Victory Caloocan

Beyond the Series: Embracing the Message of Christ

April 17, 2019

Why is Holy Week important? In this article, Pastor Noel Ojerio shares how we can embrace the message of Holy Week as we take time to reflect on Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection.

Why is Holy Week important to Christians?

Let’s define first what the Holy Week means. The Holy Week is the last week of Lent, which is a season where we observe the life, ministry, death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. The story of Jesus is not man-made. It is factual, and it has had a great impact in the course of our history.

When we observe the Holy Week, we acknowledge the reality of Jesus’ life and ministry. More than just knowing the facts, we should take this chance to embrace the message it brings: Jesus Christ invites everyone to receive Him as their Lord and Savior.

To receive the gospel is to believe that Jesus Christ lived the life we should have lived and died the death we should have died. He took our place. He rose from the dead three days after, offering the gift of salvation and forgiveness of sins to anyone who repents and believes in Him.

As such, the Holy Week is a great opportunity for every Christian to minister the gospel to the world. Whenever Christ is made known or is even the object of holidays like Christmas, we should take advantage of the opportunity to share the good news.

What are some practical ways to honor God during the Holy Week?

Aside from strengthening our faith through reflection and meditation, we can also use the message of the Holy Week to reach out to our friends and family members. We can take time to gather them and help them understand the reason we observe the Holy Week—the gospel. We should not miss the point by treating this as just a vacation season. More than anything, the Holy Week is an opportunity for us to reflect on the life of Christ and the good news He brings to us.

May we all have a fresh appreciation of the gospel of Jesus Christ as we reflect on His life and sacrifice this Holy Week and continue to live in the salvation that He freely gives.

Pastor Noel Ojerio serves as the senior pastor of Victory in Caloocan. He has been married to Mary June for 26 years. They have five children—Nina, Nikka, Nikki, Natalie, and Noel.

Beyond the Series is a set of interviews with Victory pastors on topics related to our sermon series.

When His Grace Changes Everything

February 23, 2016

Ken Regala was on the verge of calling it quits.

She didn’t imagine that her relationship with her boyfriend, Choi Sanchez, would end up this way—with a young son, yet not settling down as a family. “I never expected that this would happen to me. It felt like it was straight out of a TV drama.” The situation left her helpless and confused.

Meanwhile, Choi lived a reckless life before meeting Christ, neither acknowledging or bearing the weight of his responsibilities as a young father. “I was into vices, too, even if I already had a child,” Choi admits.

One day, Choi’s sister, Bealyn, encouraged the couple to a join a Victory group led by her best friend, Jorella. She and her husband, Mike, led a couples’ group in Victory Caloocan. “Choi was hesitant to join the group at first, but he still joined me at the group meetings and eventually became part of it. That made me happy,” she recounts.

Mike and Jorella took time to disciple Choi and Ken through regular Victory group meetings and ONE 2 ONE sessions. What started with persistent invitations eventually became something Choi and Ken looked forward to weekly. “They both made the decision to know and follow Christ,” Mike remarks.

Choi and Ken, with Mike and Jorella's Victory group — Choi and Ken, with Mike and Jorella’s Victory group

As Ken continued to pray for her family and attend Victory group with her boyfriend, God was at work in Choi’s life. “I asked God to give me a heart for Him,” says Choi, “because I no longer wanted to live this kind of life. Little did I know that Ken was praying for me, too.” He committed to change and center his life on Christ.

In 2015, the couple went through Victory Weekend together. Their story, which had a challenging start, would soon move from glory to glory.

When Choi decided to surrender everything to God and change, he realized that he needed to start anew as a family according to God’s Word. He decided to finally ask Ken, his girlfriend and his son’s mother, to be his wife.

Choi and Ken would face another hurdle, in the form of finances. Funding the church wedding was initially a challenge. “We were supposed to have a civil wedding, but a pastor suggested that we hold a church wedding.” They heeded his advice and pooled their finances—but it seemed impossible to make it happen. The wedding date was December. It was already November. Nonetheless, they decided to take a step of faith and tied the knot two days before Christmas.

By God’s grace and a miracle they can’t explain, they made the wedding happen—and despite their financial limits, didn’t owe anyone a centavo after the event. “We don’t know how it happened—we just know that God provided for us,” says Choi. “We’re so amazed (at) how God moved through it. All we know is everything was perfect the whole day.”

Ken (left) and Choi were married in December 2015, surrounded by family and friends

Mike, the couple’s discipler, describes the Sanchez’s story as, “from darkness to light,” quoting lyrics from Victory Worship’s song, “Grace Changes Everything.” He adds, “They had a long journey, went through a lot of trials, but they put in maximum effort in their spiritual lives.”

From being irresponsible and reckless, Choi is now, according to Mike, “a changed man”—someone who takes responsibility for his family, and leads them according to God’s ways.

Indeed, grace does change everything. God’s grace transformed their lives and turned what was a seemingly dead-end relationship to a glorious and God-centered marriage.

Typhoon Pedring Update: How Can we Help?

October 4, 2011

On Tuesday, September 27, tropical storm Pedring raged into Philippine land, with the provinces of Central Luzon being the hardest hit in our nation, due to the strong wind and rains.

The province of Bulacan was declared under state of calamity. Countless families lost their homes and main roads were impassable due to floodwaters.

Let us see what we can do to help! Right now, Victory Malolos is spearheading relief operations in Calumpit, Hagonoy, and Paombong in Bulacan. Their center is open as a temporary shelter for evacuations. To know how you can help, please call the following numbers:

0922 8512794
0917 8002794
0920 9512794
(044) 896 1615

Victory Caloocan is open to receive donations in kind (clothes, beddings, instant noodles, canned goods, and bottled water) to be sent to Malolos. You may also send your donations directly to Victory Malolos at 2nd flr. Balaga Bldg., Dakila, Malolos City, 3000.

Cash donations can also be deposited through PS Bank Paseo del Congresso Malolos in this account:

Account name: Victory Christian Fellowship of Malolos, Inc.
Account number: 0281 1200 1353

You may also take part in Victory Cabanatuan’s Crisis and Calamity Ministry, for rescue and relief operations, as well as in clean-up campaigns and medical assistance. More details are available by contacting 0915 8914208.

Let’s pray for our brothers and sisters in Central Luzon who have been struck by the typhoon, and for the men and women who have volunteered their time and resources to help in relief operations.

Thank you for your generosity! We believe that as you have refreshed others, you will be blessed in return.

Note: By contributing to this project, ministry partners acknowledge that funds given to Every Nation will be directed to provide assistance to those affected by this disaster, and redirected, as necessary, should the funds contributed be in excess of the need. Every Nation partners as well with other non-government organizations who work in these areas.