|
Moving Forward Quarter By Quarter |
|
As you read this, a lot of things have already happened that prove that God is at work among us. Let me mention a few:
Late last Thursday afternoon, my phone rang and on the other end of the line was Bea Garcera.
She and her mom Thess called to let me know that Bea has been released from the hospital. She appears to be responding well to the initial treatment – oral meds. Let’s not stop praying for healing.
Kids ministry teachers and helpers would have already attended a training seminar yesterday, sponsored by a church in Millwoods.
Led by Amor Abad, the Alliance Men would have already met to launch their new organizational structure; and no doubt, brainstorm ideas as to how they can encourage men to be godly and serve our church family and community.
Your leadership team had their first huddle last Saturday evening. Your staff and elders are conscientious about how to enable our key leaders and members to effectively serve the Lord and His people in ministry. Every effort, event, dollar, issue, person and partnership is prayed, planned, reached, done, communicated, evaluated in order to build up the Body of Christ here called FFAC.
The youth ministry with Pastor Bong is in full swing. There are names I hear that I don’t recognize. Know what that means? God is moving among our youth in bringing their friends to CHILL – (hmmm… let me see if I remember what that stands for – “Children Hungry for an Intimate Life with their Lord.” Whoever thought of that name for a youth group is a genius! (Would that be you Imman?)
Our 2-part annual general meeting (AGM) went rather smoothly. Reports were accepted and budget was approved. Lord willing, your elders will call other congregational meetings throughout the year; we are aspiring for a minimum of one every 3 months – that’s a quarterly congregational meeting.
What for? It is a good exercise to review what we said we will do and monitor our progress. We will also be able to keep track and make adjustments to add or subtract to the funds allocated for each line item in the budget. We will know where we need more work, what we may be forgetting, and the areas where we’re doing well and need to strengthen.
People are praying. Hearts are softening. People are seeking God. Perhaps not in big numbers, but nevertheless, there are some who are making great strides in the God-ward direction.
Let us therefore thank our God Who is still working until now and has never stopped working says Jesus. God is still seeking and finding lost people. He still turns losers into winners. He still heals the broken and rebuilds relationships. He turns the sour into sweet. He turns the ornery to become kind; the stingy to become generous. He even brings the dead back to life. Okay, there are times when God allows the living to die. But my Bible mentions people like Abraham, Moses and other godly people in early human history that have been buried somewhere and yet Scripture says, that our God is the God of the living. That means that the ones who put their trust in Jesus, though they be dead by clinical definition, yet they are living. He heals diseases and deadly illnesses so people who should be sicker or dead are still kicking around. I’m one case in point.
One more example of God’s work, okay two more:
(1) have I already mentioned that our pastor for young people – Pastor Bong Cabuhat – has passed his accreditation interview? That means, he is now an officially recognized worker in the Christian and Missionary Alliance in Canada. Of course, there was never a doubt in anyone’s mind that God has called him to serve here in our city.
(2) Pastor Stewart would have already taught his second batch of baptismal class students. These ones are taking their allegiance to Jesus one major milestone forward – getting baptized in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. All heaven rejoices when one, even one person, returns to God. Yey !!! Woohoo !!! (translation: Praise the Lord!).
Warmly,
ricky p. mapa, pastor
|
