The Vallejo Drive Church has been part of the community for over a hundred years, and in addition to providing a vibrant faith community for generations of families, has been integrally involved with health, education and community ministry in Glendale. Below are just a few notes from our church’s history.  Vallejo Drive Church was originally organized as the Glendale Sanitarium Seventh-day Adventist Church into the Southern California Conference on July 23, 1924 with 80 members.  In 1928 with generous support from the Sanitarium, the Conference organizations, and the “40 Cents a Week” from the members, an attractive 600 seat sanctuary was erected at a cost of $32,000.

Another significant history fact is that on the brink of the Great Depression, the members were able to cap it all off with a fine refurbished pipe organ for $4,500.  Between the years of 1957-1967 the membership grew and church seating became a weekly crisis. Under the inspired leadership of Pastors Campbell, Escobar and Pelt, the congregation found themselves 10 years and $1 million later in an adequate, debt-free, new church home. The new church was dedicated in November, 1967. In 1964, the church program-bulletin bore for the first time the name—Vallejo Drive Seventh-day Adventist Church.

The church has existed on the current site for over 60 years.  A lot of history has passed and many wonderful people have come and gone during that time. Our church has been a stalwart institution in our community. It has stood for excellence and inspiration on many fronts.

Four key characteristics set Vallejo Drive Church apart in our community.  Part of our identity is the excellent preaching—the key ingredient in the growth of our church. Our pastoral staff takes seriously our heritage of providing inspiring, practical preaching about God’s grace, love, and life principles.  Another key is the excellent music, which dates back to the installation of a pipe organ in 1929, opening the doors for a rich musical heritage. We have been, and continue to be blessed each week by talented musicians—outstanding organists, chancel choir, praise team and a myriad of performers who bring excellence to our worship. We are committed to praising God with all that is uplifting and inspirational.  Thirdly, excellent Sabbath School programs draw people of all ages. Kids Connection, T4C (Teens for Christ), The Beacon (Youth), Young Adults, and our outstanding four adult classes (including one in Spanish), meet every Sabbath morning. Every branch of Sabbath School has its own unique way of presenting spiritual lessons in practical ways. Sneak a peek in the children’s classes and you will see kids singing, painting, coloring, and dramatizing Bible stories.  Lastly, our community services such as Laundry Love, Home Again LA, SOS Thrift Store and Food Bank, and Pathfinders Club, to name a handful, positively impact our community's needs. Through members who give of their time, talents, and resources, we help to answer Jesus' prayer for His Father's will to "be done on earth as it is in heaven."  

As of September 13, 2025, Vallejo Drive Church has embarked on a new way of presenting ourselves in the community. Grace has been a big part of our character and spiritual focus, as our URL has been www.graceunconditional.com for over 20 years. With that said, we want to be known as the church on the hill where grace is experienced, studied, and shared with all. We've decided that our outreach in the community will be known as Grace Hill. We're leading with our character and mission, rather than just with the name of our church. So we've placed our church motto "Grace on the Hill" intentionally in front of our church name. We want grace in our church and community to be bigger, louder, and the most prominent feature of our character and mission to the world.

ARCHITECTURE
Vallejo Drive Church of Seventh-day Adventists
Architect: Robert Burman
In an article about Vallejo Drive SDA Church the Los Angeles Conservancy  shares this description and history: "Vallejo Drive Church is rare in ecclesiastical buildings, with a round, folded-plate roof and a circular sanctuary and a delightfully playful take on Mid-Century Modern. . . Completed in 1967, the church was designed by local architect Robert Burman of Burman, Clow & Rasmussen. He was an Adventist himself and a prolific church designer, completing more than eighty-five of them on the West Coast during his career. Burman said the Glendale church was one of his favorites."