Southern California Conference

 

​

 

 

Emil Dean Peeler was born and reared in Sacramento, Calif., the third son of the late Arlie and Thomasina Peeler. For more than 35 years, Peeler has served in various positions of leadership in the body of Christ and broader community—most notably as pastor, motivational therapist, author, associate ministerial director, university professor, executive director of Westside Brighter Vision Foundation, and Director of Church Growth and Evangelism for Southeastern California Conference.  

Since 2016, Peeler has served as senior pastor of the Capitol Hill Seventh-day Adventist Church in Washington D.C. Recently, he led his congregation  in the opening of the Capitol Hill Counseling and Resource Center to address the critical needs of the broader community in the area of mental health.

Additionally, he is  engaged as an international evangelist and adjunct professor at Washington Adventist University in Takoma Park, Md. His latest book, FaithFacts Disciple Guide, is a biblical resource that helps to build people on their journey to become mature disciples of Jesus Christ. His ministry motto is, “When you build people you build the kingdom!”

Peeler shares his life with his wife, Brenda, and they have three adult daughters and one grandson.

Jacobson has served as the lead pastor at the Carmichael Seventh-day Adventist church for 13 years. Together with his wife, Kari, they are enjoying their diverse congregation of young families, mid-career, and life reflectors. The church has been engaged in local and international missions, partnering with Maranatha International. 

Before making a home at Carmichael church, Jacobson and his wife enjoyed ministry with their two children, now grown,  at Union College, Pacific Union College, Upper Columbia Academy and a number of churches in the North West and California. Jacobson also briefly served with ADRA in Nepal, adding (as he puts it) to his appreciation of this world church and its impactful mission.  

"Over these 42 years of ministry," Jacobson says, "it is still a joy to speak of Jesus. The story of God's love for humanity, it always encourages  — and right now, that is the hunger of our world. Is there hope? What will be next? Can I hold on? I'm encouraged because God is still present, still leading and He speaks, saying, 'Don't be afraid.'" 

Roger Hernandez is a father of four, a husband of one and a pastor to many. He is a third generation Christian Seventh-day Adventist, one of five pastors in his family. Hernandez is a prolific author of more 14 books, including the sharing book of the year (twice) and the discipleship book of the year: Everyone Welcome.

Hernandez is a practical and engaging speaker, and he has spoken to audiences all around the world. His main desire is to show the relevance of Christianity to a world that needs it, especially the younger generation.

He messages emphasize leadership, evangelism, accountability and diversity (LEAD) themes. Hernandez currently serves as the Ministerial and Evangelism Director for the Southern Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. 

Sung Kwon has served as the executive director of the North American Division Adventist Community Services (ACS) since 2001 and is an ordained minister of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Though he grew up in a family with Buddhist and Catholic beliefs, he became a baptized member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in 1991.

After becoming an Adventist, he served as the executive director of the Good Neighbor House, an ACS agency in Dayton, Ohio, for eight years. He was also the vice president and, later, president of the North American Association of Community Services Directors during that time. He was recognized in the "40 Under 40 – Dayton's Brightest Young Business Leaders" by the Dayton Business Journal in 2000. He had the privilege of planting a Korean congregation as a company in Dayton, Ohio, serving as its interim pastor under the Kettering Seventh-day Adventist Church. 

As a licensed consultant for the Standards for Excellence Institute, he uses the “Standards for Excellence: An Ethics and Accountability Code for the Nonprofit Sector” to improve leadership, management, and operations of NAD Adventist Community Services. Kwon is a published author of Burst the Bubble: Finding Your Passion for Community Outreach.