Archive for year: 2013
Celebrating God’s Faithfulness…….EFC Cebu at 25
Evangel Family Church Cebu celebrated its 25th anniversary with the theme: “25 Years Of God’s Faithfulness”. A church that was consigned to be closed down after a few years of existence is now a vibrant community of believers impacting lives in Cebu City and throughout the Central and Eastern Visayas Region.
The Call – Hard times, Faithful God
“Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations” Deuteronomy 7:9
It all started with a vision. A vision by Rev Dr Robert Lim to plant churches in the Philippines to touch lives and point them to the most faithful one, our Lord Jesus Christ. In 1993, a young missionary couple, Revs Chuck and Jocelyn Chua, answered the call to lead EFC Cebu after four hard years of pioneering work by Revs Andrew and Rowena Kwong, followed by a year of interim service by two young lady missionaries. Since its inception, countless challenges of some sort confronted the ministry that at times shook the foundation of the church to its very core. Praise be to God that the leaders stood still! From the house church with a few attendees has emerged today a dynamic disciple-making and missions-minded church, deeply rooted in the scripture and reaching a needy community along with 157 outreaches across the Central and Eastern Visayas. Truly, God is faithful forevermore.
Anniversary Service
As EFC Cebu marked its 25th anniversary, we looked back on the people who shaped the church to where it is today. Rightly so, it was fitting and proper to honor Rev Drs Robert and Marion Lim on such an occasion. Activities included a serenade by the community choir with a Chinese song entitled “Path of Grace” and a song presentation from the Bautista Clan. Known to many in EFC Cebu, the Bautista clan is a clear testament of God’s faithfulness. The godly heritage that cascades down to the younger generations traces its root to the family patriarch, the late Bro Auguro Bautista Sr, an early pioneer and faithful member of the church. Glory be to God.
The celebration last June 9, 2013 was a day worth celebrating with the presence of God’s faithful servants, Rev Drs Robert and Marion Lim. Truth of the matter is, we dearly consider ourselves part of their spiritual heritage. Little Chelsea Bautista presented a beautiful bouquet to Pastor Marion, and ElRoy Chua honored them with a hand-painted portrait done by Bro Antonio Vegas, an artist from our community who was powerfully converted to Christ.
Rev Marion Lim shared on The Foundation of Integrity. She stressed on the pressing issues of honesty and justice or impartiality to be embraced by Christians. She also underscored some practical teachings like integrity in paying our tithes, first fruits, pledges, paying off our debts and integrity in dealing with people. Truly, the people felt so blessed and motivated to walk humbly with Jesus and experience His faithfulness. Indeed, it was a timely message for the occasion. God is strategically re-positioning us for His divine manifestation as Evangel Family Church Cebu launched into a new era.
Though it was good to see the hall being jam-packed with people, let alone the door gifts, the celebration was ultimately not about numbers. The 25th church anniversary celebration was a celebration of God’s great faithfulness.
Well Done!
Following the joyous Sunday morning celebration, the church leaders organized a special dinner at the Ching Palace Restaurant to continue its celebration of God’s faithfulness by honoring yet again Drs Robert and Marion Lim. The event was also graced by the presence of JECPP’s Section Leaders of Central and Eastern Visayas. The picture of all the different generations of leaders of EFC Cebu was quite a sight.
Grace Bongabong and Sheryl Gabule emceed the entire evening with Govardhan Requierme as the worship leader. Sumptuous dinner was served with gladness by the restaurant personnel to the joy of all. It was indeed a very delightful dinner as the ‘sweet’ fellowship around the table was evident in the faces of the Evangelites.
Pastors Robert and Marion Lim were overwhelmed at the creative expression of the leaders’ gratefulness to both of them. ‘The Heritage’ was a 16-min video shown to remember how their lives were instrumental in planting the Cebu work in the 1980’s, salvaged it in the 1990’s and helped it grow through the years. Their exemplary lives and works for almost half a century have been bearing fruit like a heritage tree and are inspirational in the formation of the Robert and Marion Lim PEACE Foundation. The said foundation is EFC Cebu’s answer to the five global giants in our community. Thus, the leadership deemed it appropriate to honor them for the godly heritage we truly are proud of.
