After Typhoon Carina caused widespread devastation across Metro Manila, schools had to resume a new school year. Many embraced the start of the school year with heavy hearts amidst the storm subsiding.
Despite it all, we find hope in the truth that God’s mercies are new every morning.
Through God’s grace, we are grateful for the hundreds of volunteers eager to serve about 50 campuses across Metro Manila during the Brigada Eskwela. This program brings together local communities, parents, teachers, and students to help clean and prepare public schools and facilities for the coming school year.
Willing hearts and ready hands helped clean and provided cleaning materials.
Our team of volunteers in Greenhills and Pasay
Medical mission in partnership with Operation Blessing at Parañaque National High School – Main that served 274 students, parents, and educators with medical, dental, and optical care.
The start of the school year welcomed more open doors to bless the campuses in the U-Belt and Santa Rosa area
In all these—from donations and cleaning up initiatives, we are grateful for every person who selflessly gave all for something that we hold last: the gospel.
The storm may have taken away many valuable things, but through your service and prayers, we know that the eternal love of God is something that the students gained and will treasure beyond this lifetime.
Hebrews 13:16
And do not neglect doing good and sharing, for with such sacrifices, God is pleased.
But it is precisely at these times that we are urged to be the hands and feet of Jesus and embody Christ’s presence in our society. Every act of compassion, every raised prayer, and every extended hand is evidence of our Creator’s unquestionable love for us and others.
As the campuses open for a new school year, continue to stand with us in prayer as we build stronger partnerships with the faculty and administrative staff, seek more open doors to serve more campuses, and most importantly, preach the life-transforming message of the gospel to every student.
God’s heart always goes out to the new generation. And as a church, God calls us to raise them according to His word.
God never hesitated to put young people at the center of His purpose, regardless of cultural norms and preferences. Without hesitation, God has used young people throughout church history to participate in His mission.
May we see every new generation the way God sees them: as the greatest untapped mission force—bringers of Christ’s hope in our broken world.
Over the next four weeks, let us look more deeply into God’s calling for us to prepare, empower, and remind the new generation of their purpose and identity in God.
Week 1: David and Saul
Week 2: David and Jonathan
Week 3: David and Nathan
Week 4: David and Solomon
See you at our weekend services!
You may check the worship service schedules here or by visiting your Victory location’s Facebook page.
In the Apostle Paul’s letter to the church of Corinth, he speaks to the community about the most excellent way that surpasses all spiritual gifts—and that is the way of love.
This is what compels our church in Cainta to bless the surrounding community—the love that Christ exemplified in his sacrifice on the Cross.
Initially, there was a burden that there were not enough event places in the area, which led to the idea of offering our venue to serve the campuses in Cainta.
Since then, we opened our venue as a co-study space for students, offering coffee and snacks.
This initiative birthed friendships with the students, and eventually, God opened the door for the very first event held in the center—which was the Cainta Senior High School’s ABM night.
This led to another open door and another.
Last academic year, Cainta Senior High School had its retreat for the graduating students in the center—and there were almost 800 participants whom we were also given the opportunity to minister.
Cainta Senior High School retreat
An event called UpSKale was also held where the SK (Sangguniang Kabataan) aspirants shared their plans and advocacies. Surprisingly, there was an overflow of attendees during the UpSKale, and our leaders were able to engage with and even pray for the barangay captains.
UpSKale
Some of the graduating students of Cainta Senior High School also set up a DIY graduation photoshoot in the center for their batchmates who could not afford the studio photoshoot.
The Student Center as a coworking space for students
As we look back on the success of these events, our leaders are fully convinced that it all happened because of God’s grace that built meaningful connections with the students. Even now, they continue to journey with many of these students in their faith.
But above all, more than offering the center as an events venue, it’s the extra mile that every person took—the extra mile that starts from the love that compels us to do whatever it takes—
to reach every student in every campus, in every city, and every nation.
The Department of Education (DepEd) has made it official – we are shifting back to the old school calendar of June-March from the current August-May calendar.
Many public school teachers and students have been suffering from extreme heat, which has resulted in the sacrifice of school calendar activities.
The shift is expected to complete its transition by the school year 2027-2028. Yet, DepEd received calls for an immediate return to the old school calendar instead of having a 2-year transition period.
There are concerns that the senior high school students going to college may experience potential learning loss due to the long 5-month break.
Some experts even suggest that reverting to the old calendar is only a temporary solution and that the heat problems must be addressed differently—this could include limiting class size, ensuring good room ventilation, and equipping teachers with remote learning teaching skills to avoid learning loss.
