North Hills Church sits on North Mountain Avenue in Claremont, California, where every Saturday morning its members set aside the ordinary rhythms of the week for rest, study, and worship. A congregation of the Seventh-day Adventist Church within the Southern California Conference, North Hills is known for taking the long, deliberate arc of Sabbath seriously, gathering as a whole family at 11 a.m., with children dismissed to age-appropriate Sabbath School classes beforehand, and for the warmth it extends to newcomers, skeptics, and seasoned believers alike.
Saturdays Built Around Sabbath School and Worship
Saturday is the day that shapes everything at North Hills. The church is explicit that Saturdays are designed to make faith practical for every stage of life, and the morning is structured to do exactly that.
From 9:45 to 10:45 a.m., age-specific Sabbath School classes meet across the campus. Preschool, elementary, preteen, middle school, and high school divisions each have their own leaders and discussions, all running on the same 60-minute rhythm. At 10:00 a.m., adults gather for their own Sabbath School study. The current adult series, called Word for Life, is a journey through the Gospel of John and the work of the Holy Spirit, taught by Dr. Brian Plummer, with downloadable PowerPoint and study notes available for those who join remotely.
The main worship service begins at 11:00 a.m. and runs in person and online. Worship includes music, a sermon, and prayer, and all ages are welcomed into the sanctuary together. An infant room is available for nursing mothers and families who prefer a quieter space. The services are livestreamed each week and archived on YouTube so that anyone can revisit a message later.
North Hills also holds weekday gatherings that bring extra texture to the week. Monkey Butler, a free improv comedy workshop led by visiting teachers, meets Tuesday nights at 7 p.m. and is open to all ages and skill levels; afterward, attendees may stay for an optional time of prayer. Financial Peace University, the Dave Ramsey money course, runs on Wednesdays at 7 p.m. by Zoom for nine weeks, free to participants thanks to church sponsorship. Explore Faith Nights, a series of eight evenings of dinner and conversation, convenes on Thursday nights for anyone curious about the big questions of life, Jesus, and faith. The Thursday schedule runs 6:30 p.m. dinner, 7:00 p.m. welcome and talk, 7:30 p.m. small-group conversation, and dismissal at 8:30 p.m.
A Church Planted from Pomona in 1972
North Hills grew out of a vision that a small group of Adventists could not keep to themselves. On March 14, 1972, a handful of members from the Pomona Adventist Church looked around their growing community and decided that one congregation could no longer maintain dynamic influence over the surrounding area. With that conviction, they brought in their first pastor, Terry Cassingham, in 1973 and began to plan.
By 1975 they were officially organized as a Seventh-day Adventist church. A year later they purchased the North Mountain Avenue property that the church still occupies. To fund the construction of a permanent home, members built and sold eight houses with the help of a member-contractor named Earl King, plowing the profits into the campus. Their working motto during those years was, "Everyone is to receive a blessing from everyone doing their part."
Construction began in 1978 under Pastor Jim Walters, and the current building was opened and dedicated in August 1980. Nearly a half-century later, the same mission still shapes the church: influencing the community toward Jesus and helping everyone find a way to contribute.
What North Hills Believes
The church holds to classic Seventh-day Adventist convictions, summarized in their own statement of beliefs. North Hills teaches that God is the Creator and eternal ruler of the universe, existing in three co-equal persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ, the Son, is co-equal with the Father and was born of the virgin Mary; He lived a sinless life, died on the cross as the perfect sacrifice for humanity, rose again on the third day, ascended to heaven, and will return literally, personally, visibly, and worldwide to deliver His people and reign forever.
The Holy Spirit is co-equal with the Father and Son, active in creation, incarnation, and redemption, and present in the world to make people aware of their need for Jesus. The Bible is regarded as God's Word, written under the Spirit's inspiration, infallible as the revelation of His will. Human beings were created in God's image but are marred by the disobedience of our first parents; through Christ's work and the Spirit's restoration, God reconciles the world to Himself. Salvation is received by trusting in Jesus, not by self-improvement or good works.
On last things, North Hills holds that death is an unconscious sleep until the resurrection, and that the second coming of Christ is the blessed hope of the church. They observe the seventh-day Sabbath from sunset Friday to sunset Saturday as a perpetual sign of God's creative and redemptive acts and a celebration of rest, worship, and ministry, following the practice of Jesus, whom Scripture names "the Lord of the Sabbath."
The Discipleship Journey: Four Trailheads
To help people move from first curiosity to lifelong service, North Hills has organized its pathways into a four-stage journey called the Discipleship Journey, with each stage represented as a "trailhead." Each trail within a trailhead is meant to be walked with a group and ideally includes a shared meal.
The Explore trailhead is for newcomers and the simply curious. Explore Faith Nights are eight evenings of dinner and conversation about the big questions of life, Jesus, and faith. Welcome Parties, hosted every other month, give recent visitors a chance to meet people, ask questions, and connect with a small group or volunteer team.
The Establish trailhead focuses on the foundation of faith. Foundations of Faith is a six-week study covering the basics of Christian belief. Baptism is presented as the public profession of discipleship, declaring acceptance of God's grace through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. Membership is offered to those who wish to become local partners and/or global members of the Seventh-day Adventist denomination.
The Equip trailhead offers practices that help believers abide in Jesus. Trails include Sabbath, Scripture, Community, Prayer, Fasting, and Generosity, each designed to be walked over several weeks with a group. The Engage trailhead extends faith outward through Service, Witness, Global Faith, and Leadership, helping members see how their gifts fit into what God is doing in their neighborhood and around the world.
