By Maricel Ibañez
I was one of the privileged to join a life-changing seminar called Church Planting Movement or CPM at my home church EFC- Mati last month. I must say, all I gained there cannot be bought or exchanged with money!
There were 23 of us in that seminar, and I felt excited to be learning side by side with my EFC family members and our speakers Pastors Tony and Liza Angelias. Our Davao Oriental sections leaders, namely Pastor Emy Aquino and Pastors Glen and Marian Cheng, together with members from EFC-Macambol, EFC-Catmonan, and EFC-Punta, added to the total participants. This is the second time that EFC-Mati hosted a CPM.
One doesn’t have to be a full-time pastor to be a church planter. As one of EFC-Mati young people, I have always supported and joined CPM activities in our section. Every time I join, there are always fresh insights that encourage me to be part of what our church is called for. However, it’s not just really about the church as a whole; it’s really about understanding my being a Christian.
On our first session, Pastor Tony shared about spiritual attacks where he explained their symptoms, purposes and how to fight against these unseen enemies. On the second session, Pastor Liza shared about “The God of Every Situation” that gave me strength to speak the Gospel, to kneel before God during persecutions, and to move forward with a vision. We were baptized in the Holy Spirit, and there was peaceful emotional healing that took place in our sessions.
I learned from Pastor Liza that the secret to long life is serving God faithfully, and Pastor Tony said God always rewards faithfulness. Talking about reward, the CPM was truly one rewarding experience for me!