As a church, our heart has always been to reach and disciple the future leaders of our nation. Let’s continue to pray for our government officials as they embark on this two-year transition, in view of providing quality education for the next generation. Let’s also pray for grace upon the teachers, students, and parents as they adjust to this academic calendar shift. And of course, let us pray for churches all over the Philippines as we carry out student evangelism and discipleship in their context while adapting to changes in the academic calendar.
Prayer Points:
Pray for the Department of Education. Pray for wisdom and guidance as they plan and implement strategies that will truly benefit students, teachers, and the entire education system in our country.
Pray for the grace and well-being of teachers, students, and parents as they adjust to this academic calendar shift.
Pray for wisdom, creativity, and flexibility for our campus missionaries as they preach the gospel and disciple students despite the changing schedules.
Pray for God’s favor for more partnerships with high school and university teachers, professors, and school admin in discipling the next generation.
To learn more about the current situation in our nation, you can read the resources through the links below:
A smooth opening of classes is seen today, with more than 22 million elementary and high school students expected to troop to school, based on the Department of Education (DepEd)’s enrollment figures. This marks the first time, since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, that schools nationwide will conduct full face-to-face sessions on the first day of classes. In Metro Manila, the opening of classes is one of the key factors to the increased volume of road traffic.
The DepEd’s data indicated that 22,676,964 students are enrolled in public and private kindergarten, elementary, and high schools across the country for the school year (SY) 2023-2024.
The agency earlier said it is expecting around 28.8 million students for this school year, a little over the 28.4 million enrolled in public and private schools in SY 2022-2023.
Today, as we see the millions of students returning onsite to school, we see the harvest of students that we can win for Jesus. We also see a great opportunity for our churches and campus ministries all over the Philippines to make an impact in the lives of these next generation leaders.
Let us pray for God’s mighty move in the campuses this school year! Let us believe that revival will take place on the campuses and students will turn their hearts to God and His purposes! Let us believe together for the visible fruits of the work of God on the campuses and in the lives of the students!
Prayer Points:
Pray that students will encounter and know God on the campuses this school year. Let us pray that the hearts of the students would be open to receiving the message of the gospel and making a life-changing decision to follow Jesus.
Pray for a revival to take place on the campuses this school year. Let us pray that students will turn their hearts and minds to God and His purposes. Let us ask God to ignite a passion for prayer, worship, devotion, and evangelism among the students.
Pray for the safety and protection of all the students on the campuses, physically and spiritually. Let us ask God to shield them from any diseases, or negative influences, and guide them away from harmful situations.
Pray for our churches all over the nation to actively and passionately take part in campus ministry. Let us pray that all generations will come together as one in reaching the students for Jesus!
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To learn more about the current situation in our nation, you can read the resources in these links below.
Even in the midst of a pandemic, we can trust God for provision and, in turn, give to honor Him. Giving is a matter of the heart. We give not because we have to, but because of God’s graciousness and faithfulness to us. This is our worship unto God. Like adding things to our cart, we have a choice about what we add to our hearts.
Join us in the next three weeks as we look at biblical attitudes when it comes to giving our tithes unto the Lord through different passages and stories in the Bible.Here is the schedule of our new series:
Week 1: The Only Person of Our Worship (November 15)
Week 2: The Main Purpose of Our Wealth (November 22)
Week 3: The True Proof of Our Offering (November 29)
We pray that this series will encourage you to continue to trust God and honor Him through your giving.
Due to the community quarantine, our worship services are temporarily online. You can join one of our online services on this list.
Our calling and mission as a church has always been to honor God and make disciples in every campus and every nation. Even with the recent pandemic and restrictions on movement worldwide, we make God’s mission for us a priority. While the world may have seemingly stopped, the mission continues.
Join us in the next two weeks as we discover the power of the gospel to transform not just individuals but also nations. As we study the book of Romans, our prayer is that like Paul, we will seek to preach the gospel where Christ is not yet known.
Here is the schedule of our new series:
Week 1: The Gospel’s Power (September 27)
Week 2: The Gospel’s Fulfillment (October 4)
We pray that this series will encourage you to participate in what God is doing in the nations by praying, giving, and going. Together, let us bring the gospel to every nation!
Due to the community quarantine, our worship services are temporarily online. You can join one of our online services on this list.
