Three Sabbaths, One Church Family on Victoria Street
The Brandon Seventh-day Adventist Church meets at 1221 Victoria Street in Brandon, Florida, a few blocks from the heart of town. The congregation describes itself as a multi-ethnic and multi-generational community, and the Sabbath morning schedule is built around that variety. Three worship services run back to back: 8:45 to 9:50 a.m., a Sabbath School hour from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m., and a second worship service from 11:15 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Worship at the 11:15 a.m. hour is livestreamed on the church's YouTube channel, with on-demand replays of recent services kept online for anyone who wants to catch up midweek.
Pastor Rolando Rodriguez, who goes by Pastor Roly, invites newcomers and longtime members alike to come experience the community firsthand rather than through a screen: worship is the moment where the church becomes most itself, and he promises one of the friendliest church communities he knows. The 11:15 a.m. service is also the broadcast hour, so visitors who cannot make the trip to Victoria Street can still take part from home.
What the Community Looks Like
The church frames its vision in three short lines: to invite people into a personal relationship with Jesus, to empower them to live out the good news of the Bible, and to do it together. On any given Sabbath, members and visitors worship, serve, and live for the glory of God side by side. A wide range of worship leaders and participants rotates through the platform, which the church points to as part of why no two Sabbaths feel the same. Children, parents, working adults, college students, and retirees all share the same building each weekend.
Church office hours run Monday through Thursday from 8:00 a.m. to noon. The main phone line (813-992-1412) and the office email (brandonsdachurch@yahoo.com) are the best ways to reach the staff during those hours, and Pastor Roly is also available by appointment. Tithes and offerings can be given online through the Adventist Giving portal linked from the give page.
Wednesday Nights on Zoom and at the Church
Midweek is when the church gathers in two smaller settings. A prayer meeting meets online over Zoom at 6:30 p.m. each Wednesday, with Earl Cole distributing the current link. At 7:00 p.m. the same evening, an in-person Bible study on the book of Daniel takes place at the church. Together these two midweek touchpoints give the congregation a way to stay connected between Sabbaths, and they also serve as an entry point for visitors who want to learn more before attending a full Saturday morning.
What Brandon SDA Believes
The beliefs page is a long, plainly worded list of twenty statements, each anchored to a Bible passage. The church believes in a personal God, in Jesus Christ as the divine Son and Savior, and in the Holy Spirit as the divine Comforter. It teaches that people must be born again to see God, that the Bible is the inspired Word of God, and that the second coming of Christ will be a literal, personal, visible event. Members hold that human beings are by nature mortal, that eternal life is a gift received through faith in Christ, and that those who have died are resting in sleep until a resurrection of the dead.
The list also covers the doctrines that often surprise visitors unfamiliar with Adventism. Righteousness, the church teaches, comes by faith and not by works, and salvation is a free gift of God. Jesus perfectly lived out and fulfilled the Ten Commandments, and believers are called to live by the same principles. The seventh day is honored as the Sabbath, a gift of rest still offered by God today. Members practice baptism by immersion, observe the Lord's Supper, and recognize the gifts of the Spirit including the gift of prophecy. Tithes and offerings support the gospel, and caring for the body is treated as a spiritual practice, including avoiding what the Bible identifies as unclean.
Reaching Out Across Brandon
Community Services is the church's outreach arm, and it is built around four steady rhythms. The Sandwich Ministry is the most visible: each week members of the congregation make sandwiches, assemble sack lunches, and carry them to people experiencing homelessness in the surrounding area. The Elderly Outreach Ministry keeps church family members who are homebound or in nursing homes connected through regular visits. On Thanksgiving Day the church hosts a free community dinner from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., designed so that no one in the area has to spend the holiday hungry or alone. Four times a year the whole church trades pews for service on Service Sabbath, when members step out together to serve the local community.
Members also support organizations beyond the church, including ECHO of Brandon (the focus of a Women's Ministry toiletry drive) and Habitat for Humanity Hillsborough. The Personal Ministries team regularly canvases the congregation for new ideas, inviting members to suggest activities such as partnering with Trinity Cafe, delivering Meals on Wheels, handing out literature in local parks, assembling toiletry bags for the homeless, hosting events at a local children's home, and visiting nursing home residents.
