Saturday is the Day
Loma Linda University Church sits at 11125 Campus Street in Loma Linda, California, a few steps from the health sciences campus that gives the city its name. The congregation gathers on Saturdays, because Saturday is the Sabbath for Seventh-day Adventists, a day of rest and of corporate worship. Members of the wider Adventist family, the church belongs to the Southeastern California Conference, which in turn is part of the Pacific Union and the North American Division of the world Adventist body.
Senior Pastor Randy Roberts and a large pastoral staff lead a wide-ranging ministry that reaches well beyond the immediate neighborhood. The church's tagline, "better together," captures a culture that welcomes a wide mix of ages, cultures, and styles of dress under one roof. Two distinct worship gatherings run side by side on Sabbath mornings, and an entire ecosystem of prayer, study, and service programs grows around them.
Two Services on a Sabbath Morning
Visitors choose between two very different expressions of worship, with the same sermon preached at both.
The traditional service meets at 9:00 and 11:45 a.m. in the Sanctuary. Organ, choir, and a more formal feel define the hour-and-fifteen-minute experience, and greeters and signs direct newcomers from the parking structure across the street. Business casual tends to fit in here, but the church is explicit that nothing is checked at the door.
Anthem, the contemporary gathering, meets at 10:00 and 11:30 a.m. in the Auditorium. A band leads, jeans and a shirt are typical, and the service runs about sixty minutes. Anthem grew out of a desire to reach the student population on the adjacent university campus, and it remains geared toward anyone who prefers a modern worship style. Anthem is led by Modern Ministry Pastor Jesse Churchill and Modern Worship Pastor Timothy Oliver.
There is no awkward on-the-spot introduction. Music, announcements, and the sermon are the core of the morning, and an offering is collected but never pressured. Parents of young children are welcome to keep kids with them through the service.
Sabbath School for Every Age
At 10:30 a.m. the building fills with Sabbath Schools, the Adventist church's signature hour of small-group Bible study. The children's wing houses UKids, organized by age from infants through fourth grade, with classrooms numbered on the doors and age-appropriate music, stories, and games. The Upper Room Sabbath School gathers on the FMB Rooftop Terrace for what the church describes as vibrant, soul-igniting discussions.
Middle schoolers split by grade into rooms on the second floor, and high school students meet as Re|Gen in Room 2407 with Youth Pastor Kane Kim. Rooted, the young professionals' group, meets in Room 2402 for refreshments and discussion-based study with Executive Pastor Joey Oh. Praxis Sabbath School gathers at 10:00 a.m. in Room 0402 for a light breakfast and topical conversation.
For adults the choices are unusually broad. The Bible Lab meets in the Randall Amphitheater with a Bible Study Fellowship style format. Church at Study is the online sanctuary class. The Connecting Place discusses contemporary Christian topics, Faith and Science explores science-and-religion questions with Paul Giem, and The Rational Bible works through Dennis Prager's Old Testament commentaries with Pastor Tim Evans. Sabbath Seminars uses the Wesleyan quadrilateral to explore big questions, and the School of Religion Sabbath School follows the quarterly with Adventist theologians and ethicists. Language-based groups meet in Spanish (Room 2406), Hungarian (Room 105 on the second and fourth Sabbaths), and Urdu (Room 2410).
A Praxis Night Church on Fridays
The week does not wait for Saturday. Friday nights at 7:30 p.m., the Auditorium fills again for Praxis Night Church, a young adult worship and devotional gathering led by Evangelism and Study Pastor Filip Milosavljevic. The night combines music, interactive connection, and preaching and is also livestreamed. Pastor Kelly Lin Dickinson, the interim Young Adult Pastor, oversees the wider Praxis ministry, which the church describes as a collective movement of students and young professionals learning to put faith into practice.
A House of Prayer, Open Every Day
Prayer is woven into the rhythm of the church in a way that goes well beyond Sunday-morning intercession. Every day at 7:00 a.m. a Prayerline teleconference connects anyone who dials 909-361-6220 (ID 11125#). What began as a 21-day prayer effort in 2020 has grown into a year-round, 365-days-a-year prayer time led by different LLUC prayer ministry leaders, with silent prayer partners and a roster of devotional hosts.
Morning prayer by phone is offered Tuesdays and Fridays at 6:00 a.m. The Tuesday session lifts up the pastoral staff, their families, and their ministries. The Friday session prays through the bulletin for the weekend's worship services, Sabbath Schools, and immediate needs. A short Friday evening prayer time at 7:00 p.m. focuses on the world and the country.
In person, the Open Prayer Circle meets Wednesdays at 6:00 p.m. in the Prayer Room (Room 102 in the Children's Courtyard) to read Scripture, sing hymns, and pray together. Together in Prayer is a Sabbath morning option in the same room from 10:00 to 11:30 a.m. Anita Roberts serves as Prayer Ministry Coordinator, and the church also hosts an annual Prayer Conference.
Children, Youth, and Young Adults
Children's Pastor Gerry Lopez and Interim Children's Pastor Norma Osborn lead UKids, the children's ministry. Beyond the age-graded Sabbath School classrooms, the ministry produces a children's choir program with tracks available online and an Instagram presence that keeps families connected during the week. Coordinator Magbis Leonora works with the pastors to organize the program.
Middle School Pastor Miguel Verazas oversees fifth through eighth graders. The students meet by grade during the 10:30 Sabbath School hour.
