The future looked bright for Cynthia Quispe. When the 28-year-old social worker moved back to Bakersfield, she began attending her old home church. But like many other young adult Adventists, she found very little for her age group.

"When I came back to Bakersfield Central, I saw a couple of young adults here and there, but there were no activities geared toward bringing them together," she says. "I would go to church and then leave immediately after the sermon. There was nothing to connect me—no peer group."

A product of a sixth-generation Adventist family with a missionary background, it was hard for her to give up on all of the family's Adventist history, so she kept searching for a solution to her lack of church relationship. "I was really desiring to connect with other young adults my age and to be able to encourage one another in our walk with the Lord."

What was harder for Cynthia than not fitting in was realizing that God was nudging her to find the solution. "I am quite shy and prefer to observe or stay on the fringes," she says. She certainly never intended to lead a young adult group!

Reluctant or not, Cynthia submitted to the urgings of the Holy Spirit and began planning, which is when she became anything but usual. She set a date and tried to secure Sabbath school teachers. As the date loomed, there were no teachers and no assurance that any young adult would come. It seemed to her that "All my efforts were in vain."

It wasn't in vain. In fact, during this Moses-like moment, Cynthia was reminded of a quote that a friend had shared with her, "God doesn't call the qualified; He qualifies the called."

"God took care of everything, every step of the way," she says. "Often times the answers and solutions weren't clear until the last possible moment, which provided me with a chance to be blessed by getting to exercise my faith."

And the blessings haven't stopped there. The entire church has witnessed the miracle of the growing of the young adult group. "I'm really blown away by what God has done through Cynthia in these past few months," says Pastor Marlan Knittle. "He has taken a church that had absolutely no young adult ministry, and has started both a young adult Sabbath school and a Tuesday-night young adult group. I could never have done that. I don't have those skills. But God knew Cynthia did and put the burden on her heart."

And God continues to lead in an awesome way. At least three times a week, something is scheduled for the young adult group, which consists of college students, married people, parents with kids and singles. Between 30-40 young adults now choose between three meeting activities—Tuesday night Bible study, Sabbath school and a Saturday night social time. Many were disconnected from their church family or had no church connection in the past.

True friendships have formed and more opportunities have surfaced to fellowship, such as a monthly girls' night out and Sabbath afternoon Bible studies.

One disconnected 20-something was Mike Martinez. He told Cynthia that he would probably be out of the church if not for this group. "You guys have no idea how much the group means to me, and I pray every day it never ends," Martinez says.

Joy Cho, an Adventist elementary school teacher, desired close friends in this new community. But because she didn't feel connected, she went out of town to visit friends on weekends. But that's changed. Now she's found godly friends in town.

"God is definitely drawing them, and it is exciting to see them responding," says Cynthia. "I think that one of the most important elements to remember is that you love people into the church. Consistent loving and reaching out makes such a difference."