Pastor Sam Nunez warns that Jesus is coming soon. "Be ready."

Fallbrook Seventh Day Adventists

• Membership: 499
• Pastor: Sam Nunez
• Age: 43
• Born: Philadelphia, PA
• Formation: Seminar Schloss Bogenhofen, Austria; Institute Adventist Collonges Sous Saleve, France; Andrews University, Berrien Springs, MI
• Years Ordained: 11

San Diego Reader: What is your favorite subject on which to preach?

Pastor Sam Nunez: Jesus is coming soon. Be ready. I believe something is going to happen and a lot of people don’t know it. They’ve heard about Jesus and understand he is our savior, but very few think the words he said — that he would come again — are going to happen. The best way to prepare is to read his word and follow it. I think we’re living in times where we see lots of things happening which point to this return. There’s a lot of tension and stress and we need to look up for answers. Jesus says he has conquered the world and in him we can find peace.

SDR: What’s your main concern as a member of the clergy?

PN: We’re not reading our Bible. I see members in our church and in other denominations where people like to come to church and hear pastors preach. That’s basically their spiritual meal for the week. In some ways there is an illiteracy in scripture, and I don’t know if it’s because of work or other priorities in life, but there is a neglect in reading the word, understanding it, and applying it.

SDR: Why did you become a minister?

PN: I could have become a businessman and build a big company, or become a teacher and give knowledge or discover things that would help humanity. But what greater reward is there than to see people in the kingdom of God?

SDR: Why Seventh Day Adventist?

PN: I was brought up in the faith and my parents were also Seventh Day Adventists — as were my mother’s parents. I appreciated the emphasis on scripture, the Bible and understanding what the Bible said…. It’s a holistic message — it’s not just spiritual but also physical. Our bodies need to be taken care of with a healthy lifestyle. Vegetarianism is emphasized although not everyone practices it. We don’t eat unclean meat, we engage in no alcohol or smoking, and try to live a healthy life to honor God and help those around us to live a healthier life.

SDR: Where is the strangest place you found God?

PN: I hiked a mountain and it was a pretty high one in Switzerland called Vanil Noir, the highest mountain in Fribourg [2389 meters above sea level], which is one of the cantons in Switzerland. Being up there I felt so tiny — and then I thought: God made this for me so I could enjoy it and see his awesomeness, his greatness.

SDR: Where do you go when you die?

PN: We don’t go to heaven, to hell, or purgatory, but we go back to dust. At the last trumpet, Jesus cries out, “Wake up!” And I will wake up. How that’s going to happen, I have no idea, but it’s going to happen. This includes everyone — the good and the bad will wake up. Those who believed in Jesus will go to be with God. What about those who didn’t have the opportunity to know Jesus? God is going to take care of them…. Then there are those who bitterly rejected him… and they suffer the consequences of what we call the second death, from which no one will wake up. They suffer nonexistence forever.