As a church, we are called to reach the next generation—aka the future leaders of our society. This is why we value building relationships with them and setting them up for success. For the next two weeks, we will be looking at the lives of Saul and David, and how they viewed the next generation. While Saul disobeyed God, did not submit to His plans, and pursued his own interests, David served God’s purposes in his own generation (Acts 13:36) and paved the way for the next generations to succeed.
In studying their lives, we hope that we will intentionally set up the next generation to succeed in God’s purpose for their lives.
Here is the schedule of our new series:
Week 1: Saul and Jonathan (August 30)
Week 2: David and Solomon (September 6)
We pray that this series will encourage you to see our future with hope as we continue to make disciples and equip the next generation for God’s purposes in their lives!
Due to the community quarantine, our worship services are temporarily online. You can join one of our online services on this list.
In a world where we can put up many filters and hide behind what looks good, we can be real and live the way God has called us to live. We don’t need to seek validation, identity, or purpose elsewhere or even within ourselves. We can look to God who sees us through His lens and confidently live out His purpose.
Here are the topics for our two-week campus series this year:
Week 1: Identity
Week 2: Purpose
As we study Jeremiah’s life in this series, we hope that we will understand more about our purpose and identity in God.
“I debated many things with her,” Kath reveals, “but I couldn’t question her changed life.”
Twenty-two-year-old Kathlene Parungao shares how her close friend and discipler, Kara de Leos, steered her from her self-serving lifestyle to a life that honors God. The two girls met in college in a less than typical way. “I didn’t like her at first because she was dressed in a way that irked me. It’s probably a girl thing,” Kath laughs, “I knew she was a party girl like me.”
Coming from a Christian family, Kath knew about the gospel and salvation but, as with all the other members of her family, her knowledge didn’t translate to a changed life. “I thought Christianity was just about following a set of rules, looking good in the eyes of people, and going to church every Sunday,” she shares, “I never understood that it was about a relationship with God.”
Growing up, Kath would attend church out of fear that she won’t be saved if she missed a Sunday. Her so-called Christian life evolved around a “good works mentality.” For her, God was Someone too far to reach. Christianity was in her mind, but it never touched her heart. She never established the necessary foundations in her Christian journey.
During her teenage years, she harbored anger towards her parents and felt that no one really loved her. She started to fill her need for acceptance through her peers. “I did things that I never thought I’d do just so people could accept me or be friends with me,” she reveals. Soon, she entered into a wrong relationship, learned how to drink and smoke, and embraced the night life. Kath was branded the black sheep of the family.
When she entered college, Kath became her worst nightmare. “Because of my rebelliousness, I brought a lot of pain to my family,” she confesses, “I’ve made my mom cry, my siblings, my lola, and probably even my dad! That’s how hardened I was.” She also started influencing other people with her wayward lifestyle.
Every day after school, Kath and her friends would go straight to Greenbelt to hang out and drink. It became their routine, until one day, Kath was overwhelmed with feelings of guilt. “I heard a voice ask me if I was really happy destroying my life and lying to my parents, she reveals, “It asked me if I was happy trying to live up to the world’s standards.” Faced with reality, Kath had to be honest with herself and accept that she wasn’t really happy. She knew that if she kept up with her lifestyle, it would only be a matter of time before she crashed and burned.
“I knew I needed help, so I started praying,” she says, “I prayed every single night: God save me.”
Kath eventually transferred to De La Salle University, seeing this as an opportune time to start on a clean slate. Unfortunately, without a strong foundation and by relying completely on her own will, Kath was swallowed by temptations and ended up reverting back to her life as a party girl. In her new university, she felt that it was still her old life.
Until one day, she noticed something different in Kara, the girl in her class who annoyed her. She felt the feeling was mutual. She knew Kara partied hard like her. “But when I saw her again, she was different! She was dressed modestly and her face was radiant,” she exclaims, “I felt that she had a lighter spirit, and that really got me curious. So, I stalked her online!”
Kath found Kara’s blog, wherein she wrote how God saved her life. Being a party girl herself, Kath related so much to what she read. She sent a message to Kara on Facebook and asked her more about her transformation. It was a call for help, and Kara answered right away. She invited Kath to the La Salle cluster of Every Nation Campus Philippines, where students gathered for Victory group meetings.
“I was so shocked because people there were so kind even after knowing my story,” Kath shares, “I didn’t feel judged. I didn’t feel that I had to do anything to be accepted.” It was a far cry from her experience of pleasing people for approval. From her life-changing encounter that day, Kath was connected to a Victory group.
