Following the second annual Equip program that brought church members together for training on more than 10 topics aimed to equip church members for ministry, the Southern California Conference (SCC) sought to provide a new event focused on community outreach. With six TED Talk-style presentations, attendees would walk away inspired and prepared to make a difference in their communities.
“Equip is something that we do internally with our churches, while Impact26 is moving our churches into the communities,” explained Royal Harrison, SCC executive vice president, as he welcomed more than 200 attendees to the event held at White Memorial church.
The event began with a devotional from Manny Arteaga, White Memorial church senior pastor, setting the stage for the community impact focus of the day.
“God is already at work,” Arteaga said. “God is moving in our communities. The Spirit is moving in our cities. What we do is we slow down enough to say, ‘Father, what are You doing? And can we help?’ It is our hope and prayer that as we sit under His presence today and discuss how to make an impact, that something in us may be awakened, and we may leave this place itching to serve our community to make an impact in our city, just like Jesus, the Sabbath keeper, did.”
The program aimed to inspire attendees to rediscover the “why” in ministry—why our presence matters and how faithful, intentional influence can transform lives and strengthen communities. Each speaker was tasked with answering the following questions in their presentations:
- Why is it important to minister to children?
- Why is investing in Adventist education one of the most powerful things we can do for our community?
- Why is money management important, and how does that impact our community?
- Why do we need to engage with our local community?
- Why is it important for churches—and each ministry within—to have a vision?
- Why do we need to be intentional about the legacy we leave in our communities?
Each speaker took 15 minutes to bring a power-packed, relevant message. As the event came to a close, Ron Sydney, pastor of The Place Adventist Fellowship, offered the closing prayer.
“Give us the courage to cross barriers, compassion to serve without expecting anything in return, humility to listen before we speak, and wisdom to know what our community needs,” Sydney said. “Let us be the church of the outside—the church that’s not just here, but there.”