Elroy Chua chose a very meaningful song entitled, ‘Pastors We Love You’ that was rendered by Christine Mae Diaz. As all the leaders sang in unison the chorus with the last phrase, ‘my child well done’, it made Pastors Robert and Marion Lim closed their eyes in thankfulness and worship to the Lord for such an honor He allowed them to receive. Pas Chuck Chua, Pas Jay Bautista and Grace Bongabong’s family paid them tributes and testified how the Lord used the couple’s lives to help them grow in their Christian walk.
Pastors Robert and Marion were completely unaware that the dinner was specially planned in their honor. But they stood up with such thankfulness and humility at the wonderful works God had done these past 25 years to the church through their lives. Pastors Chuck and Jocelyn Chua taught the church to always remember where we come from and to give honor where honor is due. However, to their utter surprise, Pas Ammabelle Bautista, the one who spearheaded the entire event, also presented to both Pas Chuck and Jocelyn Chua a beautiful family portrait and a bouquet. Gratefulness begets gratefulness indeed!
Pas Robert Lim gave a short message encouraging the church to continue to nurture leaders for the next generation. He ended his message with a very striking phrase that ‘in every seed is a forest’. It was amazing how his message was in line with the theme of the video presented for them on the ‘Heritage Tree’, depicting their lives as a seed that grows to be a huge tree that is bearing so much fruit up to this time.
With such an inspirational night, it was indeed a job well done by the Board of Trustees of the Robert and Marion Lim PEACE Foundation, who cooperated and contributed to its victory in teaching ‘thankfulness’ to the younger generation by honoring Pastors Robert and Marion Lim as well as our Senior Pastor and his wife, Pastors Chuck and Jocelyn Chua. To God be the glory for giving us a momentous 25th anniversary. Amen!
A Call for Fresh Imaginations and New Stories In JECPP
Imagine a visual and hearing impaired child. Do you envision remarkable and unique abilities? Or you only see specific needs and limitations? For most people, the special child compared to the typical kid, is obviously the inferior one.
Now imagine again. This time, dream of better things. Can you see lively colors dancing away in the shadows in his eyes? Can you hear laughter and music streaming in to the silent void of his mind? Can you see and hear the call for a brand new world? Jesus said, “I am making all things new”.
The challenge for fresh imaginations in the Philippine cities and villages marks JECPP’s National Church Planters Convention this June 2013. Conference speakers Rev Dale Lim, senior pastor of Evangel Family Church – Singapore and Rev Dave Gibbons, founding pastor of New Song Church in Los Angeles, courageously echoed the call of Jesus to renew His church.
This year is JECPP’s 20th in the Philippines. Many years ago, JECPP imagined to plant 100 churches before the year 2000. In December 1999, the vision was fully realized. Looking back and now realizing the fruits of its labor, this ministry has built more than 700 churches all over the nation and deployed 18 batches of bible school graduates to the field. The small team of Singaporean missionaries from Singapore has now multiplied to more than 600 JECPP pastors and volunteer church planters laboring in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.
Pastor Dale especially took note of all the minister’s grown children, representing the past years their parents have dedicated to the ministry. “I look at our missionaries’ beautiful sons and daughters, and I wonder what God has in store for them. Humans long for a better world. What do you imagine God can do for your children and your community?” Pastor Dale threw the question to the more than 200 JECPP ministers from Luzon, Central and Eastern Visayas, Western Visayas, and Northern and Southern Mindanao regions during the three-day convention held at Cebu Parklane International Hotel, Cebu City.
