By: Loren L. Fenton
Milton adventist church member
November 12, 2022, was an exciting day for the Milton church, the oldest Adventist congregation in the Pacific Northwest, as Pastor Howard Tello was officially introduced as the new lead pastor for the Milton/Blue Mountain Valley/Mission (Athena, Oregon) churches by Brian Harris, UCC vice president for education.
“Pastor Howard Tello is a man of God, a powerful preacher, and a skilled Bible expositor,” said Pastor Lloyd Perrin, former lead pastor. “I am so pleased to have him and his family here to carry forward the pastoral responsibilities I have been privileged to lead for the last ten years. I pray God’s richest blessings for the Tello's in this new era of ministry in their lives.”
Tello, together with his wife Hannah and their three children, previously served the Chewelah and Deer Park churches in Northeastern Washington.
In his inaugural sermon, Tello shared, “The stronger the Christian’s connection is with God, the more impact you make on the people that surround you — even your enemies. In that connection, God gives super-human power. Not your power, but His.”