Last September 22, we lost a dear church planter named Pastor Jessa Lachica, assigned at Pinamalayan, Oriental Mindoro. She’s the youngest daughter of Rev. Salvador and Clarita Lachica. She’s resilient and strong in the Lord. She had a big heart for church planting seen in her own church and in more than ten cell churches she supervised.
JECPP Luzon held its 3rd Regional Retreat with the theme NextGen(To empower the Next Generation) in Making Disciples and Planting Churches at Teachers Camp Baguio City.
When God opened the doors of help, the pastors and members helped each other rebuild the church.
Excitement. Overwhelm. Delight.
Smile! Aside from the goodness and grace of the Lord, these people also make what Evangel Family Church Quezon City is today.
By Joven Sierra-Llabore
The end of May ceremoniously marked another beginning chapter for the Evangel Family Church (EFC) Quezon City as its leaders and members held their 3rd founding anniversary at the 6th floor of Marian Medical Arts Building.
May 31st might seem an ordinary day to others but not to Rev. Jessie Yu, Regional Director of EFC Luzon Region.
He considered this day as one of the breakthroughs made by Jireh-Evangel Church Planting Philippines (JECPP) as he blazed a trail of putting up the first Evangel Church in the National Capital Region (NCR).
Armed with the vision of stretching the wings of JECPP in reaching out those who are in dire need of the Word of God and hope through Jesus Christ, he, together with his family and ECME students, swooped to Luzon and found his nest at 27 Buick St. Fairview Quezon City where he conducted the first service last May 27, 2012 with 16 people ready to listen.
Three years has already passed, and the church has built its roots.
Homes have been visited.
Several approaches to evangelism have been tested.
Lives were transformed.
Many were reached out and water baptized.
Community services have been rendered.
And as the saying goes, “The rest is history.”
The church has proven its growth in numbers and has shown development through the lives of each member who voluntarily serves to disciple others.
“For three years, we have visited and did evangelism with a lot of homes and families and even coordinated with the Barangay Captains and Councilors for community projects,” said Pastor Jessie.
Praise and Worship Him! The church members start the anniversary by lifting their voices up and bowing their heads low.
“As a result, a number of people and families regularly attend the church from the surrounding community, not counting those from other cities within Metro Manila,” he added.
Celebrating its 3rd founding anniversary, the church was jam-packed with around 148 people to share in the momentous event.
Asked on the theme of the Sunday message which zeroed in on “Give Praise to the Lord”, Pastor Jessie explained why we need to, “Simply because we have seen how God has showed His grace and goodness to the church. He has given us more than a hundred people including children that attend every week plus the new place He has opened for us at a reasonable rate.”
“There are three significant events that happened in EFC-QC for the last three years: the numerous ‘Blessing the Community’ we have done to various barangays especially if there’s flood in the Metro, the visit of Rev. Dr. Robert Lim and Rev. Dr. Marion Lim during our Missions Sunday last September 28, 2014, and our moving to the new location now at the Marian Medical Arts Building on February 2015,” he narrated.
Give Praise to the Lord! Don in red, these young people render a special number that extols the goodness of God.
During the service, seven members were given the privilege to speak on “Evangel Quezon City and Me”.
“The main point of those testimonies was how the church made an impact on those selected people,” Pastor Jessie said.
“I found a niche here. I considered the church as my second home,” Bro. Alvin Jungco testified.
The fifteen-year-old Mark Quiambao confessed that he “used to wonder why the house across their home was throwing a party every Sunday because he found it noisy”. Nevertheless, when he was reached out and started to believe, he considered the church as agent of change in his life – from a timid and silent type of teen to an outgoing and talkative lad.
Grateful. Bro. Nelson shares how Evangel Family Church Quezon City made a 360-degree turn in his life.
Bro. Nelson Acedera thanked his daughter for inviting him to church. He considered the church as source of moral support, encouragement and transformation for his family.
Attack! Bro. Jobert can’t wait to munch the crispy skin of lechon.
Through the concerted effort of the members and leaders, several dishes were shared after the service.
Meet and greet took place as members from different community discipleship groups and cell churches in Veterans, Caloocan, and Taytay, Rizal were able to attend the celebration.
“The Grace and Goodness of God alone make Evangel Family Church-Quezon City what it is today”.
Take My body. Ptr. Jessie Yu, together with Ptr. Rachel Yu and the leadership team, leads the communion.
And for the years to come, Pastor Jessie said that EFC-QC will continue to “reach more souls and families; raise and disciple more leaders; plant more cell churches; send more missionaries in other parts of Luzon provinces; and plan for a much bigger place of worship as the Lord leads and provides.”
At the end of the day, he thanked God for sending good people to the church and for His provisions. He was also delighted seeing the people get to know God and grow in their love, faith, knowledge and service to God.
“I feel very fulfilled inside but I know there are more wonderful things and events to come and lives to be touched by God,” he added.
Surely, Evangel Quezon City is yet to tell more stories as the church has opened another chapter for new endeavors.