For the church to “re-imagine” means it must constantly find its relevance to the society instead of clinging to sluggish practices inside church buildings, he said. Pastor Dale pointed out that we are called to participate in God’s imagination of a new heaven and a new earth in Revelations 21:1-5. Since Genesis, we are part of God’s story in creating a new world. Just like Adam, we are also tasked to till the ground to make it fruitful. It’s not a perfect world yet, he said.
For JECPP to be able to discern the needs of the cities and small communities, Pastor Gibbons, on the other hand, emphasized the prayer of Apostle Paul in Ephesians 3:16 where he asked for strength to the “inner man”. The church can become a new man of understanding and power and love to be able to experience God’s immeasurable ability to transform societies, he said.
JECPP plays a special part of God’s geographic revolution. JECPP’s churches are mainly concentrated on rural and tribal communities which are very precious to God. Jesus was a carpenter from an insignificant village. “That’s why he loves the villages”, he said.
To emphasize that “big things” can happen in small communities, Pastor Gibbons shared about a community in California called Sta. Ana. Recently, a young man with his group went out to the streets to share Jesus. He chanced upon an elderly woman who was being revived by the paramedics due to heart attack. He accompanied her in the ambulance. On the way to the hospital, however, her heart stopped. After the woman was declared dead, the young man asked the medical team if he could pray for her. Five minutes after the prayer, the dead woman sneezed and woke up. The paramedics were shocked. “Do you believe in God,” the young man asked one of them. “How could I not?” came the reply.
After the message of Pastor Gibbons, Rev. Andrew Kwong led the closing prayer. “We have to reimagine our ministries,” he continued to stress. “Our church attendance and prayer meetings are not picking up. We can’t rely on what we know and want. We’ve got to ask what the Holy Spirit wants.”
Pastor Dale also continued to challenge the pastors to imagine new places. By the prompting of the Holy Spirit, the burden for Philippines a decade ago has now expanded to new ministries in Japan, China and South Africa. He also cited examples of how church growth in EFC-Singapore is manifested on helpless communities of children. In Cape Town, South Africa, EFC-Singapore has opened a ministry for children afflicted with HIV. In Singapore, the church supports a non-government organization, called “the Lighthouse” that cares for and educates visual and hearing impaired children. Because the Lighthouse population is relatively small, it has not met the government’s
criteria for funding.
But seeing the need, EFC-Singapore donated computers and other technological facilities that would give way to the Braille Refresher, a breakthrough of the traditional Braille system. Through this technology, these special children’s learning and recreation are now enhanced.
God must have done lots of imagining when he built the heavens and the earth, but human kind is the ultimate point of God’s imagination because we are His highest creation, Pastor Dale said. He encouraged the JECPP pastors to keep on despite failures and disappointments. He said God continues our stories even though there are dead ends in our lives. “With Jesus, we can imagine again,” he added.
“We came to Lighthouse without any religious agenda. Jesus did not tell us to go there and let them say the ‘sinner’s prayer’. We went there to help. We dare to re-imagine ourselves.”
Free to Roam The Earth
Why did God confuse the ancient builders so they could not congregate in a tower that reaches the sky?
Big is good, but it is not the definitive calling for the church, said conference speaker Rev. Dave Gibbons in JECPP’s National Church Planting Convention this June 2013 at Cebu City. Pastor Dave has just confirmed JECPP’s God-given direction of birthing “rabbit churches”. Compared to a mega elephant church, a rabbit is a fairly small but lithe and fertile creature that produces many young. These little agile ones can swiftly roam the land and reach nook and cranny of the harvest fields.
Pastor Dave cautioned the church to remember the Tower of Babel where God’s people thought they could dominate the earth through a massive structure. God’s calling, he said, is not for the church to go up and reach the sky. “We are called to spread and fill the whole earth. We are called to be free.”
The stark imposing tower represents man’s prideful idea of what a great and successful ministry is. One problem of this belief is when it reduces the minister’s focus to activities inside the church building, putting too much emphasis on control, structure and numbers.
