By: Jeanelle Grace Lorilla
To advance the kingdom of God and propagate the works of evangelism and discipleship, EFC-Kidapawan and EFC- Magsaysay, Davao del Sur gathered 19 pioneering leaders for a 2-day Church Planting Movement (CPM) training at Evangel Family Church, Landmark, Kidapawan City on January 26 & 27, 2018.
Guest speakers Pastor Patricio and Pastor Mivelyn Margate, an experienced church planters of EFC-Marahan, Marilog District passionately poured out to the participants their life lessons in church planting and their remarkable experiences as they live in the mountains among the lumads (natives). They testified that in spite of the resistance and persecutions in their beginning years, God never failed them and is sustaining them to do the work day by day.
They alternately shared their ministry principles in the succeeding sessions. The first topic was the subject of Faith, taught by Pastor Mivelyn. According to her, faith is the foundation of our relationship with Jesus Christ. The second session was about Spiritual Growth, she emphasized that as a Christian, we were not just to receive Jesus but we should desire to grow in our relationship with Him as well. Pastor Patricio continued the lessons in the evening session with the subject about Leadership. He discussed the five-point requirement of being a leader which sums up in parallel to King David’s life; a man after God’s own heart.
On the following day, Pastor Mivelyn started the day with the topic about Submission to Spiritual Covering. She explained the importance of order in the church and how submission to spiritual authority in church pleases the Lord. She highlighted that rebellion is the exact opposite of submission and if tolerated will bring destruction to the church. The last topic was Godly Guidance. The speakers emphasized that God’s calling is the highest yet the noblest calling because we are bringing the people to the Kingdom of God and without the guidance of the Holy Spirit, this task would be impossible.
They concluded that the ministry of church planting belongs to every member of the church. Young and old should be activated for fruitful ministry and that the goal of evangelism and mission work is to establish new churches and strengthen existing ones. They further stressed that we should not randomly scatter seeds with the hope that something grows. We need to strategically plant churches effectively and efficiently.
After the 2-day seminar, the participants went home with renewed commitment and enthusiasm to further the preaching of the gospel.
