Beginning in 1985, a group of Spanish-speaking members of the Paradise Valley church began meeting in their own Sabbath school class. As the class grew, they decided to break away from the English-speaking mother church and find a facility where they could attract more Hispanic people through evangelistic outreach and one-on-one invitations.

The group was organized into a company in 1989 and given the name Paradise Valley Spanish Seventh-day Adventist Company.

By 1991, the little company had grown to the point that the conference reorganized them as the North Valley Spanish Seventh-day Adventist Church, and they purchased a little church on Peoria Avenue in Phoenix. Unfortunately, that church burned as a result of arson, and the congregation then purchased a former Phoenix court house and turned it into a church.

A group from the church wanted to continue ministering to the residents of the northeast part of the city, so in 2003, the conference organized the Paradise Valley Spanish church. The new congregation began renting King Lutheran Church, then later Echo Mountain Church.

Wanting their own church facility, the members and Pastor Claudio Martin began actively searching for a suitable facility for this growing, thriving church. A well-located building at 2536 East Greenway Road in Phoenix seemed perfect. It was large, and could seat more than 700 people. However, the asking price was $1,300,000 — much more than the congregation felt they could afford.

Arizona Conference Treasurer Kent Sharpe began negotiations with the owners of the building, which had been used as a large Bingo hall. They finally accepted his very low bid of $900,000.

The congregation was delighted, and went to work making plans for fundraising projects to pay for the property. Many of the members made significant sacrificial pledges toward the purchase.

Sabbath, July 19, was the official opening of the Paradise Valley Spanish church at their new facility. Arizona President Tony Anobile preached the inaugural sermon. "This is an exciting moment for the Hispanic community of Phoenix," he said. "Our brothers and sisters of the Paradise Valley Spanish church have been tested and found faithful. Surely the Lord has rewarded their faith by providing this beautiful facility for their use — and for His glory!"

"Today we have started a new chapter for the Paradise Valley Spanish church," said Martin. "This day we celebrate our first worship service in this beautiful place of worship. It is our prayer that many will be won to Christ as we minister together for Jesus in this community."

The church members have already been knocking on doors at nearby apartment buildings, inviting people to come worship with them at their new church. That first Sabbath, they had five visitors from these contacts, and the members have scheduled a total of 20 Bible studies with other contacts nearby.

Martin is a trained and seasoned evangelist, and is also pastor of the North Valley Spanish and Deer Valley Spanish congregations in Phoenix. He has scheduled Jose Marin, conference evangelist, to hold an evangelistic series in November.

Currently, 200 members worship at Paradise Valley Spanish, including approximately 50 children and many youth.