Growing Up at Brandon
Children and teens have a deep bench of programs to move through. The Children's Ministry coordinates Vacation Bible School each summer, runs a monthly Children's Church for Pre-K through fifth grade on the second Saturday of the month during the school year (held in the Youth Building with puppets, games, and crafts), and prepares older children for baptism through a baptismal class led by Pastor Roly. The Adventure Club is the entry point for younger kids, accepting children from Pre-Kindergarten through fourth grade. Adventurers learn about the Bible, health, nature, and getting along with others through games, outdoor activities, nature exploration, family camping, field trips, and service projects. The club meets on the first and third Saturday of each month during the school year, from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m., and is directed by Hollie Huber.
The Brandon Archangel Pathfinder Club picks up at grade five and runs through grade twelve. Pathfinders meet on the first and third Saturday of each month at 2:30 p.m. for drill team practice, honor work, and class work, and the club regularly adds camping trips and outreach projects to the calendar. Evelyn Fox directs the Pathfinder Club. Teenagers and young adults step next into the Youth Ministry, which is open to ages thirteen through nineteen and led by Jimmy and Alia Estrada along with David Dieppa, Melanie Dieppa, and Veta Plummer. The Young Adult Ministry gathers on the second and fourth Saturdays of the month at 1:30 p.m., and on the third Sabbath of each month the group feeds the homeless in the community, with food prep happening the Friday night before at 7:00 p.m.
Sabbath School for Every Age
The Sabbath School hour at 10:00 a.m. each Saturday is the church's intergenerational classroom. Eight divisions run side by side: Beginner for ages birth to three, Kindergarten for ages four and five, Primary for ages six to eight, Junior for ages nine to eleven, Earliteen for ages twelve and thirteen, Youth for ages fourteen to eighteen, Collegiate, and Adult. Weekly lessons for each division are drawn from the church's online Sabbath School resources, so families can study the same theme at home during the week.
Men, Women, and Families
The Men's Ministry focuses on drawing the men of the congregation closer to God and building sound relationships between them. The Women's Ministry runs social and spiritual gatherings such as the Mother's Day Tea and prayer brunch, and the women also organize annual outreach drives like the toiletry collection for ECHO of Brandon. Family Ministry offers marriage seminars, Financial Peace University classes, and other events through the year, with offsite retreats held at places such as Camp Gilead rounding out the calendar.
Health Ministry and a Radio Station at 101.9 FM
Health Ministry at Brandon SDA takes the whole-person approach Adventist churches are known for, addressing mind, body, and spirit together. The ministry shares newsletters, hosts photo memories of past events, and points members to outside resources from organizations such as It Is Written and the General Conference Adventist Family Ministries.
WSDX-LP 101.9 FM is the church's low-power radio station, broadcasting from Brandon twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. The station carries soothing music along with national news, family and finance call-in shows, and Bible-focused programming drawn from the LifeTalk Radio network. Its mission is to provide uplifting, family- and community-oriented programming for listeners of all ages in the broader Brandon area.
A New Home on Victoria Street
Brandon SDA is in the middle of a building campaign to construct a new church home. The project is framed around three ideas: a future home, a welcome center, and the side and rear views of a building designed to serve the congregation and its neighbors for decades to come. Architectural sketches are posted online, and the leadership team shares messages from ministry leaders about how the new facility will expand community outreach, neighbor service, and youth ministry. Members and supporters can give to the building fund through the Adventist Giving portal (selecting Building Fund), and a Commitment Form is available for those who want to register their pledge in writing.
Joining the Church
Anyone interested in making Brandon SDA their church home can request baptism, profession of faith, or a transfer of membership through the Become a Member page. The church also offers free Bible studies in person, by mail, online, or in a group setting, and a Sterling Volunteers child protection screening program prepares every volunteer working with children. Pastor Roly and the pastoral team accept prayer requests online, and the volunteer interest survey is the main door into serving on a ministry team.