All praises and glory be to God alone!
by Joven Llabore
Holding the retreat for the second time, the Evangel Family Church (EFC) Luzon had it this year inside the metro with around 107 delegates coming from four sections: Mindoro, La Union, Batangas, and Palawan plus EFC Quezon City as the host.
Spending the holidays with the family or mountain climbing and skydiving with friends would be the best thing to start off the summer season; however, these gregarious campers consist of young and “once young” (as others would call it) gave up those ideas and humbly gave in to this amazing “stay-cation” with God.
So off they went from down south and uptown provinces and cities to the base church of Luzon at Fairview, Quezon City. Little did they know that this was one exhilarating three-day summer adventure that began on April 1.
“Equipping and Releasing the Next Generation” was the theme of the of year’s retreat, and the speakers mainly focused on re-infilling of the Holy Spirit, keeping the spiritual life attuned, and challenging the youth to take a step to answer the call.
Eager to experience the moving power of the Holy Spirit, the delegates listened attentively to the messages delivered by the speakers and savored the sweet presence of God during praise and worship. Altar call followed after each session.
Loud cries echoed out as lifted hands and voices were raised. Tears continuously fell as the young people were touched and filled by the Holy Spirit. Some received the gifts of the Spirit, others answered the call. God truly moved in and fully released His power and presence to equip them all.
The tasks performed by the leaders and the delegates were a bit physically and mentally demanding, nevertheless enjoyable. For some, being in Manila was like a dream come true. The campers toured around and strolled the two famous historical sites in the country: the Intramuros and the Luneta Park.
The young walked around the streets and went to a souvenir shop and busied themselves taking pictures with the calesa, the insignia, the building, and other “social media worthy” photos. Given an hour to relish the Luneta Park, each did not waste a second to enjoy and have fun with their friends.
They also enjoyed swimming at the pool on the last night of the retreat. Others preferred to talk with their new-found friends and elated themselves with stories they could laugh about.
Waving goodbye to each other the next morning was hard, but the friendship and the lessons they had built and learned would always be there until the next retreat. One thing was certain, they were now fully equipped and ready to be released for the expansion of God’s work as they confidently geared themselves with great IDEAS (Innovation, Dedication, Excellence, Anticipation, Speed)they learned in this youth convention.
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Testimonies of the young people are powerful in this three-day retreat. They give the listener the hope that God is alive and truly working in the lives of His people.
Among the many who experienced personal revival, two sisters share their own stories below:
I’m Katherine Joy Manzanero Apuyan of Evangel Family Church Quezon City. I had three marvellous days of experiencing God’s great power. There’s a restoration of stolen joy, replenishment of empty faith, revival of my weary heart and renewal of my soul.
It was indeed a fulfilling experience to be blessed and renewed! At first, you can feel the need of the Holy Spirit covering the place. And I know everyone was waiting for the touch of the Holy Spirit. The piercing sermons of different pastors rebuked and gave me hope.
The burdens of my heart that kept me from moving forward disappeared. The discouragement, doubt and hatred were replaced by the love and peace coming from my Heavenly Father. And as I looked upon the other believer, I have seen every spirit humbling themselves before God.
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My name is Fe Ellana, 24 years old, a young professional from Evangel Family Church-La Union. Three days of encounter with God and I answered the “Yes” to His call. Short time, right? Well, the truth is, it has been my heart’s desire since I was sixteen.
This retreat has made me give up everything I have right now. I’m spiritually filled.
I prayed and asked God to forgive me for making Him wait for too long. The burden in my heart was lifted up. And now is the time to move forward and take a bold step of faith.
I was so grateful to God for this retreat. I’ve been blessed by the preaching of His Word and meeting fellow Christians encouraged me more.
By Pastor Doming Galagata
It was July 14, 2014 when PAGASA announced that there is a super typhoon named “Glenda” coming to the southern part of Luzon. On the next day, PAGASA announced that Super Typhoon Glenda hit the the CALABARZON region, where Batangas belongs. Because of the strong winds and heavy rains, many houses were destroyed and thousands of families were affected. Even the Evangel Family Church Padre Garcia was damaged.
On July 17, I immediately informed the disheartening condition of the EFC Padre Garcia to the Regional Director of Luzon Region, Rev. Jessie B. Yu. After a couple of hours, Rev. Jessie called to tell me that Dr. Robert Lim, Founding Chairman of JECCP,wants to extend help to 200 affected families in the community where Evangel Family Church Padre Garcia is located. Pastor Jessie scheduled the date of relief operations on July 26.
On July 26, many lives were touched and embraced by the love of the Lord through this activity. One of them was a lady who cried upon receiving the pack of rice and groceries. After she received her relief goods, she came back and through tears, repeatedly gave thanks to the church.
Because of what the Lord did through JECPP, many hearts opened to receive the Gospel. Some people became willing to open Bible studies in their houses. Thanks be to God! On the next day after the relief operations, which was Sunday, new ones came to the church and attended the worship service.
