Church grew in number; found new place of worship

By: Pastor Rachel Engreso

Candon City is the gateway to Ilocandia and the Cordilleras, Ilocos Sur, Luzon. It is known as the City of Arts and Culture and dubbed as the Tobacco Capital of the Philippines.  This city has a rich historical background and a home to an estimated 70,000 people.  It is a vast field for spreading the message of the Gospel.

God in His greatness strategically place a church in the middle of the bustling City of Candon, named Evangel Family Church, where I am privileged to pastor for eight years now.  God has raised  leaders in the church who are devoted in preaching the gospel and are committed to carry out Christ’s mission.

As the years went by, we perceived the need to look for a bigger place of worship as we cannot fit in the place that we were presently renting.  By the grace of God, He added members to the church which led us to start our quest to look for a better, bigger and more accessible to church member’s diverse addresses.

We were excited in the beginning as we started the search however doubts crept in when we learned the high actual rental fees. There were moments of hesitations and discouragement.  One day, we came across a saying that read  “God doesn’t give us a dream that matches our budget; He’s not checking our Bank Account. He’s checking our Faith.” It became a rhema to us to continue with our pursuit. The setbacks served as a challenge to increase our faith in the Lord. In the natural, it seemed impossible especially if we will look at our church financial stability.  Nevertheless, we believe that God is on our side and He will give us the strength to push through.

In Matthew 7:7, the Bible says “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”  We declared this verse as we brought our petition into God’s throne room. After 2 months of praying about this particular request, He finally granted our heart’s desire.

On September 9, 2018, we gathered as one EFC Candon family and dedicated the new place of worship that God has given us.  We stood in the presence of God together with JECPP’s Luzon Regional Director, Rev. Jetro and his wife Rev. Annaliza Novero, whose lives God has used to guide, support, and care for us.

By God’s grace EFC Candon will continue to carry the testament of Gods goodness, favor and faithfulness.