“Man’s direction is to be famous. We thought the bigger the buildings, the more people attending the services, the better. We thought that if we have to reach the city, the church has to be in a prime location. But what would the church look like if it’s not placed on a piece of land?” said Pastor Dave, referring to the misplaced importance on established order instead of people.
Another Tower of Babel mentality, according to Pastor Dave, is when the minister has become oblivious to unique God-given dreams to individuals in the church. “We believe that people in our church are there to carry out our vision? Where is that in the Bible?”
When the church does not welcome individuality and differences, people are placed in a box. “When we are kept in a box, we start to act weird. We look and sound the same,” he remarked. “We think we are so cool, yet we are just one box.”
He challenged pastors to release people and affirm the destinies and dreams God has placed in their hearts in their own communities. “Our job is to empower people to follow their own calling so they can have an impact right where they are. Why are we taking much of their time coming to a building?”
Pastor Dave said that the church must recognize every member as an ambassador, and believe that God gives each believer wisdom to reach his or her world. He cited a “borderless” church called “The Legends” made up of more than a hundred fashion icons, business executives and artists who meet every Thursday night in their own offices to pray for New York City. “They are not meeting in a church building, but they are a congregation too,” he explained. Two years ago, three individuals from the top fashion industry decided to meet weekly to pray for the city. This calling is now catching fire.
Aside from the calling of the church to free people, another key point shared by Pastor Dave is for the church to bless the whole earth. “When you face your congregation, do you see a crowd or you see faces? Blessing is seeing them and knowing their stories.”
When God disrupted men’s massive masterpiece, there was disorder and misunderstanding. Eventually, however, the people were forced to scatter on the face of the earth as how God intended them to be. “Chaos, criticism and confusion are context for creativity,” was Pastor Dave’s encouragement to the JECPP spiritual leaders and pastors. Recently emerging from last year’s turbulent organization crisis, JECPP is now at the crucial juncture of healing and restoration.
“If you’re not being criticized, then something must be wrong with you,” was Pastor Dave’s straightforward cheer to the more than 200 JECPP workers who responded with laughter. “It’s normal for warriors to feel hurt,” he said.
Again, God’s boundless re-imagination for JECPP continues this year and for years to come ‘til His return.
Successful JECPP convention prevailed over crises
The culmination night of the JECPP National Church Planting Convention brought out the blending of Asian voices in one chord of praise to the Almighty Father who loves all nations. More than 350 Filipino and Chinese delegates and Singaporean missionaries converged at the Cebu Parklane International Hotel, Cebu City in a phenomenal fellowship. The worship service opened with a warm gracious Filipino welcome, led by JECPP Chairman Rev. Peter Wee, to the smiling Chinese brothers and sisters.
On this convention’s final night, the transport crisis the JECPP delegates endured, the hotel disservice the Chinese ministers had to go through, and even the territorial row between these two nations were no big deal. Only the tender love of Jesus prevailed as the worship team led a mélange of English and Chinese songs. In gratitude, plaques of appreciation were given to the convention speakers Rev. Dale Lim and Rev. Dave Gibbons. And in behalf of all the spiritual leaders and the church planters, a tribute to honour our founding chairman, Rev. Dr. Robert Lim and his wife, Rev. Dr. Marion Lim, a plaque of appreciation was given together with a generous love offering which he gave back to JECPP to help in the furtherance of God’s work.
“Other nations boast of weapons of mass destruction, but you have the most powerful weapon of love” said Rev. Dave Gibbons, JECPP’s convention speaker, to the body of Christ. Pastor Dave who is of Korean descent is the founding pastor of New Song Church in Los Angeles, USA. Pastor David’s message was interpreted in Chinese by Pastor Casey Chan from EFC-Singapore.
