my home in butuan

TJFM Center Construction

2011-08-03T17:00:00.003+08:00

The construction of our TJFM center is now on its 4th week. We will update you with the progress of the construction by posting photos every 2 weeks in the Building Project Group of TJF Butuan Facebook. The photos below were taken at the end of the 3rd week of construction.

Taligaman Church Opening

2011-08-03T16:51:00.004+08:00

On the first Sunday of July, our Taligaman outreach finally became a local church. They had their first Sunday service that day. The church was full; there were over 170 people there - adults, children, and people from Butuan church who attended that significant event. We believe God has planted this local church in Taligaman to be salt and light in this Barangay. Let us uphold in prayer all the leaders and volunteers of the Taligaman ministry.

More fotos on the TJF Butuan Facebook.

TJFM YouTube Channel

2011-07-13T18:48:00.002+08:00

We created our YouTube account to launch our fundraising for the new center we are constructing. Click HERE to go to our channel.

Fundraising

2011-06-13T15:02:00.004+08:00

We are "selling" tickets to raise funds for our building construction. Tickets will be available soon. See more tickets at TJFM Facebook.

TJFM Center

2011-06-03T12:36:00.004+08:00

Another very exciting development in church these days is the purchase of our land and the preparation for the construction of our new church building. Last May 26 the land title was finally transferred to our name. The next day we called a meeting for all of our leaders in church to show them the 3 sketches that the architect made for us so we can choose.

The building sketch that was unanimously selected was this:

As soon as the architect finishes the changes we asked him to make on the church floor plan, I will upload the image in my next post. Please join us in praying for the construction of the new center. We still don't have the full amount to finish the building, so we are now praying and raising funds.

TJFM Youth Camp

2011-06-03T12:14:00.002+08:00

Another big event last May was the youth camp conducted by some of our church leaders and by our youth leaders. It was held in the Teen Missions International campsite in Buenavista, Agusan del Norte. Thirty-eight youth and young teens from the Butuan church and from our outreaches attended. They called it "Experience God Retreat." And it really was a powerful encounter with God. The Holy Spirit visited them in powerful, real and tangible ways - it was like the day of Pentecost. Most of them received the gifts of the Holy Spirit as they were prayed for. Now our youth are preparing for the school opening on June 6. These young people aged 12-17 have caught the vision for extending the Gospel in their campuses; they will start fellowships and small groups there. They are very willing to become leaders in these campus fellowships. I am now preparing the small group materials they will be using.

The highlight for us, and what excites us the most, is that our youth leaders who were facilitators in this camp did much of the work and even much of the praying for the campers. They told us how amazed they were that God used them in very powerful ways in that camp.

See their fotos in TJF Butuan Facebook. There are several fotos but you might want to start here.

Vacation Bible School 2011

2011-06-03T11:59:00.003+08:00

Last May 9-14, the church Children Ministry and the leaders and members from our Taligaman outreach conducted a Vacation Bible School in Barangay Taligaman. Around 130 children enrolled. Their theme was "Reclaiming the World for God" and the VBS package had a Jurassic Park look. The children were taught about the creator God and His purpose, the fall of man, and the believers' responsibility of reclaiming a lost world back to God. The parents told us how happy they were at the changes that happened to their children as they attended the VBS. On graduation day 118 children successfully completed the VBS. What excites us more is the involvement of our people in Taligaman in this ministry. We saw their joy as they worked hard and even sacrificed for the sake of advancing the Gospel in their community.

See their fotos in the TJF Butuan Facebook album. There are several albums on the VBS but you might like to start here.

Water Baptism and Family Day

2011-04-28T16:30:00.002+08:00

Last April 23 we conducted a water baptism and also had a Family Day for TJFM folks in Butuan and for all our outreaches. We didn't expect it, but the turnout this year is greater than last year. It's really exciting to see how the Lord has "grown" our fellowship. Twenty people from Butuan, from our youth group, Ecclesia, from our small groups, and from Bonbon and Taligaman made the decision to follow Jesus in water baptism. We also had lots of fun as we had breakfast together, played games, enjoyed the beach; some even went boat riding!

More fotos in TJFM Facebook here 1 and here 2.

Children Workers' Training

2011-04-28T16:24:00.002+08:00

Some members of the Children's Ministry attended the Vacation Bible School (VBS) seminar conducted by PCBS last April 6, 2011 at the Free Methodist Church. This is in preparation for the holding of TJFM's VBS on May 7-14 at Taligaman.

More fotos at TJFM Facebook.

Youth Community Service

2011-04-27T17:12:00.000+08:00

Last April 9 the youth in church, together with some of their Ecclesia members, went to Baranggay San Vicente to hold a clean-up drive (picking up of street trash) and to feed children in the community. It's very encouraging seeing them perform community service, being salt and light as Jesus said we ought to be. Helping them in this endeavor is the newly formed Community Service ministry in church which conducted relief goods distribution to flood victims last February.

More fotos in TJFM Facebook.

San Vicente Outreach

2011-03-22T12:23:00.003+08:00

Last January, after our leaders' retreat, Froilan and Genee met with their Bible study group in Brgy San Vicente to talk to them about what the TJFM leadership foresees about the future of this Bible study group - that they could become a local church. So we suggested they pursue this if they feel this is of God, and that they transition from 'Bible study' stance to 'outreach stance.' Everyone in San Vicente seems to be excited about this. Some of them even said God gave them a 'word' that sort of confirms this. So I offered to conduct a chronological presentation of God's purpose using our God's purpose chart. We did this for 4 weeks and had a wonderful time with them.

More fotos at TJF Butuan Facebook.

