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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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Adventurer Family Fun Day
Adventurer Family Fun Day 720 540 Julie Lorenz

After a long time apart, NCC Adventurers were finally able to gather for a conference-wide Family Fun Day! On Sunday, Nov. 7, more than 400 Adventurers and family members spent a day at the Sacramento Zoo learning about animals and having fun!

The Espinozas, the Hiratas, and the Slatons (Adventurer area coordinators) hosted 18 clubs during the event. “I’m so happy conditions allow for Adventurers to finally get together safely once again,” said Barry van Iderstein, newly elected director of Adventurer, children’s, and family ministries.

The next Adventurer Fun Day is being planned for spring 2022.

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Sacramento Ukrainian Church Organization
Sacramento Ukrainian Church Organization 720 360 Julie Lorenz

On Sabbath afternoon, Sept. 18, the NCC formally organized the Sacramento Ukrainian church—the only official Ukrainian congregation in the Pacific Union. The service took place in the congregation’s rented church sanctuary in Fair Oaks.

The joyful program included music from children’s and young people’s choirs, as well as a sermon by President Marc Woodson. The congregation presented the conference with a beautiful illustrative carving of Psalm 23, created by Ivan Noshyn, church elder.

“The members are very happy! It’s a big step in their lives—a miracle for a lot of Ukrainian people here,” said Roman Tsyganiuk, senior pastor of the Sacramento Slavic/Sacramento Ukrainian district. He serves with Andriy Mykhaylovskyy, associate pastor of the Ukrainian church and youth pastor of the Slavic church.

The new church has its roots in the Sacramento Yugoslavian church, where a number of Russians and Ukrainians worshipped together several decades ago. The Yugoslavian church established the Sacramento Slavic company as a “daughter” congregation, which became its own church in 2004. Later, the Slavic church created a “daughter” congregation of its own. The new Ukrainian group, with 116 members, held its first service in October 2018. They were organized as a company a few months later in January 2019.

About 100,000 Ukrainians live in the Sacramento metro area, and church members are eager to reach out to them. The new church has active ministries for children, youth, families, and health, as well as a vibrant media ministry. The congregation is making plans to eventually purchase a church facility of their own.

“Please pray for this church and for the pastors,” said Tsyganiuk. “We believe that this church will grow and be a blessing.”

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Helping Churches Unite in Their Mission
Helping Churches Unite in Their Mission 432 324 Julie Lorenz

In-person evangelism has been difficult during the pandemic, but outreach meetings are still going on, and church members are eager to get involved! “It’s important that the mission God gave us doesn’t stop because of COVID,” said Roseville church Pastor David Resendes. “People still need Jesus—especially now!”

In October, President Marc Woodson held an in-person and live-streamed Bible seminar titled “What on Earth Am I Doing Here?” at the Roseville church. “I enjoyed Dr. Woodson’s message, the fellowship with the members, and praying with people,” said Kathy Kordenbrock, worship coordinator.

Volunteers helped with registration, parking lot security, sound, and more. “It takes a team to put on an evangelistic series,” said David Gainer, a member of the audio/visual crew.

Executive Secretary Jose Marin has presented several seminars this year, including “Revelations of Hope,” a series of meetings held in the Pleasant Hill church courtyard in April.

Volunteers helped with everything from live-streaming to childcare. “The event was one of the first we had as we were breaking out of the pandemic lockdown,” said Senior Pastor Mitch Williams. “It gave our members the opportunity to do ministry and use their gifts.”

 

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Light Up the Night!
Light Up the Night! 2560 1920 Julie Lorenz

On October 31, the Pleasant Hill church invited families to an event called “Light Up the Night,” an alternative to Halloween activities. “We wanted to make it a fun evening but maintain a spiritual emphasis throughout the event,” said Natalie Bechtold, children’s ministries director.

Fifty kids, from toddlers to high school students, attended from the church and community. “We were really happy to see our kids bring their friends,” said Bechtold.

Families enjoyed a pizza supper, and then youth group members shepherded the children through many light-themed activities, beginning with a short worship led by Youth Pastor Miguel Verazas. Kids hit piñatas, played on a huge blow-up obstacle course, went on a treasure hunt, and created paper lanterns and lightning bug crafts. They also received treats and prizes, including glow sticks and flashlights.

“Everything was light oriented to drive home the illustration that we can be light in our community,” said Bechtold. “On a dark night, we wanted to be the opposite, making light and joy and creating great memories for kids.”

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NCC Office Team Serves Our Church and School Community
NCC Office Team Serves Our Church and School Community 1280 960 Julie Lorenz

The NCC office team spent Monday, Oct. 18, working on service projects at nearby churches and schools, including the Carmichael church, the Lincoln Amazing Grace church, the Orangevale church and school, the Roseville church, and Sacramento Adventist Academy. The team completed a wide variety of projects, including yard work, office tasks, washing, painting, building, and helping at a food pantry.

Allan Willmott, associate treasurer, built grow boxes at Orangevale SDA school. “What impressed me the most was how much the school appreciated our help,” he said. “I was also impressed with the staff—their friendliness and how much they enjoyed ministering to the children.”

Jeffrey Maxwell, risk management director/associate treasurer, did yard work at the Carmichael church. “Most of the time, we are at the office and don’t get to see the faces and physically rub elbows with our people on the front lines, and I very much enjoyed doing this,” he said.

Yolanda Frazier, administrative assistant in multiple NCC departments, helped with the Lincoln Amazing Grace church’s food giveaway program. “The Community Services team and volunteers were great to work alongside,” she said. “We were able to help load four vehicles with good food items for the community. We were all blessed by the experience and appreciated the opportunity.”

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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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Junior/Senior Retreat 2021
Junior/Senior Retreat 2021 720 540 Julie Lorenz

In October, nearly 200 people attended the NCC youth department’s annual Junior/Senior Retreat, designed for academy, high school, and home school juniors and seniors. Because Leoni Meadows is still closed after the Caldor Fire, the retreat was held at Mt. Gilead Bible Camp and Conference Center in Sebastopol. This year’s theme was “Surge,” based on Matt. 11:12, and the speaker was Pacific Union College Chaplain Kent Rufo.

“My favorite part of the retreat was getting into the small groups and talking to new people,” said Omar Martinez, Pleasant Hill Adventist Academy junior.

“The best part of the weekend had to be the worship programs,” said Catrina LeSure, Palo Cedro church associate pastor for youth and families. “Listening to the youth praise and worship together was a little bit of heaven on earth.”

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NCC Organizes First Official Fijian Church in North America
NCC Organizes First Official Fijian Church in North America 1113 870 Julie Lorenz

On Sabbath, Oct. 23, the NCC formally organized the Sacramento Fijian church—the only official Fijian church in the North American Division. The service took place at the Sacramento Woodside church, where the congregation meets each Sabbath afternoon.

Currently about 11,000 Fijians live in Sacramento County—more than in any other place in the United States! For many years, the Fijian Adventists in the area dreamed of having a church of their own. In 2009, a church plant began at the Sacramento Central church. In 2013, the group moved to the campus of Sacramento Adventist Academy. The congregation was formally organized as a church company in January 2015.

Through the years, members have worked to build relationships with the local Fijian community by conducting evangelism and outreach programs for people of all ages. During the pandemic, the congregation has been using social media to connect with Fijians throughout the world. Each of their live-streamed presentations has garnered between 20,000 and 30,000 views.

“As I think about our congregation’s history, one word that stands out to me is ‘Providence,’” said Pastor Joseph O’Connor. “We have seen God moving and blessing.”

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