Meet Pastor John Adame
Born March 8, 1948 and raised in the Church of God (Seventh Day) since childhood. He never thought to himself as not being Christian, although he felt like a different type of Christian than those around him, primarily because he didn't celebrate the generally accepted religious festivals of Christmas, Halloween, or Easter. Another difference was that he attended church on Saturdays, and every other type of Christian attended Sundays. His father, being the minister of the church in Sacramento, CA ensured that he never missed any choir practices, Bible studies, Friday night and all day Saturday services. As a "preacher's kid" he was expected to walk a fine line.
"but like Jonah, I continued to avoid God's call"
After graduating High School, at the age of 18, he enlisted into the US Army and quickly found himself in Vietnam. It was there that he realized that he had left something important out of his life, to be baptized. Despite the turmoil of war, he continued praying to God often, and these prayers did not fall on deaf ears, God answered and brought him home safely. Despite seeing first hand the power of God, brother John admits that "like Jonah, I continued to avoid God's call". Therefore, after being discharged honorably from the service, he pursued an Associates Degree in Arts from the Cosumnes River Jr. College. He then was accepted into the NECA/IBEW Joint Electrical Apprenticeship program, completing it in 4 years and becoming an electrician for the following 25 years.
"I was dead internally, as any unbeliever who hadn't received Christ"
During that time, he found that his life was going in circles, despite being a frequent church goer. One day as he was talking with a friend who was very inquisitive about the Bible, he was surprised as to the amount of information regarding the Bible he had retained all those years. This friend, after realizing how many of his questions he managed to answer, asked a question many would have never expected; "Have you been baptized?". It was this question that pierced right through John's heart and brought upon him a great conviction. He reflected on his life, remembering countless near death experiences and realized; "I was dead internally, as any unbeliever who hadn't received Christ"; so he quickly called up his church pastor, his father, and arranged to get baptized promptly. On September 14, 1994, John Adame gave his life to Christ in baptism.
Since his baptism, John has dedicated himself to doing the Lord's work and hasn't stopped since. He first began by teaching the English Sabbath School at the 71st Church in Sacramento, CA, a predominately Spanish speaking church for the first ten years. It's been within the last roughly six years that he has pushed himself to do the Sabbath School in both English and Spanish. During his time of teaching the Sabbath School, he began to preach and he began to take on more and more responsibility by becoming a member of the church board, followed by becoming the chairman of the board. It was after the ladder nomination that he felt compelled to take seminary training.
"His Word is in my heart like fire, a fire shut up in my bones, and I am weary of holding it in"
In 1998 he attended the Summit School of Theology, located in Colorado. Due to some financial hardships he was not able to complete the coursework but through the grace of God was able to find similar courses much closer to home, at the Grace School of Theology. On April 1, 2009 John Adame completed all coursework and was ordained a licensed Minister. Since then he has pastored the 71st Church in Sacramento, CA, where he continues to study and practice God's Word, maintaining the burning desire to serve the Lord as Jeremiah says: "His Word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones, and I am weary of holding it in".