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Hispanic Ministries

  • Ken Miller
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Josie Asencio Installed at Antioch Church
Josie Asencio Installed at Antioch Church 1287 1195 Ken Miller

February 25- Josie Asencio was installed as the head pastor at the Antioch Church.

Most recently, she was the associate pastor of the Vallejo Central Church, where she has been since 2021. She said about her move to Antioch, “Our church shares its name with the city where followers of The Way were first called Christians. It is where Paul and Barnabas first worked together, and I look forward to continuing the model and mission in the book of Acts.”

Acensio received her M. Div. from Andrews University and is working on her Doctorate in Pastoral Care and Counseling. She enjoys adventuring and has participated in skydiving, surfing, scuba, and she is training for her first 10k run.

Featured in Northern Lights, March 2, 2023

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Planting A Church In Good Soil
Planting A Church In Good Soil 1983 1110 Ken Miller

The name of the Oakland missionary group Buena Tierra translates to “good soil” and was inspired by Matthew 13:23. It is a lively and vibrant group that loves, helps, shares, celebrates, has fun, and grows.

On August 1, 2021, the Oakland Spanish Church established a core group of fourteen members. Each member was tasked with recruiting two additional members to form the new Buena Tierra congregation.

Within two months, this core group began a search for a rentable church building in their East Oakland neighborhood, which has one of the largest Hispanic populations in the city.

After an extensive search on December 25, 2021, the new group was inaugurated and held its first official service with 41 members at the Mt. Carmel Baptist Church. Luis Manrique Pena, the pastor of Oakland Spanish Church, helped train and equip the members during the first four months. Members then surveyed their community to determine its essential needs.

The Family Harmony Evangelistic program started on April 26, 2022. It provides guidance and solutions common to marriage, family, and relational issues with a Biblical emphasis. There was an average of eight to ten visitors each week.

In August 2022, Buena Tierra partnered with the Alameda County Food Bank to distribute groceries to the community. Approximately forty households have been blessed weekly, and Buena Tierra continues this outreach each Sabbath.

By February 2023, Buena Tierra connected to 87 families in the community through their missional efforts. As a result, eight people from the community were baptized. Currently, the group has an average attendance of seventy people each week, including fifteen visitors from the community receiving Bible studies.

With their success, the group is excited to start three new missional efforts: An Adventurer club, a Pathfinder club, and a monthly health seminar program.

Its mission continues to be “each one reaches one”. They look forward to the future when they can bear more fruit, plant more churches, and continue to reach Oakland until the day Christ returns.

Featured in Northern Lights, March 9, 2023

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Project Light Ministry
Project Light Ministry 2000 1125 Ken Miller

Vallejo Berea Church strives to be a shining light in its community.

One way they fulfill this purpose is through the Project Light Ministry. Every 4th Sabbath, the ministry team pre-cooks meals in the church kitchen and then serves them at a local unhoused encampment.

Ministry team members serve the food and often pray with receptive persons. The group sings songs during the meals, and many beautiful voices from the community join in; members of the unhoused are usually open about taking the lead in singing.

There is plenty of food, and often, servings reach the 120-meal mark. Everybody is welcome to take extra meals back for friends. On many weekends, leftover meals are taken to other camps in the area, spreading God’s blessings.

Wanetta Daniel, outreach coordinator, exclaimed, “Since the pandemic the old way of doing church has passed. We are bringing the church to the community. We give out sleeping bags, tents, tarps, personal hygiene products, and food because that is the need. We’re even discussing taking pet food; because a dog or cat is often the only companion the unhoused have.”

Roger Williams, head pastor, stated, “Project Light Ministry is how we change the paradigm of what church is. Our focus is, who will we be in the community?”

Featured in Northern Lights, February 23, 2023

  • Ken Miller
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Melany Quintero Joins NCC Offices
Melany Quintero Joins NCC Offices 1474 1967 Ken Miller

Melany Quintero is the new administrative assistant supporting the Hispanic and Asian Pacific Ministries coordinators.

Quintero was born in Costa Rica but attended school in Arizona and Tennessee. After graduating, she went to a university in Costa Rica and became an English professor.

Regarding her new position, she stated, “I enjoy being part of a ministry team that supports our ethnic churches and community outreach.”

Quintero is contagiously kind and a passionate, hard worker. Her hobbies include hiking, music, and cooking, and she has a passion for personal growth and serving God.

Featured in Northern Lights, February 9, 2023

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Stockton Central Hits The Streets
Stockton Central Hits The Streets 1200 675 Ken Miller

Stockton Central engages its community with compassion with many community-relevant service projects.

For nine years, the “Homeless Feeding Team” has faithfully provided meals to thousands of unhoused residents in Stockton. Twice a year, they collect food from members and work in partnership with a local food bank. Then on a Sabbath, they feed many grateful people.

Another team in the church operates The “Community Service Ministry”. Once a month, they open the church gates and gym doors to give away supplies to the surrounding community. According to David Salcido, church member, “Depending on the season, weather or holiday, 50-70 customers per day is normal.”

Salcido continued, “You don’t always receive a lot of thanks in this ministry. But, that one special person will thank you from the bottom of their heart because you have filled a real need, and that makes it all worth it.”

Featured in Northern Lights, January 5, 2023

A Journey That Began During The Pandemic
A Journey That Began During The Pandemic 1200 614 nccsadmin

October was a busy month at the Sacramento Spanish church. Twenty-eight people gave their lives to the Lord in baptism.

