After intensive search, new pastor joins SLO County congregation from Tanzania

The new pastor at Cambria Vineyard Church is a well-traveled minister who arrived here with his family after spending five years leading a congregation 10,000 miles away in Tanzania.

While that move may seem extreme, according to Adam Babcock, it’s all part of a pastor’s ministry.

In his three decades as a pastor, Babcock served at least five U.S. congregations, on both coasts and in the Midwest, before taking the leap to East Africa.

The decision to move back to the Golden State from Tanzania was motivated “by God,” Babcock said.

The return to California was something of a double homecoming for the family: Babcock was born and raised in the state’s Bay Area, and his father was born in San Luis Obispo County .

When pastor Gary White left Cambria Vineyard Church after faithfully serving since 2000, he left big shoes to fill.

A committee of church leaders launched an intensive hunt for a replacement, according to Phil Robnett, who led that group on its 10-month process.

“We spent a lot of time in prayer,” he said.

Eventually the group finally finished making an application form designed to help select the proper candidate.

“The Vineyard USA organization put it out on their website, and we got lots of responses,” Robnett said.

After reviewing them, the group selected the two best candidates and invited them to visit with the church and community for a few days, he said.

Babcock and his family came from Tanzania for the interview, and lo and behold: He got the job.

“We believe God invited us to make this decision and wants this person to be in our community,” Robnett said. “All of us were expecting the Holy Spirit to show us that this was the right person for our community and our congregation. And that’s what we got.”

Other factors in the decision were Babcock’s “experience as a Vineyard pastor, his multiple roles in years of ministry and in using the meaning of the Holy Spirit in his life,” Robnett said.

“He was unique in that his world was the world, not just California or the United States. That’s very important in our view,” he said. “We want people who are seeking God in their lives to come to us from wherever they are, whoever they are.

Another member of the search team felt Babcock was “100% what we were looking for … a perfect fit.”

“He’s doing an amazing job, already involved in and being a bridge to the community, letting them know ‘We’re here and we care about you,’” Kelly Ward told The Tribune. “He’s an amazing person, really energetic, very qualified and very focused on the church, the people in the church and the community.”

Who is Cambria Vineyard’s new pastor?

Babcock started in the ministry as a youth pastor at age 18.

He said as a teen he “sensed a deep overwhelming call from God to give my life to ministry.”

Born in Mountain View in 1975, he and his family moved to Broken Arrow , Oklahoma, when he was 14, where he got involved in a youth group of more than 300 students.

There he was given opportunities to serve the church and local community, as well as go on mission trips, he said.

“I have now been serving in ministry for 31 years and have no regrets,” he said.

He holds associate’s, bachelor’s and master’s degrees in ministry and is working on his doctorate.

His service has included being a pastor of theater arts at a large church in Dallas, Texas, and pastor for youth and young adults in New York City right after 9/11, he said.

He was then a youth, associate and lead pastor in Pickerington, Ohio, for a decade, then lead pastor in Hillsboro, Oregon, for five years before moving to Sala Sala in Dar Es Salaam in the East African country of Tanzania.

After another five years there, he took the call from Cambria Vineyard.

He began as pastor there on Aug. 4.

For the new pastor, it’s all about family and God

As the new pastor settles into his Cambria home, wife Leslie juggles her tasks at the church’s Re·Create Thrift Shop and helps to lead music for the congregation.

“We are enjoying getting to know the culture of Cambria and the surrounding community,” Babcock said. “Cambria Vineyard will continue to be a place for people of all ages and stages of life … a place to discover and pursue Jesus.”

Son Salem, 17, “is a senior at Coast Union High School and loves Star Wars and sci-fi,” his dad said. Daughter Selah, 14, “is a freshman at Coast and loves “running, reading … and coffee.”

Daughter Soleil, 20, attends Taylor University in Indiana, seeking dual degrees in psychology and dance.

The family patriarch loves “running, karate, exercise, hiking, biking and camping.”

“I enjoy a good movie and books … and coffee,” he said. “But my favorite thing to do is spend time with my family,” he said. “Being a husband and dad is my greatest joy.”

Amid all that, the Babcocks are reveling in (and slowly adapting to) the North Coast’s climate.

“I am learning to layer a lot,” he joked. “I usually start the day with four layers and end up going down to one throughout the day.”

About Cambria Vineyard Church

Cambria Vineyard Church began as home gatherings of worshippers in the 1970s. They founded the church in 1980, later buying a large, mid-downtown Cambria property at 1617 Main St.

After spending years raising funds, they built the church structures and later bought an adjacent building and land for the church’s Re·Create Thrift Shop.

The congregation is known for being a backbone of the 40-year free Thanksgiving dinner for the community.

That event is expected to return at the Cambria Veteran’s Memorial Building on Nov. 28, Babcock said.

The multi-church group that organizes the festivities expects to feed about 1,000 people that day, he said.

At Cambria Vineyard, Sunday services begin at 10 a.m.

For details, go to the website , the church’s Facebook page, Instagram feed or YouTube or call 805-927-5550 . Office hours are 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Tuesdays through Thursdays.