Fifty-four delegates were among the 286 attendees gathered for sessions, worship and business at the Pacific District Conference Hispanic Council convention, held June 7 at Iglesia De Restauración La Senda Antigua in Pacoima, California.
Sessions feature Ovalle as guest speaker
The convention theme was “Jesus is the center of our lives” based on Hebrews 12:2.
The Rev. Dr. Rogelio Ovalle, senior pastor of The House Church in Visalia, California, served as guest speaker.
In his first message, based on 2 Samuel 4:4, Ovalle challenged attendees to become generational leaders by not abdicating their spiritual responsibilities, according to Xavier Piña, Hispanic Council chair, in an email interview.
“He reminded us that our faith is lived beyond the pulpit and that, despite the persecution faced by immigrant communities, we are more than conquerors through Christ,” Piña says. “Holiness, he emphasized, is not a destination but a direction—a daily pursuit of God.”
Ovalle drew from Jeremiah 1:5 in his second message, addressing the identity and value of immigrant churches and urging attendees not to internalize feelings of inferiority, Piña says.
“He affirmed that all believers bear the image of God, regardless of status or background, and called for faithfulness and commitment over worldly definitions of success,” Piña says.
The session ended with prayer for pastors.
Session 3 featured Q&A with and prayer for Ovalle.
Delegates adopt resolution, appoint board representatives
Delegates and pastors also engaged in business.
Delegates unanimously adopted a resolution similar to the USMB resolution approved at the 2018 National Convention, publicly opposing family separation policies. View the resolution in English and Spanish.
A proposal was introduced and approved renaming regional pastors and coordinators as regional facilitators to emphasize collaboration. Proposed bylaw revisions would strengthen accountability and support for Hispanic churches, Piña says.
Delegates also affirmed members of the Hispanic Council, including Cristobal Aleman, Ricardo Bautista, Cesar Salazar and new member Juan Wall. They also appointed representatives to various boards, including Dina Gonzalez-Piña to the Board of Faith and Life, Orlando Lopez to the Board of Trustees and Maria Salazar to the Board of Home Missions.
In other business, delegates:
- reviewed expenditures for 2023-24 and 2024-25 and
- approved the 2025-26 budget.
Janae Rempel Shafer is the Christian Leader associate editor. She joined the CL staff in September 2017 with six years of experience as a professional journalist. Shafer is an award-winning writer, having received three 2016 Kansas Press Association Awards of Excellence and two Evangelical Press Association Higher Goals awards in 2022 and 2025. Shafer graduated from Tabor College in 2010 with a bachelor of arts in Communications/Journalism and Biblical/Religious Studies. She and her husband, Austin, attend Ridgepoint Church in Wichita, Kansas.