After few days of relief operations, the barangay officials appreciated the effort of EFC in the community. Also, the municipal mayor, together with the councilors of Padre Garcia gave us a plaque of appreciation for what we did in the community. It was the first time that a church extends help to the people affected by the calamity in the area. We believe that through this event, we could easily spread the Gospel in this area to fulfill the mission of Christ of bringing unbelievers back to God.
by Katherine Apuyan
“I only wish this conference won’t end”. Such was the remark of one delegate who attended last month’s 1st Luzon Youth Conference. 97 delegates gathered for this awaited summer event for young people.
On the first day, we started with an orientation in the morning and the afternoon featured a music video presentation participated by the sections of La Union, Palawan-Mindoro, Batangas and Quezon City. It was fun to see the showcase of musical talents. On the first evening service, we were encouraged as the word of God confronted our personal issues in the message “Restoring the Original You” by Pastor Greta Tamayor.
The following day, Pastor Jethro Novero took the first session with his message entitled “Empowered by God’s Love”. On the second session, Pastor Jessie Yu delivered “Empowering Our Understanding on the Signs of our Times” which gave us the knowledge how to live wise and God-centered lives in our generation. In the afternoon, there was a “Bandfest” from all the sections, and we were thrilled to hear the original song composition of the young people. The evening session was with Pastor Doming Galagata on “Serving the Lord with Success”.
On the final day, Pastor Eddie Falla challenged the young people to be involved in missions through his sermon entitled “Empowering the Mission”. Three young people boldly stood up and took the challenge. Some young people confessed later that they also wanted to stand up to God’s call, but they felt shy to publicly do so. After the morning session, there were a Bible Mastery Contest from the Book of Acts and an Extemporaneous Speech Competition on contemporary issues. Exciting tensions drilled the bones of every contestant as questions were thrown to them. A water baptism soon followed with six young people taking the step to follow Christ. That afternoon, we had an Open Forum with the Luzon Core Leaders together with our regional director, and we were glad to freely ask anything from the Bible or any issues, and they were all answered. Pastor Jessie Yu capped the conference on his last night’s sermon entitled “Empowering the Nex Gen: Raising Leaders”.
All the sermons really pierced our hearts. Even at the altar call, we saw young people and even adult delegates humbling themselves and crying before God. We could feel the mighty presence of the Holy Spirit lingering on that place with 11 young people baptized in the Holy Spirit. I never expected little kids aged 5 and 6 cried and bowed down at the altar as well.
We give our congratulation to Quezon City for winning as the overall champion in the different categories of competition, but more importantly, we thank all the speakers for giving their best in their messages with God’s anointing. Above all, we want to thank God for His signature of approval He engraved in the hearts of the young people. It is not about us; it is all about Jesus! We, the next generation, are now empowered and ready to take the lead in carrying the eternal message of salvation. All glory and praises be unto Him alone!
By Katherine Apuyan
Last Valentine’s month, our church relived a lesson on love. We remembered what Jesus said that if someone hits you on the cheek, you must offer the other cheek too. We learned that this action can only be truly possible if you have love.
Let me tell you how our love story with our community began. It did not start right. We felt cheated by our neighbors who seemed always annoyed with our Sunday gatherings. One particular cold evening while our pastors and ECME students were sleeping, a thief broke through the church and stole the church petty cash funds and an i3 laptop we used for Sunday services.
Our pastors reported the incident at the office of the barangay captain. Several meetings followed after that, and that’s where we got to know our neighbors more personally. Our pastors did not hold grudge, but were even thankful that the theft incident forced us to mingle with them. As a result, they became more open and friendlier to us.
This was how the church came up with an idea of organizing the “Celebrate Love Sunday” last February 16, 2014 held for the first time at Fairview Barangay Hall. The officer of that Barangay together with her children, were among those who attended. Our speaker, Pastor Jessie Yu, explored the deeper meaning of love by explaining how our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ poured out His unconditional love on us.
After the short sermon, an altar call was called and many came to the front in tears. Our neighbors surrendered their families to God, and committed to love their families and neighbours as well. The message was soon followed by enjoyable presentations of the cell churches such as song, skit, rap and dance numbers. The climax of the presentation was an original MTV entitled “Love will be our Home” which showed the need for love to our family and to our community.
The goodness of the Lord flowed for the entire day. At 3pm in that afternoon, we carried on with our Youth on Fire feeding program where more than 200 children were fed with the delicious food prepared by our church. The youth also prepared some entertainment for the children. Our tiredness was paid by the sweet smiles of our little neighbors.
Evangel Family Church Quezon City was very happy to extend love to the community, doing the works that will not glorify us but glorify the Lord Jesus Christ. This was how our young but growing Evangel Family Church Quezon City performed the two-way traffic of love. We received love from God, and we impart that love to the community.
God blessed us back by opening two Bible studies in the homes of our once-upon-a-time indignant neighbors. Not only that, they started to regularly attend our Sunday services. Indeed, the greatest is love! Glory be to God.