Over 25,000 outreach packets were distributed and more than 75 Bible study sign-ups facilitated during the Streams of Light International (SOLI) mission trip held in conjunction with a comprehensive evangelism plan carried out in San Francisco in early September.
A Comprehensive Effort
The multi-faceted evangelistic efforts comprised a mission trip by day, hosted by Streams of Light International at the San Francisco Central SDA Church (SF Central) September 6-14 for more than 100 volunteers. Following each day’s outreach, a dinner hosted by SF Central fed attendees of the nightly evangelistic meetings. Each of the nightly Hope Now prophecy seminars led by Pastor Ted Wilson, president of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, was preceded by health lectures led by his wife, Nancy, which were described by attendees as “practical and informative.” The series by Elder Wilson addressed important topics such as the state of the dead, the Sabbath, and the hope found in the promise of the second coming of Jesus Christ.
The comprehensive evangelism efforts hosted at SF Central came as a result of collaboration between the local churches, the Central California Conference, the General Conference, and SOLI, working jointly to reach this major metropolitan area for Christ.
“We’ve done three mass mailings to this city in the past 19 years,” shared Mark Ferrell, senior pastor of SF Central, speaking of some of the church’s past efforts. In addition to this, SF Central hosts evangelistic series up to several times each year. Through the door-to-door work carried out by SOLI mission trip volunteers, the local church saw the immediate fruit of extending extensive personal invitations as community members attended each night.
“We’ve been called to convert the lost, but we’ve also been called to warn the lost. Streams of Light does both,” Ferrell remarked.
A Closer Look at Nine Days of Mission in San Francisco
Each day, mission trip volunteers took part in outreach training, book packing, prayer and devotional time, and door-to-door literature distribution. Plant-based meals fueled six hours of field time in which teams made use of maps provided by SOLI to systematically distribute books to various districts surrounding the host church. The outreach packets distributed contained a magazine with mental health resources, the book The Great Controversy complete with QR codes to the audiobook, and a flier for the nightly evangelistic series. Each night, volunteers attended the evening evangelistic series together with those in the community whom they had personally invited.
The Great Controversy as a Means of Sharing the Everlasting Gospel
The book selected for distribution in San Francisco is one that SOLI is working to place in every home in North America by 2026, and mission trips such as this one are just one of the ways that they are working to accomplish this goal. According to SOLI’s president, Oleg Lotca, the book contains a clear presentation of the everlasting gospel as given in the three angels’ messages of Revelation 14.
“[The book] outlines history and Bible prophecy, it explains how we got where we’re at today, where we are headed, and what we can expect as we prepare for the soon return of Jesus,” says Elder Dan Serns, president of the Central California Conference.
Results of Personal Door-to-Door Labor
As a result of the door-to-door outreach, individuals attended the nightly meetings. One such guest was Yvette Corkrean, a candidate for state senate, who joined an evening program after receiving a knock on her door from Lonna, a SOLI volunteer. Another attendee of the series was Amador, a firefighter for the San Francisco Fire Department, who brought his family to the meeting after receiving the invitation from Melony and Marie, SOLI volunteers who passed out books and invitations to those working at the fire station. Amador, whose mother introduced him to Ellen White’s writings, also signed up for Bible studies.
Divine Appointments and Answered Prayers
Many testimonies were shared by volunteers during the mission trip of Divine appointment conversations and answers to prayer. Many remarked on how they had met individuals who had walked away from the Adventist faith and saw the conversation with SOLI volunteers as timely and important. Volunteers also remarked on the safety they felt and experienced while walking the streets of San Francisco during each day’s outreach.
One volunteer, Mindy, a resident of Arizona who joined SOLI for her fifth mission trip, described one encounter where a man conversed with her on his front porch. While petting his dog, Mindy handed the man the free gift being shared with the community. Moments after the man politely declined, the man’s dog gently took the book in its mouth and walked into the house with it. “I guess we’ll take it after all,” Mindy recounted the man saying.
Aleksandar, a resident of Texas, joined the mission trip with his wife, Miriam, and shared a Divine appointment conversation he had with a young man who was waiting for a trolley. The trolley was about to depart as they were in the middle of their conversation, so the young man invited Aleksandar to ride with him. The interaction resulted in the young man signing up for Bible studies.
Yet another remarkable testimony was shared by Dahlia, a resident of South Carolina who joined SOLI for her second mission trip. Dahlia shared how the manager of a locked, 11-story apartment building permitted her and her outreach partner to deliver outreach packets to the 18 doors of each floor. Having quickly distributed packets to almost 200 residents, they then shared their free gift with the manager. “God granted that to us,” Dahlia shared, speaking of the access they were given to reach the families in that building.
Dahlia’s experience was shared by many others who encountered locked apartments and gated residences all across their distribution territory.
“This is Christ’s method,” says Lotca. “Jesus was going where people were; Jesus was meeting their needs. So, when we ask people, ‘What can we pray for?’, that is when people start telling us what their true needs are. It is amazing to see how people open up when we ask them this question.”
As study requests came in, Bible workers of SF Central followed up with the contacts generated during the mission trip, more than 75 in total, in order to provide study and discipleship opportunities. Of the impact of this endeavor, Ferrell shares, “One of the areas I appreciate with Streams of Light is they’ve been able to come. They don’t just work on one group of people, they go into different communities, different neighborhoods – whether it is the wealthier ones or the poorer class ones. And they share God’s love with everybody.”
Commendations for Continuing the Work
“I cannot say enough good things about Streams of Light,” said Pastor Ted Wilson during the closing ceremony of the SOLI mission trip. “Praise God for the absolutely unparalleled support that this program has been to the evangelistic nightly part of our outreach to San Francisco.”
Pastor Wilson recounted to volunteers the counsel by Ellen White on the importance of the circulation of the book The Great Controversy, and how the work of literature distribution is the method given by God to help lighten the earth with His glory, as described in Revelation 18:1.
Noting how mission trip participants assembled from all across the United States and even South Korea, Ferrell said, “We’re really humbled to hear the stories of people who came from around the world to bless us here in San Francisco.”
Adding to this, Pastor Roldan Abello, associate pastor of SF Central, shared, “Because of your presence here, there is a lot of work that has been done for us. We are all encouraged to continue to do what you have started here.”
Streams of Light International is now preparing the next missions to Flint, Michigan, and Columbus, Ohio, along with their first international missions to Europe which will take place in 2025.
“Jesus is coming soon, and we want everyone to have a chance to know,” Lotca says.
To see photos from the San Francisco Mission Trip, visit our photo album. For information about upcoming mission opportunities, visit our mission trips page.