LEFT: In order to become better acquainted, Serns met with CCC office staff in late August, including Justin Kim, associate executive secretary and pastor of the All Nations church in Fresno. RIGHT: Ron Rasmussen, CCC executive secretary, introduced Dan Serns, the then president-elect, to office personnel in person and those on Zoom on Aug. 23, 2021.
Welcome, President Dan Serns! "I don't like tomatoes! I do like ketchup and pizza and spaghetti, but not tomatoes!" "And I love hikes that end in waterfalls! And baptisms! And taking the Adventist message to new people and places so that it goes to all the world in this generation!”
S Welcome to Dan Serns, the new president of the Central California Conference
14 Pacific Union Recorder
tarting with these two statements about himself, Dan Serns, the then president-elect of the Central California Conference (CCC), took time over three days in late August to become acquainted with the conference office staff and pastors. Serving most recently as the evangelism director of the Texas Conference, Pastor Dan, as he prefers to be called, also explained that he is serious about every member becoming actively involved in spreading the everlasting gospel of Revelation 14 in this generation. He wants each of us to do our part in every city, town, and rural area in this conference—and beyond—so Jesus can come. With enthusiasm but also with heartfelt seriousness, Serns laid out some exciting ideas of what he hopes God can accomplish using a dedicated team who wants to work together. As he explained it, “With a team, great things can happen as we rely on each other’s strengths. If we work alone, it is so easy to see each other’s weaknesses.” Serns feels we need to get into every community where there are no Adventists—planting a church in a chosen “least-worked area” each year both within the conference and at a selected site somewhere in the world. He wants every CCC church, twice a year, to fill the baptistry in their church (or identify a spot in a river, lake, ocean, or even a “tarp in the back of a pickup” if no baptistry is available). The first fill date is scheduled for Dec. 11 of this year. Until then, each church member is encouraged to develop a prayer list of 10 people they would like to see baptized. Then, it is time to the clean out the baptistry, check the plumbing, and fill it with water—even if there is no one to baptize. (Although, that would be a good time to ask why). Because of the importance of Adventist education, Serns hopes that churches will identify children not attending one of our schools (“at least three students
Central California Conference
