On February 8, 2020, the Lake City and Cadillac Division Street Seventh-day Adventist churches welcomed their new pastor Ariel Roldan and his family.

 

Pastor Ariel is a native of Argentina. His family traveled to Bolivia in the late 1970’s and to the U.S. in the early 1980’s. They settled in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania where he spent a good portion of his life.

 

It was there he was led to receive Christ as a personal Savior through the ministry of his youth leader, Bob Smith. The Lord led Ariel to study massage therapy in California and practice as a therapist in Hermosa, South Dakota. From there he was led to church-plant in Columbus, Ohio. Once the congregation was discipled and large enough to sustain itself, he went back home to Pennsylvania to study nursing. A semester before completing his nursing studies, he felt the conviction to leave nursing and attend Andrews University to enter the ministry full-time.

 

While completing his under-graduate and graduate degrees, he was part of the pastoral team at the Village Seventh-day Adventist Church near St. Joseph, Michigan, and he also became a naturalized U.S. citizen. He completed his degree, Master of Divinity, in 2012 and began pastoring at the Oakwood Seventh-day Adventist Church and Romanian Company Church in Taylor, MI, and two years ago added the Monroe Seventh-day Adventist Church.

 

Pastor Ariel is married to Dalyn Garcia-Garcia, presently a full-time mom to their two daughters, Gianna and Anayah. Dalyn’s profession is a Social Worker. She has had extensive professional psychiatric experience, is knowledgeable in Multi-Systemic Therapy for at-risk teens/family, and has provided developmental assessments to young children through Regional Education Service Agency. Dalyn is a native of Puerto Rico.

 

Pastor Ariel enjoys discovering new ways to use many forms of technology for ministry such as audio and video podcasts. He also enjoys drawing, photography, music, and playing/watching soccer. One of his favorite activities is reading.

 

He continues to pray for God’s guidance to assist him in how to best utilize his experiences and skills to reach out and serve Cadillac and Lake City through the Seventh-day Adventist Churches in these communities.