Pastor Adam Riojas is the Evangelism/Outreach pastor at Calvary Chapel Oceanside. Pastor Adam was born and raised in the San Diego area, and graduated from Oceanside High School (go Pirates!) Up until his late 20s, Adam led a very adventurous and worldly life. Growing up, Pastor Adam had to learn how to defend himself against the rough crowd of peers that surrounded him. People soon figured out that he wasn’t someone to trifle with. In high school he was athletic and broke many of his school records, most of which remain unmatched to this day. In adulthood, Pastor Adam lived for a few years in Hawaii, selling real estate and jet-setting. If God even entered his thoughts, He only remained there briefly before being discarded as unwelcome.
In the early 1990s, life as Pastor Adam knew it came to a screeching halt. He was sent to prison for a crime he didn’t commit, with a sentence of 14 years to life. Within months, Adam met Jesus face to face and accepted Him as his Lord and Savior. He became a force to be reckoned with in the prison, refusing to be intimidated as he enthusiastically proclaimed the gospel to anyone and everyone, whether they wanted to hear it or not. He was threatened more than once, but refused to back down. He made friends and he made enemies, but through the power of God, many of his enemies not only became friends but also became brothers in Christ. As his enthusiasm began to be tempered with spiritual maturity, he was able to minister to his fellow inmates, leading many of them to the Lord and eventually becoming a pastor in several of the different areas in which he was incarcerated.
Throughout the years, even though most people believed that he was innocent, they told Adam he would probably never be able to go home. But Adam knew otherwise. He believed God had great plans for him, which included his freedom. However, one day Adam told God that it didn’t matter anymore whether he stayed or left, he was going to serve Him with his whole heart wherever he was, even if that meant staying in prison forever. It was shortly after that time that circumstances all worked together and Adam was set free.
The first night after he got out of prison, Adam found Calvary Chapel Oceanside and attended a service. He knew this was his church home, and began attending regularly. Eventually he began getting involved in various ministries, and completed the church’s Intern program. At the same time, he was also running a handyman and construction business that had begun to flourish to the point where he had to turn away work.
While he was in prison, one of Adam’s dreams had been to build a beautiful house from the ground up. God was gracious in providing Adam with everything he needed to make this dream come true, and he has just recently completed building an extraordinary five-bedroom house in Fallbrook, on five acres of breathtaking land that includes a small forest, ponds and a running stream.
Less than a year after he completed the Intern program, Adam was asked to come on staff as the Evangelism/Outreach pastor. He accepted the position and has embraced it wholeheartedly. He is a true example of a man whose heart is on fire for God, and who puts Him first in everything
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