Staff
Meet our pastoral and administrative staffWho We Are
Church Pastors & Staff
Our pastors and staff are available to serve you in whatever capacity they are able. There is always either a Pastor or an Elder on call, so if you have a spiritual emergency, even after office hours, don’t hesitate to reach out. Our church office hours are currently limited due to Coronavirus restrictions, so if you need to come by the office, please make an appointment with the appropriate staff member.
OFFICE
5699 Academy Drive
Paradise, CA 95969
MAILING
PO Box 1266
Paradise, CA 95967
Phone: (530) 877-4454 | Email: Steve.Hamilton@nccsda.com
Pastor Steve Hamilton
Lead Pastor
Steve Hamilton is the Lead Pastor of Paradise Adventist Church. The Hamiltons—Steve, his wife Delinda, and their 3 children, Katie, Ashley, and Andrew—had just moved to Paradise barely a month before a wildfire devastated the community in November of 2018, destroying their new home and all their belongings. Instead of pulling up stakes and returning to somewhere more familiar, Steve and his family decided God was calling them to stay in Paradise and minister to the traumatized community.
Before moving to Paradise, Steve spent six years as the Youth Ministries Director in the Rocky Mountain Conference, and prior to that, he was pastor to another ridge community in Oakhurst, California.
Pastor Larry Graack
Youth Pastor
Larry was born and raised in Arizona. He attended high school and community college in Hesperia, California. He went to Pine Springs Ranch Camp and had an encounter with God and initiated his desire to to pursue youth ministry afterward. He went to Pacific Union College for a degree in theology and spent a year and a half in South Korea as a student missionary. He is married to his wife, Bridgette, and enjoys chess, Jiu-Jitsu, fishing, and kayaking. “I am more in love with Jesus than ever before, because He has transformed my view of myself, others, and how beautiful He is in my life. Because I have experienced such a depth in inner transformation I am currently very interested in further study in psychology; I want to bridge mental health practices and the beautiful message of gospel freedom. “
Pastor Tom Adams
Associate Pastor
Tom is a native Californian, and began his Paradise journey, before he was a year old. He was raised in the Paradise Adventist Church and graduated from Rio Lindo Academy in 1966. In 1969, he and Nancy were married and had 2 sons – Jeremy & Chad. They have been blessed with 5 wonderful grandchildren!
After graduating from PUC and receiving his M.Div. at Andrews University, his Pastoral Ministry has taken him and his Family to the Central California Conference, Hawaii, Washington, Nevada, Southern California, and finally back to Paradise in 1997, Before retiring, he served as a Chaplain at Feather River Hospital, then Chaplain for Paradise Hospice.
Following the Camp Fire, he is serving as a part-time associate Pastor.
Dawn Horning
Administrative Assistant
Born in Paradise, Dawn has spent most of her life in Northern California. From childhood, Dawn has loved serving God through spending time with people and animals. Those passions have influenced her choices in education and focus in her life. After completing an associate degree in Religious Studies from Weimar College, Dawn took Veterinary Assistant training and worked as an intern at WildThings where she cared wild and exotic animals. Once she finished her Vet Assistant training, she completed her B.S. degree in Outdoor Leadership from Southern Adventist University with a Naturalist emphasis and interned at the Chattanooga Zoo. This was a dream come true since Dawn loved caring for animals and sharing the wonders of God’s creation with people through interpretation. Soon after completing her education, Dawn became a mother to two precious children and chose to stay home for a time to care for her family. Now Dawn loves to serve God by working as an Administrative Assistant for Senior Pastor Steve Hamilton and the Paradise Adventist Church office.
In her free time, Dawn and her wonderful husband Devon stay busy caring for their 13 acres in the mountains. Her hobbies include horse back riding with family on on the trails surrounding her property, camping, backpacking, four-wheeling, and spending time with friends and family.
Chuck Wisener
Center Street Warehouse Manager
Mark Lockwood
Business Manager
Mark Lockwood was born in Hawaii and grew up in the Central Valley of California. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration from Pacific Union College in 1995, before starting a career in Adventist Academy Finance.
Mark has an amazing wife, Jenny, and three fantastic children. Previously at Lodi Academy, Mark took on the challenge as Business Manager for the Paradise Adventist Church in 2020 and is looking forward to the rebuild of our facility after the fire.
Hiking, dirt bikes, Jeeps, road trips, and potlucks are near and dear to his heart!
Joelle Chinnock
Director of Disaster Recovery & Development
Born and raised in the Napa Valley, Joelle attended school from elementary to college on the Pacific Union College campus completing her degree in Nutrition and Food Science at California State University, Chico and her dietetic internship at California State University, Fresno.
After working for two years at Feather River Hospital as a Registered Dietitian, Joelle decided to become a stay at home mom and spent the next 12 years raising and educating her precious children Jacob, Abigail, Caleb & Joshua.
In response to the devastating Camp Fire, Joelle recognized the immense need to get involved in the recovery effort and has spent the last 3 years searching for opportunities for the Paradise Adventist Church to be involved. This passion has lead to Welcome Home Kits, Love Paradise Clean Up days, the Camp Fire Shed Project, Love Delivers, Love Gives and the latest ministry Love Builds.
By far, time in nature is the biggest draw for Joelle outside of her family or community. Whether its backpacking, hiking, camping, waterskiing, snow skiing, or dirt bike riding, as long as it’s outside, she is happy.
Julie Kitto
Treasure and Administrative Assistant
Julie and her husband Gary moved to Paradise in 2000 where they owned and operated Clark Road Animal Hospital. Over the years they have been generously blessed by the church, school, and community of Paradise as they raised a family of 3 children and multiple critters.
Julie enjoys working with the Paradise Adventist Church as both an Administrative Assistant and a ministry volunteer. Being a part of the team prior to the Camp Fire of 2018 as well as afterwards has been a humbling and inspiring experience. The testimony of resilience, courage, compassion, and faith that has been demonstrated by this church and community has been profound. She is so thankful to be able to continue to live and serve among the community that has defined for her what it means to be a “Church Family.”
Delinda Hamilton
Associate Pastor
Delinda Hamilton was born in Georgia but spent her elementary years in Wisconsin and high school years in Ohio. She graduated from Andrews University in 2001 with her undergrad in Religion/Theology. She worked as a Bible worker, church plant coordinator, Griggs University liaison, and Family Life Coordinator.
She is married to her fun-loving, adventurous husband, Steve, and has 3 delightful children. Delinda has been a pastor’s wife for 20 years and has now become a pastor herself. She completed her Master’s in Pastoral Ministry in 2021. She coordinates spiritual development and pastoral care at the Paradise Seventh-day Adventist Church.
Her hobbies include four-wheeling, hiking, swimming, and hanging out with people.