RMCNews – Ward, Colorado … Nearly 700 people gathered for the Sabbath worship service during the 2026 Rocky Mountain Conference (RMC) Hispanic Camp Meeting, held September 4-7 at Glacier View Ranch (GVR) in Ward, Colorado. The weekend brought together members and guests from Hispanic churches across the conference for worship, fellowship, leadership development, youth activities, and opportunities to celebrate what God is doing through Hispanic ministry.
The theme for the weekend was “Leaders Serving Christ”—a focus designed to encourage leaders to continue growing both spiritually and in their ministry responsibilities. The theme grew out of a desire to challenge local church leaders that Christian leadership is ultimately about following Christ’s direction rather than maintenance of traditions or fulfilling personal convictions and initiatives.
“We’re here to serve Christ,” remarked Hugo Guillén, RMC Ministerial associate director and lead for Multicultural Ministries. “There might be some space for us to put in our own two cents, but sometimes God is very specific on what he wants.”
The weekend’s central takeaway was a call for leaders to examine their priorities and allow Christ to define their service. The message was particularly relevant for leaders who have served for many years, reminding them that spiritual and leadership growth is continuous.
The speaker for the Sabbath School portion of the worship service was Dr. Elvis Díaz, director of Sales and Marketing for El Centinela Magazine and Spanish-language Books at Pacific Press, who complimented the weekend’s theme through devotionals reinforcing the importance of strengthening the fundamentals of life and leadership and unity in the church.
Didier Noriega, senior pastor for the Escondido Spanish Seventh-day Adventist Church in Escondido, California, and Hispanic Ministries evangelist for Southeastern California Conference, was selected to provide the Sabbath worship message because of his ability to connect with both adults and younger generations. His messages emphasized the importance of caring for personal and family life as a foundation for effective Christian leadership.
Guillén commented, “One of the emphases that really came through was that, as leaders, we need to take care of what’s going on in our personal life and in our family life. If we’re going to be good leaders at church, we’ve got to be good leaders at home.”
Noriega also addressed the importance of unity within the church. Guillén continued, “He talked about unity of the church and bringing the church together—working together—because that glorifies God.”
After the Sabbath worship services, family, friends, and RMC leaders gathered at GVR’s indoor pool for two celebrations of faith through baptism. Although baptisms were not originally planned to be part of the weekend, two individuals were baptized during the camp meeting.
One baptism was for a gentleman named Sheridan, a former Adventist from Steamboat Springs, who had been reconnected with the Adventist Church. The second baptism came through a request from Herbert Hernandez, lead pastor at the Chapel Haven and Northglenn Hispanic Seventh-day Adventist Churches in Northglenn, Colorado, for a young man who wanted to be baptized during camp meeting when his family was gathered. The baptisms became reminders that God’s work does not always follow the schedule people create.
The camp meeting was blessed with a musical concert by Michelle Matius, a Christian singer-songwriter and recording artist from the Dominican Republic. Matius created a memorable moment in the program by bringing youth from the audience together to sing along.
Bris Escobar, member of the Greeley Hispanic Seventh-day Adventist Church, remarked, “God spoke to each person that attended Campestre this weekend in different ways. To me, it was through Michelle Matius’ music. It was a beautiful experience that brought a powerful sense of renewal and connection with Jesus.”
Closing out Sabbath activities was the ordination of Leonardo Jiménez, lead pastor for the Denver Central Hispanic and Nueva Esperanza Seventh-day Adventist Churches. The ordination was celebrated by camp attendees as well as conference leaders, and members of Jimenez’s family, friends, and former district were able to participate in the special occasion. The ordination service concluded with a prayerful hope for Pastor Jimenez’s continued growth and ministry.
The Hispanic Adventist Youth Federation (FEJA), the youth ministry for the Hispanic churches, also played an important role throughout the weekend. Young people participated in special Sabbath worship programming and additional activities led by FEJA, including a Sunday rally featuring obstacle courses that brought children, youth, young adults, and adults together from different churches and generations to connect.
“The cool thing was that everyone was able to get involved … It really felt like a moment when we were all coming from different churches but were all together. We’re all just one big group having a good time,” reflected Guillén.
Attendees of this year’s camp meeting were given the opportunity to try out the new ropes course at GVR. Twenty-four individuals aged four through adult were able to challenge themselves during the activity time. “Everybody sets their own challenge with the course, and they pick their goal. Around ninety-five present of people were very happy with how far they got,” commented Jade Teal, RMC Youth assistant director.
Many attendees of the camp meeting remarked that the event was a blessing to them. Julie, camp meeting attendee from the Denver Hispanic (Pecos) Seventh-day Adventist Church, commented, “I am so excited to be here. It is so pretty. [I come] to spend time with friends and share time with the Lord.”
—RMCNews. Some portions of the article were curated by ChatGPT. Interviews, writing, and editing by Liz Kirkland, RMC Communication director. Photos by Liz Kirkland.
