Delaware Celebrates Four Baptisms
BY JACARE M. HUNTER
It is always a beautiful moment whenever anyone decides that they want to walk with Christ—but maybe even more so when done earlier in life.
Naturally, our goal as Christians should be to spread the gospel and help those around us draw near to Christ. Angela Settle did just that by studying alongside Hannah Render and Zhaniah to prepare them for their baptisms. Michael Lewis grew up in the Adventist church and found his way back. Miles Frazier joined by profession of faith. His grandmother retrieved a flyer for an evangelistic series that was held at the Delaware Avenue church, which she had previ- ously thrown out, and started attending. She then told her daughter Dana Frazier (Miles’ mother), who also began attending, which in turn brought Miles to start attending church as well. His grandmother and mother had both been baptized before he was.
Zhaniah and her mother used to come to the Delaware Avenue food bank and started attending church shortly after. Hannah is originally from Ohio and discovered our church one day while she was out walking after she had moved into the Santa Monica neighborhood.
Throughout the year, one by one, they reached out to Pastor Frazier, as well as members of the church, and voiced their desire to live for Christ.
For Render, her baptism was a life-changing decision in more ways than one. “Ever since my baptism, I look at things in their totality,” said Render. “I am more conscious of the foods I eat, the environments I expose myself to, and I desire to go to a school that has like-minded people. I am considering transferring to La Sierra in the fall of 2024.”
“I was baptized early in life and did so without any true understanding of what it was I was committing to,” Frazier shared about his rededication to live for Christ in adulthood. “This time around, I had to first strengthen my relationship with Christ and rededicate my life all over again—and it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made!”
Haven & United Filipino Group: A New District
BY LAUREN LACSON
This spring, two congregations gathered for a special service that would recognized them as a district: the Haven Company and the United Filipino Mission group.
In a special service, members shared the history of each congregation. Vinh Nguyen, Asian/Pacific Region director, spoke about the new district and dedicated Edbert Carceler as the pastor who will serve both congregations. Carceler, who has been serving as the pastor of the Haven company, then spoke to attendees.
Jeanette Baron, from the United Filipino group, accounted her experience with congregation dating back to the year 2000. She returned years later to see that the congregation had grown and was in a different location. “This is the United Filipino church I want to introduce to you, which is full of loving, active, and talented members,” she said. “We are still growing and blooming for Jesus.“
Luz Montesa, from the Haven company, also gave an overview of their congregation’s history. In 2018, a Bible study started with 12 people soon after Carceler had returned from six months of evangelism in the Philippines. The group grew and grew, until it was organized as a company in 2023. “We were also adopted by a church, but now we are trying to adopt another church [into] to Pastor Ed’s pastorate,” she said. “I hope to continue our faithfulness to our Lord.”
Nguyen spoke to the two congregations about the district formation. “We group churches together to have a district because we want, number one: no group should have no shepherd, and number two: church should be full time and take care of many churches,“ he said, asking the congregation how many churches one pastor could have in the Philippines, to which the mem- bers answered, “19 churches!”
Before Carceler’s installation as the district pastor, Nguyen offered a word of encouragement. “When Moses gave the tremen- dous task to Joshua, I can imagine Joshua [was] very fearful,” Nguyen said, as he affirmed Carceler with the promise found in Joshua 1:8 that God would reward his faithfulness.
Carceler then spoke about Elijah and the high calling and responsibility of ministry. “When Elder Vinh said that it is more responsibility, I tried to just nullify that and never mind it,” he said. “Now I have to be thankful because the Lord had doubled the manpower and the spirit that these two churches can help together, so that we can continue to preach the great Gospel Commission so that Jesus will come.“
“What I can say is, ‘Lord, here am I, and here we are,’” Carceler said. “Wherever You lead us, we will go. And that would be the motive of the preaching. Every time I am here, we are commissioned to move forward. We are commissioned to go.“
