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Carmichael Pathfinders Reach Out to Unhoused People in Sacramento
Carmichael Pathfinders Reach Out to Unhoused People in Sacramento 960 720 nccsadmin
by Edwin Garcia
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The Carmichael Cougars Pathfinder Club ministered to people experiencing homelessness during an outreach activity that proved eye-opening.
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The club, which has 38 members, prepared 200 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, snacks, and water bottles and delivered them to people staying in tents near downtown Sacramento on a Sabbath afternoon last month.
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Pathfinders also handed out dozens of blankets and bags with toiletries that Carmichael church members had been collecting.
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“I feel sad that they stay here and that they lost their homes,” said Pathfinder Maria Melo as she walked along an encampment taking food to a tent. “I wish they could have a better Christmas with their families.”
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The activity was organized by club leaders, including Youth Pastor Benji Ferguson. He wanted Pathfinders to get a closer look at one of the community’s most complex issues. “One of the really important parts of Pathfinders is helping our students see that paths to ministry often lead us outside the walls of the church building,” he said. “Serving our neighbors, especially those in such obvious need, is what being the church is really all about.”
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More than 5,500 people are experiencing homelessness in Sacramento County, according to local advocates.
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Watch a video of the outreach activity: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jz7IyUgdcNk
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Willie Johnson Retires
Willie Johnson Retires 1382 1036 Julie Lorenz

After sharing the gospel for three decades, Willie Johnson Jr. officially retired at the end of December. He had served in the NCC office since 2016, leading four departments—African American ministries, urban ministries, men’s ministries, and prison ministries.
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“We have truly been blessed by Elder Johnson’s ministry—first as a pastor and then as a director and coordinator,” said President Marc Woodson. “He has engaged his calling with wisdom, truth, and a sincere love for people.”
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Johnson grew up in Louisiana and served in the Air Force. He was married with three children and working as a combustion safety technician in New Orleans when his life changed. “One Sunday morning, I fell on my knees and asked God for someone to guide me to Him,” he said.
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Two weeks later, the head elder of a nearby Adventist church knocked on his door and asked if he wanted Bible studies. Eight months later, Johnson and his wife, Bernadette, were baptized together.
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Johnson became involved in his local church—serving as a colporteur and head elder—but he felt God’s call to full-time ministry. Three years after his baptism, he enrolled at Southwestern Adventist College (now University). During his time there, he was a student pastor at several churches.
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After graduation, the Southwest Region Conference gave him 100 sets of Bible studies and challenged him to start a church. After much prayer and hard work, he planted two churches in Oklahoma. He was later called to pastor two churches in the Oklahoma Conference, where he was ordained in 1999.
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In 2004, he was called to the NCC, where he served as pastor of the Oakland Elmhurst church and the Fairfield Community church before taking on his many roles in the NCC office. “Willie is the consummate pastor, possessing superb skills to be an excellent pastoral leader,” said Jim Lorenz, ministerial director.
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Although officially retired, Johnson does not intend to abandon his calling. “I plan to spend the rest of my life doing what brought me into the Church–giving Bible studies, helping churches do evangelism, and preaching,” he said.

He will be missed by his colleagues!
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“Pastor Willie Johnson is a Christian who loves the Lord Jesus Christ and his wife and family,” said Edwin Brown, senior pastor of the Oakland Market Street church. “He goes out of his way to help and serve the Church and community in any way possible to lead people to Christ. He is an amazing friend and colleague. My wife, Paula, and I pray that God will richly bless him and Bernadette.”
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“Elder Johnson shares wisdom and peace through his kind words,” said Daniel Yim, pastor of the SDA Abundant Life/Sebastopol district. “His service is consistent and faithful. We are all blessed to know such a wonderful Christian who loves the Lord so much!”
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“In the nearly five years I’ve worked as Elder Willie Johnson’s administrative assistant, I’ve appreciated his great passion for the ministries he had charge over,” said Yolanda Frazier, administrative assistant in multiple departments. “He loves serving the people of God, connecting people to Jesus, and encouraging people for His Kingdom. Elder Johnson is fueled by these! He always says, ‘People don’t care what you know, ‘til they know that you care.’ Also, he often quotes Micah 6:8: ‘He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.’ This is how he has been a great and effective leader at the NCC. I’m sad to see him retire and will truly miss working with him.”

