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 call. “I was convinced that God wanted me to continue in a local setting,” he shared. “When I perceived that my name might be a possibility for this position, I asked God to let me continue as a church pastor. I told Him, ‘This is what I have done; this is where my passion is; this is where I feel content. I am asking You to leave me in my local church. That is what I want.’”
Yet, Heras was not at peace. Psalm 25:9-10 and Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 126, guided him in the decision-making process; God spoke to him through these two passages. He sensed God persistently convicting him, asking: “Are you willing to follow Me and go where I will lead you?” “After 40-plus years, I have realized that answering ‘yes’ to that question has brought me the greatest joy, excitement, and contentment in my life,” Heras said.
His passion is ministry, plain and simple: serving and loving people. Moving forward, he plans to partner with the pastors in the Hispanic Region “to create a Christ-like environment that supports growth, trust, leadership, organization, responsibility, honesty, consecration, love, and joy.” The end goal? Mobilization of the church to mission.