The June 4 to 7, 2013 convention also marked JECPP’s 20th anniversary. It was simultaneous with the Chinese ministerial leadership training, also supported by EFC-Singapore. The Chinese conference was held in an adjacent hotel, and in the last service on June 6, the Chinese ministers, headed by Rev. Marion Lim, joined the JECPP pastors. It was an exceptional night of unity and encouragement.
In a letter by Pastor Marion to Pastor Wee right after the convention, she expressed the Chinese’ delight and excitement to have met face to face with their Filipino co-servants of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The two guest speakers, Rev. Dave Gibbons and Rev. Dale Lim, lead pastor of EFC-Singapore, challenged the pastors to “re-imagine”their ministries through the creativity of the Holy Spirit (see related stories). “Our traditional way of doing church was thrown off the window”, said Pastor Wee, referring to the fresh direction of the Holy Spirit to the JECPP communities in the Philippines, as emphasized by the speakers .
God’s will triumphed over mishaps
Early this year, JECPP started preparing for this rare international event, with EFC-Davao in-charge of convention materials and EFC-Cebu taking care of the logistics. Despite the hard work of church staff, the convention was rattled with a major crisis, not only felt by JECPP but by the whole Davao City which was the take-off point of the 42 travelling delegates from Southern Mindanao region.
On a rainy Sunday evening last June 2, an aircraft skidded off the runway during landing at the Davao Francisco Bangoy International Airport which led to a two-day airport closure. According to news reports, the incident paralyzed the airport operations of at least 20 flights per day that accommodate more than 4,000 domestic passengers alone. Moreover, Davao City lost an estimated P250 million income, according to news sources.
Though there were no casualties among passengers aboard the plane which blocked the runway for 48 hours after the accident, about 20 of those passengers were reportedly treated due to hypertension.
But tension also ran very high among the JECPP leaders who were already in Cebu anxiously waiting for their teams to arrive. The Southern Mindanao group booked on different flights from June 3 to 4 had to travel to General Santos City’s domestic airport, three hours by bus from Davao City, hoping to catch other flights to Cebu.
Re-bookings, prolonged delays, security risks and lost baggage were just some challenges encountered on the arrival day of the convention, not only by the Southern Mindanao team but also by the Luzon and Visayas participants, considering the domino effect of the airport crisis. Participants arrived late, hungry and some sick and nauseous from travel.
But on the eve of the convention, the tired travellers were quickly nourished with a sumptuous dinner and an uplifting message by Pastor Dale. With God’s covering mercy, all pastors and staff arrived at Cebu City on June 4, never missing out on what God has for them in this spiritual retreat.On the other hand, the Chinese conference concurrently held in a separate venue, also put up with accommodation mishaps. One of its sessions was even called off because its booked venue was mistakenly given to another hotel client.
But the three-day JECPP retreat was still truly a treat as ministers relished timely messages in the mornings, rested, relaxed and shopped for ‘pasalubong’ in the afternoons and enjoyed praise and worship in the evenings.
“God’s will still prevailed,” observed Pastor Judith Kintanar of EFC- Davao. “The convention turned out to what it’s meant to be. No more walls among us”, she said.
On the last night, the worship service ended with sweet goodbyes and frenzied picture-taking among elated JECPP leaders and pastors.
“There is more openness and camaraderie now compared to the past,” noted Pastor William Consular from EFC-Panabo.
5th Regional director and 6 ECME graduates
The event also saw the appointment of a Regional Director for the Western Visayas in the person of Rev. Benjamin Chavez. The JECPP spiritual leaders ordained Pastor Benjamin and his wife Pastor Lina who have served EFC-Ajoy for 21 years since their graduation at ECME. They have a 16- year-old son named Bl John and 11-year-old daughter Kezia.
Pastor Benjamin is the second Filipino who has joined the original Singaporean team of JECPP spiritual leaders. Another Filipino, Rev. Jessie Yu, was ordained Regional Director for Luzon last year.
Pastor Benjamin said his main concern as the new Regional Director is the unity, healing and restoration of the 215 EFC churches in Western Visayas. In the past year, JECPP experienced its most tumultuous crisis so far which rocked the organization, especially the Western Visayas leg.