Kara started leading her to ONE 2 ONE, and patiently walked with her in her new Christian journey. “I saw her relationship with God and how she was so deeply in love with Jesus. So, I prayed to God, ‘Lord, I want that kind of faith, too.’”
Kath started reading the Bible, in faith that God would speak to her, too just like how He spoke with Kara. She would read His word everyday, always praying for Him to speak to her. Until one day, she got her answer. “I couldn’t forget the day God finally spoke to me! All my questions were answered. It all made sense, she reveals, “That encounter is the encounter I always go back to whenever I feel the urge to give up. God spoke to someone as small as me. He had me at my worst and still chose to love me. What a personal God!”
This encounter stoked a fire in Kath’s heart. She felt an overflow of love that she had to share with other people. She went back to her previous church to inspire her friends there that it is possible to have a relationship with Jesus. She also started leading others to One 2 One, until she was able to create Victory groups in high school and in La Salle.
Her family, who initially persecuted her, also started attending church after seeing the dramatic change in Kath. After years of praying for them, Kath is ecstatic to see them being discipled. Her sister has just undergone Victory Weekend, while her brother just finished ONE 2 ONE. Their mother now attends a Victory group and Kath is excited for her to start ONE 2 ONE, too. “I thought reconciliation was impossible,” she confesses, “But it’s happening now by God’s grace.”
Recently, Kath was given an opportunity to go on her first mission trip to India. She couldn’t help but be amazed at how God uses her for His mighty purpose. Three years after she met Kara, Kath still helps in the campus even after having graduated for a year already. “Imagine, with my previous lifestyle, I was so close to doing drugs, until God sent her to me. She took a chance at me before the world could! If she delayed her obedience, I would probably still be the old me.” With this, Kath realized that every second counts.
Throughout her journey, she learned that the youth can make or break the future of this nation. She admits that it’s not an easy journey to lead other people, but for her, there’s nothing that compares to winning the souls of young people for Jesus Christ. She is in faith that one day, the young people she’s discipling will choose to honor God and stand for what’s right wherever they’re planted. <
“I realized being a Christian is more than having a religion, but it’s a relationship with Jesus. It’s as real as any relationship we have now.” From being a black sheep, she is now sheep of His pasture, a disciple of Jesus who was lost and has now been found.
As a movement, Every Nation has always given emphasis on making disciples of the next generation. We believe in reaching the campuses because we believe that every student has a chance to change their lives through the gospel, and in the future, positively change the world too.
That is why we celebrate this recent milestone for one of our churches in a restricted nation in South Asia. Last June 30, they launched their first youth service, which is also the first worship service catering to young people that happens on a weekly basis. Typically, churches in this nation can only hold a youth service once a month. Scheduled at 7:30 PM, the service aims to accommodate students after their classes, before they end their day.
We believe that God is opening new doors into the mission field for the next generation. We are in faith that many young people will receive Jesus as their Savior, and will be discipled through these services. Let us intercede for our Every Nation church in this restricted nation as they break barriers and boldly preach the gospel.
Pray for the worship team and other young people serving as volunteers to the worship services, that they may delight in their work and be refreshed as they serve.
Pray for new volunteers and leaders to step out, so that the current teams will be spared from exhaustion and fatigue.
Pray for new preachers among the youth, so that the gospel may be preached in a manner that will resonate most with their fellow young people.
Pray for protection against any kind of attack–be it physical or spiritual–as our missionaries continue to serve in this restricted nation.
Together, we believe that we can reach every student, on every campus, in every nation.
Our Every Nation missionaries in this creative access nation continue to boldly preach the gospel, disciple locals and raise leaders. If you would like to support our missionaries with monthly or one-time gifts, please click here.
Note: The image used here is from a Buddhist temple in Thailand. It does not represent the nation referred to in this missions update.
If you’re a student new in having a relationship with Jesus and want to know what it means to have a relationship with Him, then this book is for you. With identical topics to our original ONE 2 ONE booklet, this version is specially made for high school students, college students, and LIFE Coaches discipling students. Going through this is best with a mentor who will help you in your walk with God.
Topics inside ONE 2 ONE Campus include:
Salvation
Lordship
Repentance
Baptism
The Bible and Prayer
The Church
The ONE 2 ONE Campus Edition is also a way for you to share your faith with your friends and classmates in school. You can help them know more about Jesus and what it means to have a relationship with Him, and at the same time build real and lasting relationships with others through discipleship.
The ONE 2 ONE Campus Edition comes in different colors and is available in all Victory resource centers and book tables.