Kane Kim leads Re|Gen, the high school ministry that meets in Room 2407. The name captures the group's purpose: to be a home where friends become family and faith grows together. The ministry has its own Instagram (@llucyouth) and parent and student connection forms.
For young professionals in their thirties and early forties, Rooted (Room 2402) meets on Sabbath mornings with a guided exploration of different books and themes of Scripture, and the group gathers regularly for fellowship and service projects. Advent Hope, an intergenerational young adult ministry, meets at 9:00 a.m. in the Centennial Complex Damazo Amphitheater with various discussion groups and guest speakers.
Seniors, Pastoral Care, and Comfort
Anita Roberts and Ernie Castillo lead Senior Ministry, which builds community through caring, fellowship, and activities. A weekly Senior Ministry newsletter goes out every Friday with a roundup of activities and that Sabbath's bulletin.
UCare, the comfort and support ministry, is led by Pastoral Care Pastor Adrian Pressley. It provides bereavement care, a dementia caregivers support group that meets Sundays at 1:30 p.m. in Room 102, and other ministries in development. Pressley's team also oversees the church's response to those in need of prayer, visitation, or home communion.
Open Doors is the church's marriage preparation ministry. The Rules of Engagement seminar is offered twice a year in winter and fall, four Friday evenings of dinner, teaching, and private counseling, led by instructor Jamie Stodola. Sixteen couples fit in each session. Divorce Care runs as a thirteen-week support program on Tuesday evenings for people processing separation or divorce.
UReach: Outreach, Thrift, and Café
Outreach Pastor Linda Mendez leads UReach, the church's neighborhood-facing ministry. UReach runs a thrift store with managers and a staff of clerks; a café with a head chef and team; Renew Community Outreach; and a Meals on Wheels program (MOW) that prepares and delivers food. The campus is also the home of Excell Tutors, a volunteer tutoring effort that connects students who need help with adults who can give it. Addictions are addressed through downloadable resources and referral lists, and a Dementia Caregivers Support Group rounds out the caring network.
UReach welcomes volunteers through Hospitality Team applications and Shuttle Cart Driver sign-ups. The literature racks and carousels placed in local businesses, dental and medical offices, schools, and other public spaces are another quiet arm of outreach, stocked by the Literature Ministry team.
Music That Opens the Heart
Worship and Music Pastor Adriana Perera leads a music staff that includes Sanctuary Choir Director Marcus Desir, Organist Kimo Smith, Brass Director Michael Pichette, Handbells Director Celia Chan Valerio, Children's Choir Director Roxie Cevora, and Campana Ringers leader Sammy Young. The team's statement is simple: "We cultivate a Christ-centered worship community." Music and choral tracks, including the children's Christmas musical "Gloria's Christmas," are posted for download.
Media That Travels
Director of Media Stew Harty oversees a media operation that goes well beyond recording sermons. An associate director, department manager, broadcast engineer, video engineers, graphic designer, editors, and producers work under him to livestream services, produce podcasts, and create original programming. The church's Hope Channel presence, Roku channel, iOS and Android apps, and DVD store all flow from this team.
Two weekly podcasts carry the church's ministry outward: the LLUC Sermon Podcast and the LLUC Sabbath School Podcast. Praxis Night Church has its own podcast as well. The "Just $5" campaign invites global viewers to support the production of new faith content alongside the broadcasts of weekly worship.
Bible Study, Devotionals, and Discipleship
Discipleship Pastor Joelle Reuer oversees the church's Bible study and devotional ecosystem. The Experiencing God Bible Study meets Tuesdays at 5:30 and 6:30 p.m. on Zoom in two video conference rooms. Online reading plans and printable study guides support the church's "Read Your Bible in a Year" emphasis, with a Chronological Bible reading plan offered as a fresh approach.
Age-graded devotionals round out the library. Little Hearts for Jesus serves preschoolers. God's Amazing Creation serves primaries. Sensational "Quotational" Devotional by Kim Peckham serves juniors. Here I Am by Natalie Dorland serves teens, and The Queen In Me by Andrea King serves teen girls and their mentors. Young adults use the Every Day in the Word printable plan.
Mission and Beliefs
The church's mission is to grow lifelong disciples of Jesus Christ, and its vision is that every member becomes a minister through equipping, empowering, education, and mentoring. Its core values are worshipping God individually, in small groups, and as a large body; digging deeper through Bible study and prayer; nurturing one another through fellowship and intentional relationships; and meeting the spiritual and physical needs of the church, the local community, and the world.
As Seventh-day Adventists, members share the worldwide Adventist understanding that God cares about the whole of human life, including how people live, eat, speak, think, treat each other, and care for the world around them. The church works within the broader Adventist structure of divisions, unions, conferences, and local congregations to carry out that calling in Loma Linda and beyond.
Getting Connected
Worship services and Sabbath Schools meet every Saturday at 11125 Campus Street. P3, the parking structure across from the church, is free and open on Saturdays; greeters and signage route visitors from there to the right room. The church office is open Monday through Thursday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and Friday from 8:00 a.m. to noon, with the phone line answered at 909-558-4570 and general feedback welcomed at comments@lluc.org.
Giving is available online. Visitors who want to take a next step can fill out a UConnect card, request prayer, ask about membership, or sign up for baptism from the same online portal. Anyone can join the daily 7:00 a.m. Prayerline by phone, watch any service live, or catch up through the sermon and Sabbath School podcasts. On a Sabbath morning, the same sermon fills a Sanctuary full of choir and organ and an Auditorium full of band and casual dress, and a building full of small groups gathers in between to dig into the Bible together.