New Jersey Conference

Story by V. Michelle Bernard / Images Courtesy FOX

Corey Samuels, a member of Allegheny East Conference’s (AEC) Metropolitan church in Plainfield, N.J., received his first LEGO set when he was six years old. Once his brother Travis was born, he introduced the hobby to him.

Now Corey, a LEGO engineer instructor, teaches children engineering terms and STEM curriculums through LEGO.

The duo recently helped even more people across the country get excited about LEGO when they were contestants on FOX’s LEGO Masters.

Story by Edwin Manuel Garcia

Marco Estrada had no idea he would end up being a pastor. “As a matter of fact,” he said, “my dream was to be a soldier.” But God had other plans. Estrada, who was raised Catholic, immigrated to Atlantic City, N.J., from Mexico at the age of 15, and worked as a cook at a casino for 14 years. After enlisting in the Lord’s Army, he decided to return to Mexico to attain his bachelor’s degree in Theology from Montemorelos University.

Story by V. Michelle Bernard

“We believe in sharing God’s blessings with our entities,” said Columbia Union Conference Treasurer Emmanuel Asiedu. “[We] want to give $550,000 back to our entities to support the mission. [We’re] giving the money now so we can share the blessings now.”

Story by Ashley Boggess

This past fall, Week of Prayer was centered around the theme, “Claiming the Victory.” Along with the Class of 2020, Webster Sterling, the New Jersey Conference Lake Nelson Adventist Academy’s (LNAA) school chaplain, senior homeroom teacher and AP economics and religion teacher, delivered the daily messages.

Sarah Capeles, a member of New Jersey Conference’s Hackettstown church, recently released a new single, “I Will Love You” (in English) and “Yo Te Amaré” (in Spanish).

The song, just in time for Valentine’s Day, shares memories of a couple through the years, and the promise they make to continue loving each other in the upcoming years.

Capeles says her friend Willie Olmos wrote the song to “express the promise of eternal love and perseverance through all the difficulties in a couple’s life.”