On May 26-28, 7,000 students, campus ministers, LIFE coaches, and campus volunteers came together for Ignite 2011: the LifeBox Campus Conference. LifeBox is a nationwide student organization that focuses on preparing students for leadership, integrity, faith, and excellence, or LIFE.
We hear about it in songs and even from our national hero, but how convinced are we that the future rests in the hands of today’s young people?
Join us this weekend as we start our new series, “NXT.” We’ll find out about God’s heart for young people and His plans and purposes for them. We’ll also know our part in making their God-given destinies happen.
Here is the list of our weekly topics:
Week One: What do you see? Week Two: Who do you see?
Victory is one church meeting in fifteen different locations across Metro Manila and forty-five churches in the provinces. To know where the Victory location nearest you is, check out our national directory.
Do invite your family and friends at our services! See you then!
It’s less than a month to go before Ignite 2011: the LifeBox Campus Conference!
Right now, we have more than 5,000 delegates from all over the country attending this student gathering on May 26 to 28 at the Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay City. Check out this news article to know more about what the students from our provincial churches are doing to raise funds for Ignite 2011.
The Ignite Committee, campus missionaries, students, and volunteers are making preparations on the double to make Ignite one memorable experience. But any preparation isn’t complete without prayer. With this, we invite you to join us for three days of Prayer and Fasting on May 5, 12, and 19, at a Victory location nearest you. Contact your local church to know their prayer meeting schedules for these dates.
We’d also like to ask you to pray with us for the following:
Grace, favor, and good health for the event organizers and campus ministers as they prepare for Ignite 2011.
For more students will register for the conference.
Abundant financial provision for students, especially those that are coming from the province as they travel to Manila.
Thanks for praying with us! Join us on the most exciting campus conference this year: Ignite 2011!
The fifth batch of campus ministers graduated from our Every Nation School of Ministry last April 12, 2011.
This batch, made up of nineteen men and women, is definitely a mixture of many firsts. Eleven of the graduates are from provincial churches and many of which will pioneer campus ministries in their areas. Two graduates are from other Christian churches. This batch is also considered as the youngest the school has ever had, having a nineteen year-old as the youngest in the class and a twenty-four year-old as the eldest.
Our pastors and campus ministers from Victory Fort Bonifacio pose with Rodney Malpaya (first from left) from Life Church Virginia.
According to Migz Tadique, one of the graduates who will serve in Victory Cabanatuan, he thought it was just about academics, but “We learned a lot of things (like perseverance), how to (respond) to tasks, how to relate with one another, (and) how to work together as a group.”
Beaming with great potential and with all lessons that they acquired in that three fruitful months of studying in School of Campus Ministry, these upcoming campus missionaries are now more than ready to go back to their respective mission fields to be used by God in different campuses to reach out to the next generation and be radical for Jesus.
As these campus ministers go back to their respective locations, please pray for grace, anointing, and wisdom to lead the students to Jesus.
Fiona Alvero is the Communications and Special Events Coordinator of Every Nation Campus. She’s also a Victory group leader in Victory Quezon City reaching out to the campus of Miriam College.
The Real LIFE Foundation held a banquet for the graduates of 2011 on Saturday, March 26, at the Victory Pioneer center. It was Real LIFE’s biggest graduation banquet to date, with a total of forty-three college and high school graduates celebrating their success during the school year.
From the thirty-two university scholars who recently graduated, three of them finished school with flying colors! Kimberly Acuña and Ronnie Chu were awarded cum laude honors, while Faye Madriaga finished magna cum laude.
The graduates, Kimberly, Ronnie, and Faye, along with Real LIFE Executive Director Lynn Nawata and Program Director Vince Bitana
In behalf of Real LIFE, we thank you for your continued support. Surely, your generosity will go a long way. Thank you for investing in the futures of these men and women, and their families!
When she entered college, Kath became her worst nightmare. “Because of my rebelliousness, I brought a lot of pain to my family,” she confesses, “I’ve made my mom cry, my siblings, my lola, and probably even my dad! That’s how hardened I was.” She also started influencing other people with her wayward lifestyle.
Her family, who initially persecuted her, also started attending church after seeing the dramatic change in Kath. After years of praying for them, Kath is ecstatic to see them being discipled. Her sister has just undergone Victory Weekend, while her brother just finished ONE 2 ONE. Their mother now attends a Victory group and Kath is excited for her to start ONE 2 ONE, too. “I thought reconciliation was impossible,” she confesses, “But it’s happening now by God’s grace.”