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Lodi Academy Schools in Parade of Lights
Lodi Academy Schools in Parade of Lights 720 480 Julie Lorenz
On Dec. 2, Lodi Academy Schools again participated in the annual Lodi “Parade of Lights,” joining nearly 80 floats moving through Lodi’s quaint Christmas-decked downtown. Spectators started lining up in the morning for the evening parade, during which more than 15,000 people waved at the participants and enjoyed the holiday event.
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Lodi Academy’s float was pulled by a bright-red 1947 truck decked out with a Christmas tree in the back! Covered in lights and shimmering tinsel, the younger students piled onto hay bales down the center of the float and waved bells while the onboard sound system played variations of “Joy to the World.”
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More than 150 Lodi SDA Elementary and Lodi Academy students, family members, and friends joined the contingent, waving and wishing spectators a “Merry Christmas” from Lodi Academy Schools.
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“Seeing that people enjoy seeing the truck and all the energy from the crowd makes this a really special event and worth the work,” said Kevin Haesche, Lodi Academy’s facilities manager. “Lodi Academy really gets to show people what we are all about in a very public way.”
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Local churches and schools share the float fun of spreading Christmas cheer through other events as the joy of Christmas month continues! Galt SDA Elementary used the academy’s float as part of a parade they joined in Galt, and Lodi’s English Oaks and Fairmont churches will use it for caroling in the surrounding neighborhoods during the holidays. Members can join caroling groups on Sunday, Dec. 19 with English Oaks, and Wednesday Dec. 22 with Fairmont.
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(Credit for first photo: Dave Marson Photography; Other photos: school supplied)

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Orangevale Church Drive-thru Christmas
Orangevale Church Drive-thru Christmas 720 540 Julie Lorenz
For the second year in a row, the Orangevale church hosted a Drive-thru Christmas event for its community. During two hours on Dec. 11, the church welcomed more than 350 people, who came to view a manger scene with real animals, hear voice and bell choirs, enjoy refreshments, and receive gifts. They also had the opportunity to participate in a canned food drive for the church’s food closet.
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Pastor Jon Cicle approached every car to welcome the visitors. “I was happy to meet new people from the community who felt this was a safe holiday event to come and enjoy,” he said.
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About 100 adults and kids volunteered, including students from Orangevale SDA School, who welcomed guests, sang, played handbells, and created gifts. “I love seeing our church family serve our community—sharing with our children the true meaning of the season and the joy of serving others,” said the event’s organizer Lian Funada.
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Church members offered to pray with the visitors. With tears streaming down her face, one woman told a volunteer, “No one has asked to pray with me before.”
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Gracepoint Church Community Christmas Party
Gracepoint Church Community Christmas Party 720 540 Julie Lorenz
As part of their ongoing efforts to build relationships with their neighbors in a nearby apartment complex, the Gracepoint church in Rocklin hosted a Christmas party on Dec. 11, attended by more than 100 people. The festive event included a photo booth, gingerbread house construction, food, treats, and more!
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Church members “adopted” 17 neighborhood families, providing presents for 31 children. The church worked with the local apartment manager to advertise the party and connect with the families.
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The congregation’s efforts to forge relationships are making a difference. “People were very appreciative,” said Associate Pastor Marlene Rodriguez. “One lady texted: ‘Thank you for all you guys do. I really want to know more about your church.’”

