“The Great Hope” Fills Baptistries
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raises were proclaimed during December 2021 when hundreds of new believers were baptized throughout the Central California Conference (CCC). As Dan Serns, CCC president, explained: “In early September, planning began for the ‘Fill Every Baptistry’ event on Dec. 11. In 88 of our churches (plus our young adults on Zoom), pastors and guest evangelists preached the Adventist message in its Christ-centered beauty and simplicity. Invitations were extended to the local community for the event, called ‘The Great Hope.’ People came because members had been praying for them. And decisions were made for Jesus! Everyone baptized had a story of how Jesus changed their life.”
TOP: The San Francisco Korean company studied in small groups, resulting in one baptism. MIDDLE: Both evangelistic meetings and small groups resulted in one baptism at the San Jose Korean company. BOTTOM: Pictured are two of the 11 young people baptized at the San Francisco Samoan church on Dec. 11.
26 Pacific Union Recorder
Here are just a few of the many testimonies: In San Francisco, a city with the lowest per capita of Adventists in the CCC, God is still working on hearts. Yes, it is slow, as Keunsoon Kim, pastor of the San Francisco Korean and Silicon Valley Korean companies, will tell you. Because of pandemic restrictions, it was almost impossible for the members to meet together. “Yet,” he said, “God’s gospel did not stop.” In San Francisco, small groups studied the Bible together, praying for others to join. It was because of special prayers that one lady decided to be baptized on Dec. 18. The Silicon Valley Korean company held meetings both at the church site and online with guest speakers—Jounghan Kim, pastor from Fresno, on Nov. 19-20, and Sanghun Jun, pastor from Oklahoma, on Dec. 1-4. Church elders used small groups to give Bible studies, which resulted in one person being baptized on Dec. 8. Several more continue to study with Jaehyo Sa and Ray Oh. As Kim explained, “In both churches, it provided an opportunity for church members to share the gospel.” The San Francisco Samoan church had a guest preacher, Meshach Maui’a, for the “The Great Hope” meetings from Dec. 7 to 11. Held at the church and live-streamed, the meetings resulted in 14 decisions for baptism. Eleven were young people under the age of 18, with six of them answering the call on Sabbath morning. Not too far away, Serns was invited to baptize 15 new believers on Sabbath, Dec. 11, at the Mountain View Hispanic church. The church leaders remarked that
Central California Conference
