All of the Adventist churches in the Las Vegas valley, plus some as far as four hours away, met recently for the annual Las Vegas Convocation. Each of the churches contributed something to the program—music, sound, projection, decoration, greeting, displays—even sermons.

Rosco Howard III, executive secretary of the North American Division, Silver Spring, Md., was the main speaker of the day. He talked about the mask that most Adventists wear during the Sabbath and how they act different during the week. Howard challenged the audience to be honest with themselves, with God, and with others.

"It really touched home with me," said Sondra Bartels. "I was very moved by his sermon and his alter call at the end. I re-dedicated my life to God because of his speech. That was the highlight of my experience at Convocation 2007."

"The exciting part for me is to see all these people together in one place," commented Tony Arias, associate pastor at the Mountain View church. "Many times, here in the valley, we move—because of a home, a job or some other reason. And then we don't see the church family we are used to seeing. But once a year we get everybody together and we get to see people we don't see all the time. I just think about what heaven's going to be like and how we're going to be able to spend eternity with a lot of the people we have known—all at one place, all at one time, praising God. So, I think, for me, convocation holds that—a little slice of it."