Supporting Our Brothers and Sisters Displaced by a Volcano Eruption
Supporting Our Brothers and Sisters Displaced by a Volcano Eruption 720 402 Laurie Trujillo

On April 9, 2021, La Soufrière volcano erupted, displacing thousands of people, including our Adventist brothers and sisters in the Caribbean nation of St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

The St. Vincent and the Grenadines Mission quickly mobilized and began serving 700 meals each day. The food was prepared at the Richland Park and Mesopotamia churches as well as at the mission headquarters. Over the next five months, they prepared and delivered 140,800 meals valued at $656,479.

A number of Adventist organizations provided financial help. “We became aware of the need, thanks to one of our pastors,” explained Laurie Trujillo, director of the NCC communication and development department. “Because one of our strategic initiatives is to engage our community with compassion, even if our community is in another part of the world, the NCC leadership voted to support the St. Vincent and Grenadines Mission.”

Please watch this 3:37-minute video addressed to the Northern California Conference—meaning you, the members.

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Kevin Robert Is New Church Growth and Evangelism Director
Kevin Robert Is New Church Growth and Evangelism Director 720 540 Julie Lorenz
On Dec. 1, 2021, the Northern California Conference Executive Committee voted to invite Kevin Robert to serve as NCC church growth and evangelism director. He plans to begin his new role in January.
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“We feel blessed to welcome Kevin to the NCC,” said President Marc Woodson. “God has certainly answered our prayers because Kevin’s skillset, passion, and experience match our conference’s needs!”
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A pastor and church planter, Robert comes from the Southern New England Conference, where he has served the Merrimack Valley and Billerica churches since 2017. During the last few years, he planted One Connection Academy and One Connection Community church—both in Wakefield, Mass.
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Robert is also a facilitator and coordinator for the North American Division Evangelism Institute’s ACTS Church Planting Support System. He is currently coaching church planters in Massachusetts, Florida, the Philippines, Albania, and Mozambique.
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His passion is growing missional communities—modeled by the New Testament church—to reach people for Christ. “In a missional community, the believers eat together, study together, go on missions together,” he said. “The whole group has a desire to change the community where they live for the gospel.”
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The high school he planted was an intentional part of this type of evangelism. “We planted a core missional community team to use the school as a center of influence,” he said.
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Robert didn’t always plan to be a pastor. A native of Massachusetts, he graduated from Atlantic Union College with a bachelor’s degree in physical education. He spent a number of years as a sleep lab manager before answering the Lord’s calling to the ministry.
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As a young married couple, he and his wife, Tanya, were part of a church plant in Massachusetts, where Robert got involved in preaching and evangelism. With his wife’s encouragement, he began working on a Master of Arts in Pastoral Ministry from the SDA Theological Seminary at Andrews University, which he finished in 2016. In the midst of his studies, he was called to the Pennsylvania Conference, where he served in a four-church district until called back to Massachusetts. He was ordained in 2019.
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The Robert family will soon be moving to Angwin, where Tanya will teach nursing at Pacific Union College. The couple has three daughters: Gianna, a college freshman; Carmela, a high school freshman; and Analia, a third grader.
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Robert is excited to join the NCC team. “I’m looking forward to working with all the pastors and administrators, collaborating together, letting creativity flow,” he said. “We want to focus on multiplication, rather than addition—growing disciples that make disciples and churches that plant churches.”

Resilience in the Classroom: When Students Take Ownership of Their Learning
Resilience in the Classroom: When Students Take Ownership of Their Learning 960 639 nccsadmin

By Rika Meyer and Nick Sigler

Teachers in all grades are observing varying levels of learning loss in students after an entire year of instruction online. At Rio Lindo Adventist Academy, new students who attended a public school the previous year have demonstrated that their knowledge is not at grade level. A record four new students are repeating a grade this year after not receiving credit for last year’s high school classes.

One surprising aspect of learning in a COVID world is demonstrated by Rio’s freshman class. This class of 25 students has overwhelmingly taken ownership of their learning and turned their challenges into resilience as they find intrinsic motivation that we haven’t seen before in a freshman class. The freshman class also has a record high number of students who had previously attended an Adventist school—with 22 out of 25 coming from Adventist education, versus about half of all other new students, who have previously attended a public school.