The convention also commemorated ECME’s 18th commencement exercise. The prayer of consecration was led by Rev. Chuck Chua. Rev. Peter Wee and ECME principal Rev. Jessie Yu presented the certificates to the six graduates, namely, Ronzel John Camilo from Caloocan City, Jennyboy Cose from Negros Occidental, Leon Engreso, Jr. From Mauban, Quezon, Dwight Ryan Falla from Oriental Mindoro, Abel James Nanlabi from Oriental Mindoro and Marjohn Paclian from Iloilo City.
JECPP 10th Tribal Medical Mission
JECPP 10th Tribal Medical Mission
– A decade of giving hope to the weary
By La Donna S. Yap
Rev. Peter Wee, the chairman of Jireh-Evangel Church Planting in the Philippines (JECPP) and Senior Pastor of EFC-Davao led at least 60 enthusiastic volunteers from the church, JECPP tribal pastors and leaders, a group from Davao City Health Office, dentists and medical doctors to Marahan, Marilog District, Davao City to take part in the 10thAnnual Medical Mission of JECPP on April 24, 2013.
The team was welcomed with excitement and grateful faces of our tribal brethren who eagerly lined up for registration at 8:00 am in the gymnasium of West Marahan Elementary School.
Mrs. Beatriz Elvira
In an interview, one of the recipients of the Medical Mission, Mrs. Beatriz Elvira, 51, said that she and her family waited for the JECPP Annual Medical Mission for the whole family’s medical check-up. She added that without this mission, they would not be able to know their health condition.
Mr. Jolito Ambong
Mr. Jolito Ambong, 27, happily carried his son John Patrick to line up for the free medical consultation. According to Mr. Ambong, his son is always coughing,but they do not have the resources to bring him to the doctor. He exclaimed how blessed they are that the hospital (Medical Mission) came to them.
Ms. Ailyn Espera
Mrs. Ailyn Espera, 26, could not wait for the Medical Mission’s date. She was suffering from a constant tooth ache which disturbed her daily routine, but after benefiting from the free tooth extraction, she gleefully blurted, “the suffering is over!.
These boys were eagerly waiting for their turn to be circumcised. “Tuli” or circumcision, is a deeply cultural and hygiene-related procedure; it is a “rite of passage” for young Filipino males.
For the past 10 years, JECPP Medical Mission endeavored to act as a beacon of light and hope for our tribal brethren in Marilog District by shouldering medical expenses and providing services that typically require payment such as medical checkups, tooth extraction and Operation Tuli. These services were combined with the provision of free medicines, vitamins, deworming and immunization.
The annual event was supported by diligent efforts of Davao City Health Office and a number of local professional doctors.
All volunteers were offered the opportunity to witness, learn and get hands on experience in assisting local doctors. Even those who were volunteering outside of the medical rooms were able to support the smooth running of the day by admitting patients, recording their medical history and serving in the Pharmacy. Another group was also assigned to make and serve “lugaw”(rice porridge) to the recipients.
In particular, the 10th JECPP Medical Mission was able to extend support to 446 individuals with the provision of the following services:
345 availed of the free medical checkup
52 availed of the free dental service (tooth extraction)
35 availed of the free Operation Tuli Procedures
14 availed of the free Pneumococal Immunization
The Medical Mission is one of JECPP’s annual contributions to the work of God and to bring our tribal brethren to the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
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Meet the JECPP Medical Mission volunteers who labored unceasingly for 10 years:
- Dr. Rizaldo Gonzales
The first time I attended the JECPP Medical Mission, I saw firsthand how passionately the Singaporean Missionaries served my very own tribal brethren. As a Filipino doctor, I was challenged by how they left their families and used their own resources to serve the Filipinos wholeheartedly. That was my turning point, and ever since my wife and I, together with my children, supported and volunteered for JECPP Medical Mission.
