News

La Sierra University-rooted Ghanaian Seventh-day Adventist Church Celebrates New Redlands Home
It began as a small gathering under the trees on La Sierra University’s campus in June 2003. Nine Seventh-day Adventist Ghanaian students and community members formed a Sabbath worship service, bound together by a shared faith, culture, and desire to connect. The small group began holding Sabbath School classes at various locations — first on campus and eventually at a nearby strip mall. Their numbers gradually grew until they had approximately 80 members in 2024, at which point the congregation decided it was time to acquire their own church building.

Beyond the Pews: 2025 eHuddle Calls Church to Greater Impact
For years, White Memorial Seventh-day Adventist Church in Los Angeles, California, was viewed as the church that did not care. In January 2025, everything changed. On Tuesday, January 7, during their week of prayer, Arteaga and his leaders experienced three blackouts from heavy winds. The next morning, they awoke to “images that the city we love, our mission field, our home, was on fire,” Arteaga shared at the 2025 eHuddle — an evangelism and leadership think tank hosted by the North American Division (NAD) Ministerial Association from Feb. 24 to 26 at Andrews University in Berrien Springs, Michigan.

Southern Adventist University School of Business Students Excel, Rank as Top Performers
In a simulation of managing a startup company in the MGMT 364 International Business course, one of Southern’s teams placed first out of the five locally competing teams, and in the 99th percentile of more than 1,000,000 simulation teams worldwide in 2024. In another business strategy challenge, three of Southern’s teams ranked as Global Top 50 Performers out of 685 teams from 58 colleges and universities worldwide for the performance of their GLO-BUS business strategy simulations during the week of June 17-23, 2024.

2025 Safeguarding Peace Training Empowers Attendees to Build Safer Churches
From February 9 to 11, 2025, a small but dedicated group of local church, conference, and union leaders, and lay members, met at the North American Division headquarters in Columbia, Maryland, for the NAD’s enditnow® Safeguarding Peace training on abuse prevention and response. Through presentations, pair and group discussions, and hands-on exercises, attendees were empowered to help make our churches safer spaces.

enditnow Summit 2023: Tackling Abuse One Advocate at a Time
Themed “Safeguarding Peace,” the enditnow Summit on Abuse, held from Nov. 12-13, 2023, at Andrews University, featured an abuse survivor's video testimony and follow-up discussions; thought-provoking devotionals; and presentations from advocates, church leaders, and educators. It ended with hands-on training on responding appropriately to abuse disclosures and creating a resource list for abuse survivors. More than 100 church leaders, educators, seminary students, professional advocates, and volunteers across North America and Europe registered for the event, indicating their commitment to combatting abuse. The two-day initiative concluded with an enditnow certification ceremony for attendees who demonstrated the ability to support abuse survivors through a skills assessment.

Pacific Union College Students Give Back to Community for Service Day
On October 19, 2023, students at Pacific Union College had the opportunity to partner with community agencies to give back to the local neighborhoods. During service day, students volunteer at service locations to assist residents with various community needs. This campus program implements service learning, where students can get involved in the food pantry, homeless and hospital ministries, and other service-learning activities at the college. Service day is just one dimension of PUC’s commitment to community involvement.

The Church Parking Lot
What does your church parking lot look like during the week? For many, the answer is “empty,” but for two Adventist Community Services (ACS) ministries in the Houston, Texas, area, the answer is “full of cars.” The Fondren Seventh-day Adventist Church ACS moved their food distribution into the parking lot in 2020 to abide by COVID-19 recommendations and they haven’t moved back inside. Rain or shine, Fondren ACS volunteers distribute boxes of food to their community every Wednesday.

Young Adult LIFE Tour Provides a Transformative Experience in the Southern Union Conference
The third stop of the Young Adult LIFE Tour landed in the Southern Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists at Spring Meadows Seventh-day Adventist Church in Central Florida. With more than 200 registrants and 1,000-plus in attendance, the weekend was filled with meaningful connections, inspiration, and relevant training on growing together.