English teacher Nick Sigler (pictured above) explains:

“At the end of most units, I have my students complete a reflection survey. This wrap-up assists them in taking what they learned about the content, the educational process, and themselves and applying it to future subject matter. My hope is always that they will grow both in their knowledge and gain confidence in themselves as students. The comments usually run the gamut: ‘I wasn’t interested in this subject,’ ‘Assign less reading,’ ‘I think I did pretty good.’ This is all normal teenage perspective on school and studying.

“However, this year (and the previous 18 months) has elicited a new perspective from my students that I haven’t seen before. When I assigned the first unit reflection, the comments by and large exhibited a more determined tone than I have ever seen before in my years of teaching. Students commented: ‘I know I can do better and I want to try harder this unit,’ ‘I’m enjoying reading so much more now,’ and ‘I am going to spend more time preparing for class.’

“Two characteristics of this point of view jumped out at me. Number one: their comments were ‘I’ focused. Then took ownership of their efforts and acknowledged what they each individually had put into their unit. If they had not done as well as they could have, they owned their mistakes. Which leads us to number two. These comments exhibited a growth mindset. The growth mindset is an indicator of success because it demonstrates the person is looking at obstacles as opportunities. It is a brave resilience that shows their ability to grow in the face of struggle.

“I believe this resilience is a product of what all our students have gone through this last year and a half. Our Rio students faced school as they have never known it before; they have been ingenious about how to make their lives work in a quarantined existence; they have had to pivot at a moment’s notice. And yet through all of it, they can still see the possibilities for growth and improvement.

“I am hopeful. If a student body can see their own potential, take ownership of their mistakes, and set goals for themselves, then the future of Rio Lindo, our country, and our planet looks like a place we all want to be.”
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Rika Meyer is Rio’s vice president of marketing, admissions & development.
Nick Sigler is Rio’s English teacher.

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Gym Night Engages East Bay Young People
Gym Night Engages East Bay Young People 960 720 Julie Lorenz
Every Saturday night, 70-80 teens and young adults from around the East Bay gather at Pleasant Hill Adventist Academy for gym night. Around 8 p.m., organizer Wayne Ogata offers an opening prayer, and they play volleyball and socialize until midnight.

Ninety percent of those who attend are not connected to the Adventist church. They learned about the gym night through friends and social media. Many play, but others come just to watch, socialize, and eat. Food is sometimes provided by the Pleasant Hill church and others. Last week, a taco truck stopped by!

A Pleasant Hill church member, Ogata works hard to ensure that everyone gets the opportunity to play in a positive environment. He began organizing gym nights because he loves the game, but he now realizes they make it easy to engage with young people.

Ben Saechao, a young adult from Oakland, has been coming to the gym nights for years. “You go to a lot of other gyms, and it’s kind of intimidating for new players,” he said. “Wayne makes it clear that it’s all just for fun—a way to socialize and meet new friends and have a good time.”

Ogata is planning to invite participants to several pre-volleyball worship services during the holidays. However, he realizes that friendship is the best way to reach these young people. “One of them told me, ‘You don’t have to talk about church; the kids are going to ask you,’” he said. “We have kids showing up who haven’t been to church in years. You never know where it’s going to lead.”

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LIFE Church of Berkeley Hosts Fall Festival
LIFE Church of Berkeley Hosts Fall Festival 640 481 Julie Lorenz
On Nov. 6, the LIFE church of Berkeley invited university students and neighborhood families to a Fall Festival. About 70 people enjoyed a meal and fun autumn activities, including a country hymn singalong, a chili cook-off, a pumpkin pie eating context, and the Tony Hannah Country Band.
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“People commented how great it was to be together and sing some well-known songs and share some delicious home-cooked food together,” said Carolyn Pickell, church events coordinator. “What a great evening of fun, bringing students, neighbors, and friends of our church community together in celebration of fellowship and the change of seasons!”
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