South Bay Seventh-Day Adventist: leading with paddleboards and the Holy Spirit

South Bay Seventh-Day Adventist Church

• Contact: 2161 Avenida Del Mexico, 619-423-2243 www.southbaychurch.com
• Membership: 150-180
• Neighborhood: Imperial Beach
• Pastor: Mesach Soli
• Age: 44
• Born: Hawthorne
• Formation: La Sierra University, Riverside; Andrews University, Berrien Springs, MI
• Years Ordained: 5 months

San Diego Reader: How long do you spend preparing your sermon?

Pastor Mesach Soli: I find it a lot easier to do sermon series, but I always try to keep a spiritual pulse on what the congregation is going through or what we’re dealing with that is relevant to some of the social issues that are surrounding our community. Normally, I start my sermon process on Monday, because I preach every Saturday. Sunday, I let my mind take a break and start putting together a framework in my mind throughout the week for a total of 18-20 hours to put into almost an hour sermon.

SDR: What is the mission of your church?

PS: Our mission is to live to bless other…. We can bless others through our message and ministries and mentorship. This is something we need to pass down to the next generation, and so we’re homing in on mentorship in discipleship. How are we living to bless others? That can be something as simple as a smile or having people donate to individuals and families in need. We have community outreach service and visitations and, since this past June, we’ve had a paddleboard ministry called Living Water, where, after receiving a grant for about 15 paddleboards, we offer free paddleboard lessons to community members, people from our work, and their families. Pretty much, if you have breath in your lungs, you have the ability to bless someone else.

SDR: What one book has had the greatest influence on your ministry?

PS: Currently, the book I’m reading is called The Spiritual Life of a Leader: A God-Centered Leadership Style by Boyd Bailey, which talks about ministering from our overflow. A spiritual leader by default, following the guidance of the Holy Spirit, is going to make an impact. It’s not focusing on the work of ministry but the work of the Holy Spirit in you through ministry.

SDR: Where do you go when you die?

PS: My belief is that when we die, we rest in the Lord until Jesus’s second coming. Our understanding of the Kingdom of God is being in the presence of our maker, our creator. Hell is the absence of God, the eternal absence of God. People will ask, “Why would God send people to hell? That doesn’t seem like a loving God or a loving being I would like to believe in.” I always share with them that we were already on our way there, but God came and has given us a way out, an option for us to follow him. In a sense, he’s given us a life vest – or a raft – which saved us from going in that direction. When we deny that, it’s something we deny ourselves. We go after we die into a state of rest. John 14 says, “I go to prepare a place for you, and if I go to prepare a place for you, it’s because I’m coming back. I will receive you into myself, so that where I am there you may be also.” That paints the picture of what I believe after death – Jesus is coming soon, coming back for us, and we get to be with him… The greatest reward is that we get to be with our savior.