Kids, Students, and Teen Challenge Week
North Hills is explicit that what they do for kids is more important than the other things they do. Children are welcomed into the worship service rather than sent away; the church encourages families to sit close so kids can see, to explain things as children are curious, to participate and let kids mimic what they do, and to take breaks without embarrassment. A dedicated room is available for mothers with infants who need a quieter atmosphere.
Sabbath School classes run for ages from birth through high school every Saturday morning from 9:45 to 10:45 a.m. Each division has its own small-group leader, and weekly digital content is published online for preschool, elementary, preteen, middle school, and high school students so that families who miss a week can still have the discussion at home. The Parent Cue App is recommended as a daily companion for families who want to weave faith conversations into morning time, drive time, meal time, or bedtime.
Vacation Bible School is offered each summer as a themed experience for kids, and during the school year an ETB (Eat This Book) Challenge walks families through Old Testament heroes of faith, with workbooks, prizes, and weekly online content. For older students, Sabbath Studios is a monthly podcast produced by the middle schoolers themselves, in which they engage with biblical principles through the lives of sixth, seventh, and eighth graders.
Teen Challenge Week, for ages 12 to 18, is the flagship summer youth event. Mornings begin on the North Hills campus with check-in, team building, and a time of worship and teaching, after which the teens caravan by SUV to a daily activity. Past weeks have included ropes courses with Fulcrum Adventures in Culver City, a creature encounter hike with Wild Man Dan, a service day at Foothill Family Shelter and Hope Through Housing, a self-defense class with the Defense Arts Center in Upland, and a beach day at Corona Del Mar State Beach capped by a bonfire service back at the church.
Community Groups and Bible Resources
Beyond the Sabbath School hour, North Hills encourages every member to belong to a community group. These small groups meet in homes and around tables to socialize, study, and pray together. The church works with its Community Group ministry through the Church Center App, where members can see which groups are open, what each one is studying, and where they meet.
To fuel those groups, North Hills maintains an extensive library of downloadable study guides. Past series have worked through books of the Bible such as James, Hosea, Matthew, John, Luke, Acts, Mark, Revelation, Lamentations, Habakkuk, Jonah, Esther, and the Thessalonian letters, as well as topical studies on marriage (The Vow), dating (Modern Romance), anxiety (Anxious for Nothing, Why Worry), generosity (BLESS), contentment (Chasing Carrots), parenting (Parenting Through the Phases, Family30), baptism (Going Public), and dozens more. Each guide is paired with a video or audio playlist, often illustrated by the Word for Word Bible Comics and read aloud by pastors and members like Dr. Brian Plummer, Dr. Dennis Wallstrom, Dr. Angela Yi, and Alex Chuquimia. Free Bible reading plans (52-week, chronological, Psalms-a-day, and a three-year plan to read every word of Scripture) are also available.
Serving, Volunteering, and the Parsonage Project
North Hills offers a wide range of volunteer teams. Weekly slots include small-group leaders for kids, musicians and singers for rotating worship teams, lighting, sound, and video technicians, guest services teams for greeting and hospitality, and a communications team that manages email and the app. Volunteers 18 and older who serve at least one hour a month or twelve hours a year complete a one-time Live Scan background check and a biennial California Mandated Reporter training; both fees are reimbursed by the church.
The church also partners with several mission organizations. Hope Through Housing, which breaks the cycle of generational poverty, is supported through donations and an annual school supply drive. Foothill Family Shelter receives Thanksgiving baskets assembled by the congregation each November. Holbrook Indian School, a K-12 boarding academy in Arizona, is supported through Christmas gifts, fundraising, and renovation trips. Kuda Vana Partnership in Zimbabwe empowers vulnerable children through family-based care and is supported financially and prayerfully by North Hills members.
To sustain pastoral leadership in an expensive region, North Hills has launched the Pathway to Home Parsonage Project, a fund-raising effort to purchase an approximately 1,700-square-foot, three-bedroom home in Claremont, Upland, La Verne, or North Pomona and offer it to pastoral staff at a subsidized rate. The down payment and financing structure is laid out openly for transparency.
Baptism and Membership
Baptism at North Hills is described as a public and personal declaration of an inward decision. The church teaches that baptism does not save a person; rather, salvation comes first, and baptism is the visible evidence of that decision, identifying the believer with Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection. Anyone wanting to be baptized is encouraged to talk with the pastoral team and to share their faith story as part of the service.
Membership is handled through a self-paced online course with six short videos and an optional companion workbook. Those wishing to join or transfer membership from another Adventist church can complete a short request form, and the church follows up to walk through the next steps together.
Special Events and the Heart and Mind Summit
Beyond its weekly rhythm, North Hills hosts a few signature gatherings. The Heart and Mind Summit is a free annual conference that focuses each year on a different mental health topic, including depression, anxiety, and relational dynamics, and offers practical tools for everyday life. The summit is also recorded as a podcast, available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and Podbean.
Other recurring offerings include Financial Peace University (free to participants), the Monkey Butler improv workshops, Explore Faith Nights, Vacation Bible School, and the Heart and Mind Summit, all of which are scheduled through the Church Center calendar. Giving to the church is handled online through Tithe.ly and supports both the local budget and the broader Southern California Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, with all tithe sent on to the conference to fund pastoral salaries and denominational ministry.
Getting Connected
Anyone curious about North Hills is invited to plan a visit through the church's connect card; the church will share more about the service, help pre-register kids, answer questions, and send a small gift. The Church Center App is the central hub for groups, events, registration, and directory. Worship and messages are livestreamed every Saturday at 11 a.m. and archived on the church's YouTube channel, and donations can be made securely online at any time.
For visitors driving in, North Hills sits on North Mountain Avenue in Claremont, a city in the eastern reach of Los Angeles County near the foot of the San Gabriel Mountains, and the church extends a warm welcome to anyone who shows up on a Saturday morning, in person or online.