In fact, our year will not be complete without it. My fellow medical practitioners whom I recruited to join also feel the same. I am humbled every time I saw the grateful faces of our beloved tribal brethren. To help them ease their pain and burden encouraged me to keep on coming back. For me, joining the JECPP Medical Mission is more than my social responsibility; it is my way of giving back to God what He has been blessing us with.
- Ptr. Judith F. Kintanar
The compassion from God motivates me to serve in the JECPP Medical Mission. To see the people being helped in their physical condition is a reflection that Jesus does not just care for our spiritual but also our physical condition.
Seeing the pastors- both from tribal and city, doctors, nurses and members of Evangel Family Church from Singapore and Davao who tirelessly work together to bless the unreached tribal people without any monetary incentives is very heart warming.
Sometimes, medical teams come straight from their night duties to join this mission. They have not returned yet to their families or gotten any rest, but they are still willing and delighted to offer their services yearly for the JECPP Medical Mission.
To see Pastor Wee and Pastor Christine, together with other Singaporean volunteers helping and always looking for means how to better serve and bless the Filipino tribal people, even with language barrier, is really an encouragement. Truly, love knows no language.
Lastly, knowing that Pastor Robert Lim and all JECPP pastors are praying and giving their financial and moral support motivates me to go on the task yearly in blessing the tribal folks without any hesitations.
Prov. 11:25 The generous will prosper; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed.
A spacious building and pastor’s wedding for EFC-Gensan
Digging for our humble beginning would lead me back to our first Sunday worship of six people in a small rented house in Dona Soledad subdivision, General Santos City on November 12, 2005. This birth of our small church is filled with hope, power and God dependency. This rented house church thrived through evangelism, bible study and invitations until the limited space was engulfed by the attendance.
The need for a much larger space was prevalent in every prayer meeting and in our personal devotion. Trusting in God’s provision kept us “Kingdom Driven” rather than considering set backs in our hands. On the next year of a budding church, God led us to transfer to a nearby place ( Lanton, Apopong ) since vast membership lived in that location. We landed in an abandoned Sari-sari store (Multipurpose building). On this year, we conducted our first film show crusade entitled Hell is Real. During the event, a woman came and maliciously disrupted the crusade by pulling the microphone plugs and generally created chaos. Truly our adversary, the devil, was unhappy with the salvations of souls in that event. But through God’s power, the woman just left the premises and the crusade ended successfully.
“If God is for us, who can be against us? ” was indeed an appeal for us to stay confident to face the realms of darkness. Convictions of the Holy Spirit sprouted in the hearts of everyone who attended the church services every Sunday. It was on the same year in 2006 that we invited our first guest speaker Pastor Tony Angelias ( EFC-Kidapawan ) to speak in our church service. Never did we expect the attendance to double. The Holy Spirit moved mightily. The Sari-sari Store building later couldn’t contain the growing attendance of the church. Thus, the need to transfer was greatly considered for the second time.
We moved from one place to another throughout the years, looking for a much larger building for our place of worship , until God provided us with His unwavering favor. An abandoned warehouse of about 300 Square Meters was rightly God’s answer to our fervent prayers. Members were overjoyed upon seeing the building that was so spacious. Pastor Wee and Pastor Christine came to see the building and affirmed that it is a very good place of worship. However the prospected building needed enormous renovation for flooring, electricity and water line installations, comfort room construction, and painting. Once again, that led us to bend our knees seeking the Lord for financial provision. God never failed our expectant faith. Our sincere gratitude went to Pastor Wee and Pastor Christine for initiating funds for the expensive renovation. We thanked God for JECPP, EFC-Davao, EFC-Tagum, EFC-Kidapawan, EFC-Mati, EFC-Marahan and all Davao Region churches who helped us in our renovation. Our young people came to church every day to help mix the cement, paint the wall, and carry loads such as hollow blocks, sand and cement while the adults brought snacks and lunch to our young people and laborers. It was indeed a display of Psalm 133:1 “ How good it is when brothers live together in unity ”.
