The Revival Center

Focusing on Family

By Camille DeVaul

Worship and ministries are truly a family affair at The Revival Center (TRC) in Paso Robles.

Third-generation pastor Gabe Abdelaziz preaches alongside his wife Dorothy every Sunday while their daughter Sarah-Kate leads worship. Every member of their family has found their way into ministry in one way or another.

And through everything going on in the world, their focus is on building family relationships. "We are not a religious center, we might be a church, but we are not a religious center," said Pastor Gabe. "We are a center that wants to build relationships, and that's really what we focus on."

The Revival Center journey started back in 1993 when Pastor Gabe wasn't even looking for it. At the time, he was taking a break from ministry, but like Sarah-Kate says, people are drawn to her father, and people kept asking him to lead a ministry.

So it was there, in their Adelaide home, where Alpha Beth Ministries was born.

At first, people were welcomed into the pastor's family living room in Adelaide, but soon they outgrew that and eventually found their new location off Ramada Drive, and the Revival Center Church was born under the Alpha Beth Ministries name.

Alpha meaning God, and Beth, meaning home, comes from Pastor Gabe's life philosophy: "If I could learn to put God first and the home second, everything will fall into place."

At TRC, they focus on building up families and refer to themselves as a family-integrated church — meaning the families worship together from start to finish.

And as a father himself, Pastor Gabe likes to reach out to and pray over the fathers of families.

He explains, "I have a real heart and a real passion for men in families."

They also have a real passion for the community.

Two years ago, Pastor Gabe started a group that prays over the Paso Robles Police Department and first responders. They meet at the PRPD at 8:30 a.m. Monday through Friday to pray over the officers and then walk over to the fire station for the same purpose.

Additionally, each Tuesday, TRC sets up a prayer tent at 9th Street and Spring Street from 12 to 3 p.m. to offer any help and prayers to people who need or want it. "We want to have our fingers in the community to let them know we're solid and we're here," said Pastor Gabe.

He adds, "We are here to offer hope. Sometimes there are very hopeless times for people and a lot of despair. We want to offer people hope, that they are going to get through this, whatever this is."

Sarah-Kate explains how proud she is of their church when it came to how they handled the first year of the pandemic. "I am very proud of not only my dad — our pastor — but our church because we were one of the very few churches in the entire county that, it may be controversial, but we didn't close," said Sarah-Kate. "We stayed open. We figured people need their faith more than ever."

Pastor Gabe went on to attend and minister at freedom rallies in Paso Robles and beyond. TRC welcomed many through their doors in that first year of the pandemic worshipping together in person. "I am really proud of the Revival Center that we stayed open, and we were a beacon during that really dark time," added Sarah-Kate.

This year, Pastor Gabe is celebrating his 50th year in ministry and on Aug. 4, he and Dorothy entered their 49th year of marriage — both a testament to their dedication to their faith and family.

The Revival Center is located at 3850 Ramada Drive in Paso Robles. They can be reached at (805) 434-5170 or alphabeth@tcsn.net.

Service times are Sundays at 10 a.m. and Wednesdays at 7 p.m., and services in Spanish on Friday and Saturdays at 7 p.m.