According to Jaime Calvo, district pastor of Sacramento Spanish, North Highlands Spanish, and Woodland Spanish churches, “There is one more person who wants to give his soul to the Lord, and we are excited for that day as well!”

Since the pandemic, the church has been preparing for this reaping moment. With an interconnecting system, Calvo calls EMI or Every Member Involved, which prepares the church membership for evangelism outreach.

The church created small groups, learned to give bible studies, and prayed. Calvo explains, “We created a network where members take responsibility for new members, creating a spiritual home that is contagiously kind and community-relevant.”

Calvo said, “It has been a privilege to work with church leaders and church members that have real compassion for people, showing that they have experienced the love of Christ. Through all of this, I have seen a real transformation in our church body, and it is wonderful to see the results.”

Featured in Northern Lights November 3, 2022

  • Julie Lorenz
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Twelve People Baptized After Hybrid-style Evangelistic Meetings
Twelve People Baptized After Hybrid-style Evangelistic Meetings 4032 3024 Julie Lorenz
In December, 12 people were baptized during a week-long series of reaping meetings held at the Fairfield Suisun Spanish church and live-streamed to the Vallejo Spanish company. The evangelist was Alberto Ingleton, assistant to the president for Hispanic ministries at the Pacific Union Conference.
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“Even in the midst of a pandemic, the Church moves forward, and the Holy Spirit keeps adding people into the Kingdom,” said Paul Guevara, pastor of both congregations.
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At each site, members interacted with attendees, presenting gifts and providing refreshments.
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Before the series, interested people participated in Bible studies via Zoom. “The members worked together, preparing the field for the meetings,” said Guevara. “As a result, we had excellent attendance at both churches.”
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The meetings were also broadcast on Facebook. You can watch them. Click here and scroll down: https://www.facebook.com/Vallejo-Spanish-SDA-Church-106153977694144
  • Julie Lorenz
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Weekend of Revival and Evangelism
Weekend of Revival and Evangelism 720 540 Julie Lorenz
The Hispanic congregations of Oakland, San Leandro, and Richmond celebrated a weekend of revival and evangelism, titled “Filled with the Holy Spirit,” at Golden Gate Academy. The event, held in the fall, was preceded by 40 days of fasting and prayer.
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The guest speaker was evangelist Robert Costa, and the guest singer was Mónica Ospina, who came from Colombia for the event. About 400 people attended from the three churches.
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During the weekend, the charter members of the new missional church plant, Buena Tierra, were dedicated (pictured). Also, several people were baptized!!!
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The congregations are led by Senior Pastor Luis F. Manrique and Associate Pastor Pedro Rosillo.
  • Julie Lorenz
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Buena Tierra: Missional Church Plant
Buena Tierra: Missional Church Plant 720 540 Julie Lorenz
On Christmas afternoon, Buena Tierra—the latest NCC missional church plant—was officially inaugurated in Oakland. The new group of 39 members is the fourth congregation in a district led by Pastors Luis F. Manrique and Pedro Rosillo. Buena Tierra is a “daughter” group of the Oakland Spanish church.
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Nearly 200 members from the district attended the combined inauguration and Christmas program, held at the congregation’s rented church facility on 81st Avenue. Hispanic Ministries Coordinator Roman Leal challenged the new group to bring the gospel to the local area, which has the largest Hispanic population in the city.
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The service included an inspiring concert by singer Dani Ferras. Cesar Perdomo, an evangelist from Colombia, offered the prayer of dedication. Afterward, everyone enjoyed a delicious dinner, and children received gifts. A local family attended the service and expressed an interest in starting to study the Bible.
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Missional church plants are designed to multiply! “I look to the future and see Buena Tierra producing new fruits and planting new churches in and around Oakland until Christ comes,” said Manrique.
  • Julie Lorenz
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Hispanic Church Evangelism Exchange
Hispanic Church Evangelism Exchange 854 697 Julie Lorenz

Recently, Hispanic pastors in the NCC and the Nevada-Utah Conference (NUC) participated in an evangelism exchange, which continues to impact lives.

In September, NCC pastors held week-long evangelistic meetings in eight NUC churches, and earlier this month, NUC pastors held meetings at the Fairfield, Hayward, Oakland, Richmond, Stockton, Vallejo, and Woodland Spanish churches. (One NUC pastor was unable to come, so Executive Secretary Jose Marin preached the series at the Lodi Spanish church.)

“The evangelistic exchange has borne fruit in a number of ways: 17 baptisms, 60 people who decided to take Bible studies, eight churches in each conference involved, and 16 pastors who have preached the gospel with power,” said Benjamín Carballo, NUC Hispanic ministries coordinator. “In addition, friendships formed between the pastors, and they had the opportunity to meet churches in a sister conference.”

The exchange was the idea of Alberto Ingleton, vice president for Hispanic ministries at the Pacific Union, which provided resources. Other conferences in the union are doing their own exchanges. “I think the idea is wonderful,” said Roman Leal, NCC Hispanic ministries coordinator. “During these difficult times, an exchange encourages the pastors, invigorates the church members, and helps more people become interested in the Good News.”

“We pray that God will continue to bless the evangelistic efforts of both conferences,” said Carballo.

Photo Caption: (Top) NCC Pastor Luís Fernando Manrique preaches in the Nueva Esperanza church in West Jordan, Utah. (Bottom) NUC Pastor Elias Juarez preaches in the Stockton Spanish church.

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