From One Open Door To Another

From One Open Door To Another

On May 25, 2024, we held a parenting seminar in partnership with Every Nation Campus at the Universidad de Manila. Little did we know that this outreach would lead to another one. 

One of the parents we served at the seminar turned out to be the chairwoman of Barangay 695, Manila, and she is also leading all the barangay captains in the city.

She approached the team and invited us to work with her to serve the rest of the barangays in Manila. It was clear and evident that it was all orchestrated by God—having the privilege of being invited by the local government to partner with them in serving the communities.

Later on, the team realized that Victory Taft is home to medical students, doctors, nurses, and medical practitioners across the city. With this, we volunteered to hold a Medical Mission in Barangay 695, Zone 75, District 5. By God’s grace, this became an open door to serve 200 individuals in need of medical treatment.

Most importantly, we are grateful to God for this privilege that allowed these families to experience His love through this service. The barangay chairwoman joyfully partnered with us throughout the Medical Mission, and on that day, she also heard about the gospel.

We are thankful for this new relationship and the divine appointments that led us to serve the community in Manila. 

Pray with us as we look forward to more missional partnerships that will enable us to serve more families and communities, and bring them closer to Christ.

Love that Compels Service

Love that Compels Service

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.

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.

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.

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 Joy of Serving

The Joy of Serving

Every year, we take time to recount the stories of changed lives, communities served, campuses reached, and the miracles we experienced as a church.

As we do this, we also take time to honor and celebrate our small group leaders and ministry volunteers across our local centers in the Philippines.

We had a time of fun and fellowship where we thanked each church member who contributed to running our worship services and helped us build our local churches.

If you are a leader, a volunteer, or anyone who has helped our church grow this year in whatever way, we sincerely thank you for your service.

The details of your work may not be fully seen by the eyes of men, but we want to assure you that the God we serve is a Rewarder, and your reward in heaven is full.

Thank you for keeping your most important and esteemed audience, your audience of One—Jesus, our Greatest Reward.

May you be blessed abundantly, and may a thousandfold of what you give be returned to you by His grace. Your gifts are a blessing to many and have helped people come to know Christ more!

“God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them.” — Hebrews 6:10

Shoutout to all our small group leaders and volunteers! Great job to you!

Braving the Streets to Serve

Braving the Streets to Serve

While our current situation has brought fear to most of us, there are people who are courageously putting their own health on the line to keep the rest of us safe. Here is a story of a mother who braves each day with faith to be of service to others. 

 

Julie has been a food delivery partner for a ride-hailing company since 2017. Despite the risks it poses to her health, she continues to go out and work hard to support her family and her 10-year-old daughter. With her old motorcycle and delivery gear, she braves the streets in the middle of the pandemic to serve and be a blessing.

When the outbreak started and the enhanced community quarantine was imposed, Julie knew that it would be harder for people to get what they needed. So aside from serving booked deliveries, she also decided to voluntarily help her neighbors and friends in getting essential food items and medicines. She knew that her small help of buying groceries for them will go a long way in protecting them from the disease.

Every morning, she wakes up early to go to the market with her long grocery lists for the day. To protect her daughter and all the other people she meets and sees every day, she makes sure to follow all safety and sanitation measures implemented by the government. She does what she can to protect herself, but she also sees God’s hand at work in keeping her safe.

Julie is thankful that even though her motorcycle is old, God is using it so she can serve other people. She is grateful for each day that she manages to get home safe and be a blessing in her own little way. She knows that everything she is able to do comes from God and whatever she has, no matter how small, can be used by Him for a greater purpose.

 

Though times are different and a lot of things remain uncertain, may we continue to hold on to God and allow His peace to give us strength each day. No matter our situation, God can use people to come to our aid and be a blessing to us. And though it sometimes seems impossible, God can also use us to serve and be a blessing to others.

 

Julie Tuvera is one of our Victory group members in Victory Katipunan.