Celebrating What Matters Most

Socal Naz
Aug 11
2 min read

Updated: Aug 12

Yucca Valley & Summer Youth Camp

I mentioned in my last letter to you that I wanted to highlight areas in our churches where they were exemplifying “What Matters Most (WMM)” to God! For our first attempt at that, please see how Pastor Jim Smith at Yucca Valley is trying to keep the WMM priority!

What Matters Most at Yucca Valley Nazarene!

Pastor Jim Smith

God is moving powerfully at Yucca Valley Nazarene!

On Pentecost Sunday, twelve people responded to the message “Being Filled with the Holy Spirit”—eight rededicated their lives to Christ, and four experienced entire sanctification.

Just days later, we hosted a three-day revival with Rev. Steve Epp (“The Cross Man”), marked by spiritual and physical healing. Throughout the week, he ministered in town with a “Drive-Thru Prayer” sign on his Jeep. One man, Ben, stopped to pray, attended Saturday’s service, and has been with us ever since—including joining our recovery group and rededicating his life to Christ on July 6.

Inspired, we created our own “Drive-Thru Prayer” banner and are now taking it into the community. Revival is spreading!

On June 29, we baptized three individuals and welcomed a new member—all from local halfway houses. On July 6, we had 11 visitors from halfway houses and 2 from the closed Palm Springs COTN. After a message on “The Call to Holiness,” four came forward in response—including Ben.

At our July 7 recovery group (17 in attendance), we studied Acts 9 and heard powerful testimonies:

Andrew: “You welcomed me without judgment. I want to learn what it means to be a man of God.” We’re beginning mentorship together.
Rita: “This is the most loving church I’ve ever been to.”
Ben: “I want to live fully for God.”

We're also partnering with the local Boys & Girls Club to set up a prayer table near their busy athletic fields—currently under board review.

Our church is experiencing renewed passion for evangelism and discipleship, especially among those in recovery. This is a beautiful season of spiritual renewal.

WMM at Camp!

Another powerful What Matters Most moment this summer came through our district camps. Many churches reported how God used these experiences to ignite fresh spiritual fire and draw students deeper into the life of the church. One such report came from The Bridge in Bloomington, where Pastor Kara Triboulet shared that seven students were baptized on Sunday, July 27. Each one gave a testimony of how God met them at camp—many surrendering their lives to Jesus for the first time.

“God moved in such a powerful way at camp!” Pastor Kara said.

We already have a growing list of churches experiencing the fruit of prioritizing What Matters Most, and we’ll be featuring their stories in upcoming articles. We encourage all pastors to share their WMM stories with the district so we can inspire and encourage one another!