We finished our extensive renovation in more than two months , yet blessings never stopped from coming. Pastor Wee called me up to say that Rev. Robert Lim wanted to give money to help us upgrade our sound system and instruments. I couldn’t contain what I felt inside. I wanted to cry. I lifted my hands in praise to God. On December 04, 2011 we celebrated our 6th Anniversary and Thanksgiving with Pastor Fabian Sumampong ( EFC-Polomolok) as our guest speaker. It was also on this occasion that we celebrated our first service in the newly renovated place of worship, making us ready to usher more and more souls to His Kingdom.
In these recent two-year span of my work here in GenSan, our faithful Lord gave me double blessings. After establishing our place of worship in 2011, He again gifted me with a companion in the ministry. On August 20, 2012, I was happily married to my lovely wife Jane, and God provided everything for our beautiful beach wedding. Now, we are doing our “King’s business” hand in hand as the Holy Spirit empowered us to do the ministry with great joy even in trials.
(written by Pastor Albert Poliño, Jr.)
GOD’S PRESENCE SHOOK DVO DEL NORTE YOUTH CAMP
Evangel Family Church Tagum has hosted Davao del Norte region Sec-A’s 3rd Youth Camp with the theme “RENEW YOUR PASSION” last March.
More than 70 young people from Kapalong, Florida, Carmen, Panabo, Kidaraan, Laak, New Corella and Tagum outstation churches were blessed with revival messages throughout the two days and three nights of fellowship.
I noticed the excitement and the hunger of the youth to encounter the Lord. Our hearts and minds were nourished in the night sessions where our pastors served variety of topics such as Renewing your passion, Pakigsuod sa Dios, Finish Well, Power to conquer with God, Built on a rock and Knowing your purpose. We also stretched our muscles and enlarged our friendships in our basketball and volleyball matches on the second day.
On our last day, we were grouped to share our personal testimonies. Stories from pastors and peers reminded us how great and faithful God is in our lives. We were more inspired to serve God. Disappointment was defeated that day because we were comforted by God through the encouragements we received.
A common problem mentioned by the young people during this sharing was persecution from family members when they received Jesus. One youth who is the family’s breadwinner was mistreated by his brothers when he wanted to work in the church. They wanted him to look for a more lucrative work instead and ordered him to stop attending church. Because of this, he backslid several times. He was thankful for the counseling time of the camp that enabled him to open his feelings and receive decision-making advice and guidance from pastors.
We also heard a testimony from a female youth. She and her siblings are also persecuted by their mother because her mother is very much against the church. When their mother sees them dressed and ready for church every Sunday, she would call them back in to their house and immediately assign chores.
Another testimony was shared by someone who has just attended church for three months only. He said he was rebel at a young age. He even had a gun and lived a violent life.
Before he met Chist, he thought that was the only way to live. But instead of being happy with the positive change in him, his family started to intimidate him the moment he came to church. He shared that every Sunday, he would throw his church clothes outside the window so he would not be caught by his mother. Then he would slowly go outside, quickly pick them up and put on for church. He said fought for his salvation because he got joy when God changed his life. He testified that during the youth camp, he was revived and have known God more.
On the last night of the camp, Pastor Rosario Simpas preached on The purpose of the cross. Wewent down on our knees; we remembered God’s sacrifice on the cross that gives us not even one reason to turn our backs on him. It was really the first time that I have experienced something this great that happened in the church. The place shook. We thought there was an earthquake, but there was none. The Holy Spirit literally shook us. Wow! God’s awesome presence was with us! We were crying. Voices were lifted out so loud, very desperate to touch God. The Holy Spirit was ministering to every heart. It was very good to see that despite the world’s wickedness, there is this young generation that finds God’s presence as the best thing life can ever have.
(written by Micah Simpas)