario Adventista Laico (SAL) is an initiative that began in 2005 at the Andrews University Institute of Hispanic Ministry. Its mission? To equip lay members for ministry in their local congregations. Last year, the Carson Spanish church organized the program at the local level with representation from different churches in the South Bay area. The…
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Lauren Armstrong Appointed as Communication Director
After serving nearly two years as a communication intern, Lauren Armstrong was appointed to serve as the Communication director for the Southern California Conference, effective January 1, 2018. A graduate of Pacific Union College (’13), Armstrong earned a degree in Communication with an emphasis in Journalism and a minor in Business. She is currently studying…
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GAA Students Aid Victims of Hurricane Harvey
Mission is a way of life in Adventist education. In November, 42 Glendale Adventist Academy (GAA) students and five sponsors made their way to Houston, Texas, to serve the victims of Hurricane Harvey. Ben Garcia, GAA religion teacher, contacted any local church that would guide the students to serve in the Houston area. The answer…
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Pastor Kevin Camato’s Ordination Service Celebrates God’s Calling
“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…
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Sam Del Pozo Ordained to the Gospel Ministry
Sam Del Pozo was ordained to the gospel ministry on Sabbath, Sept. 30, at the Hollywood Spanish church. He currently serves as pastor of the Culver City Spanish and Hawthorne Spanish churches in Los Angeles. Del Pozo is the oldest of three sons of a pastor, Luis Del Pozo, and his wife, Esther, of Peru.…
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SCC Celebrations Express Gratitude to Veterans
SFVA Hosts Veterans Day CelebrationIn November, San Fernando Valley Academy (SFVA) Child Development Center held a service honoring local veterans. “I feel very strongly that we should go back to basics and instill, in the lives and minds of our children, gratitude, reverence, respect, and civil manners to help them have success in life,” said…
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Women Experience an Encounter With God at Retreat
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…
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Overwhelming Need Motivates a Church to Act
“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…
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Vietnamese School of Evangelism Welcomes Inaugural Class of Lay Leaders
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…
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SCC Family Unites As One in Christ at Alive Convocation
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…
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SCC Literature Ministries: A Mission & Purpose
The mission of Southern California Conference Literature Ministries is to bring health, healing, and hope to the people of Southern California through life-changing resources and compassionate personal interactions. The vision for this ministry is to see a community of people in Southern California who know God personally, as the Bible so beautifully portrays Him, and…
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L.A. Cantonese Fellowship Becomes a Company
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…
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Indonesian-American AMEN Clinic Serves 500+ Patients
Over Labor Day weekend, the Indonesian-American church in Azusa conducted an event some people had thought might need to be rescheduled. “You won’t be able to get enough volunteers or professionals on a holiday weekend,” many said, but the Lord had other ideas. Peter Young, D.D.S., from the L.A. Cantonese Adventist Fellowship company, enlisted 23 dental students for the…
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Community Block Party Outreach Draws Hundreds
A block party on Sabbath? That’s exactly what the Breath of Life church staged on Aug. 19 as a way to reintroduce itself to local neighbors and to lay a foundation for long-term relationships. More than 450 area residents converged on the church campus and the adjoining streets in Inglewood and engaged in an array…
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Hovik Sarrafian Retires After 60 Years of Ministry
On August 5, 2017 Hovik Sarrafian, M.Div., Dr.P.H., retired from 60 years of ministry that began in Armenia shortly before the work closed there due to political conditions. Most of his ministry was carried out in the U.S. “This is a special day for the Glendale City church,” said Velino A. Salazar, president of Southern…
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Redwood Adventist Academy Destroyed by California Wildfire
School leaders making plans for alternate location By: Julie Lorenz, Northern California Conference This article was originally posted in the Adventist Review Online on October 11, 2017. Click here to view the articles & photo.*Photo: Northern California Adventists in Action Facebook page On Monday, Oct. 9, the Tubbs Fire—a wildfire that has burned at least…
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Community Celebrates Fifth Annual National Night Out at Eagle Rock Church
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…