New Outreach Opening

2011-03-20T20:32:00.003+08:00

Though we have put off the opening of an outreach in Bit-os, God has other plans. He actually revealed something to Mabelle, and even sent ministry from New Zealand - a minister with a prophetic gift who accurately told Mabelle what God showed her the previous night and that morning - to confirm His guidance! Mabelle was dumbfounded! So the church leadership felt this opening in Bit-os should be supported, and Mabelle was given the go signal to start.

So Bit-os outreach started with 17 children last Saturday in spite of very heavy rains. Mabelle and Ram, together with our young teens, Yzza and Melody served the children. We are filled with expectation and excitement at what God will do here. We are sure He's got a lot of surprises for us who obey His Great Commission.

More fotos at TJF Butuan Facebook.

Community Service Ministry

2011-03-20T20:12:00.003+08:00

Some people in church received the burden and the vision to be used by God by serving people in the community in practical ways. So this group, headed by Lalaine Rafil, started this community service ministry. Their first project was helping poor families severely affected by the floods in Butuan during the 1st week of February. This is a very exciting ministry because we want to teach our people not only to love God, but also to love our neighbor as ourself. God has finally given us a mechanism by which we can do this and teach everyone in TJFM to obey this command by our Lord.

More fotos in TJF Butuan Facebook.

New Equipment

2011-03-20T19:56:00.002+08:00

We have just been given new equipment: a portable sound system with wireless microphones, and a printer-photocopier. We would like to thank those who donated these equipment.

The portable public address system is very helpful in our outreach work and in our youth campus fellowships. The printer-photocopier is being used to reproduce our sermon-based small group materials which all our small groups and Bible studies are using.

TJF Staff Installation

2011-02-15T11:52:00.003+08:00

Last Sunday we had an installation of the TJF staff. This is a milestone event for the church because this is our first ever installation of church workers. In the future we anticipate that not only will we install staff, but also ordain ministers who will then be commissioned to do kingdom works, whether it be within TJF, or to other organizations, and maybe to other parts of the world!

The Core Group of the church conducted this installation. More fotos HERE.

Bonbon Center

2011-02-15T11:45:00.003+08:00

We praise the Lord for blessing His people. The leaders in Bonbon church just had the walls of the Bonbon center constructed in the last 2 week. It is now complete. This came to be due to their diligence in saving and also with the help of some donors. More fotos HERE.

Training for Leaders

2011-02-09T15:33:00.005+08:00

One of the things the Lord spoke to us for 2011 is for the people in church to be mobilized to edify one another. So I conducted a seminar on Bible interpretation and sermon preparation to equip people to help us in teaching and in preaching - to share the load in the "pulpit ministry." I would like to see many become preachers and teachers of the Word, and minister in Butuan church, in our outreaches and in their small groups. Over 20 responded and signified that they would like to help teach and preach. I am excited to see our people rise up to preach in church and in our outreaches, edifying the brethren, and perhaps even become better and more effective than us! More fotos HERE.

Church Facility

2011-02-07T16:07:00.003+08:00

We are so thankful to God that he chose to bless us with a church facility. A church building is actually at the bottom of our ministry priority list because we always believed that church finance ought not to be invested (as its priority) on bricks and mortar, but on people. So the prospect of a church building is, for us, something far into the future. But it seems God has other plans. He touched people to give us finance to buy our land and build our church building. What can we say? Well, "Thank you, Lord" and "Thank you, guys" would be appropriate! So we're now looking for land so we can build as soon as we can. Please help us pray for this.

TJF Leaders' Retreat

2011-01-19T15:29:00.003+08:00

On January 7-8 we had our leaders' retreat at the Plazas' beach resort in Bolihon, Carmen, Agusan del Norte. We sought the Lord's guidance for the church for 2011. We also listened to Francis Chan's message: "Is This Really Church?" and had a good discussion on what the Bible really says about our Christian gatherings. The Lord impressed upon us to mobilize the people of the church to love and build up one another. We're conducting a number of equipping seminars early this year to empower our leaders to co-labor with us especially in preaching and teaching in Butuan church and in all our outreaches.

Carmen Outreach Gift Giving

2011-01-19T15:15:00.007+08:00

Again, thanks to our ministry partners and sponsors, we were able to conduct a Christmas celebration and gift giving in our outreach at Carmen, Agusan del Norte last December 18. We also brought instruments and we were able to have praise and worship with them. Daday shared the Word. We had snacks, games, and giving of gifts. The people and the children in Carmen have become more open to the Word since we started regular Bible studies last May.

Bonbon Christmas Party and Gift Giving

2011-01-19T15:06:00.003+08:00

Last December 19 Bonbon outreach had their Christmas celebration. I was invited to share the Word. We had a wonderful time of worship, fellowship and fun. Thanks to our partners and sponsors, we were able to distribute gifts to the children and grocery packs to families.

Church Christmas Celebration

2010-12-14T14:47:00.004+08:00

On December 12 we had our church Christmas celebration for the adults, youth and young teens; the children already had theirs the day before. It was not just a Christmas party; it was also a celebration of the Lord's faithfulness to us for the past 4 years. I preached about celebrations that anticipate the celebration in the kingdom of God at the Wedding Supper of the Lamb.
The church was packed; the head count was 140. We had a wonderful time together as we worshipped God, ate, and had games and a "Christmas shopping" (our version of exchanging gifts).

More fotos on our Facebook page.

Children Christmas Party

2010-12-14T14:38:00.005+08:00

The Children Ministry had a separate Christmas celebration for our children because we would not fit in church if the adults and children had simultaneous Christmas celebrations.

Our children had a ball! Thanks to sponsors, they had plenty of food and gifts. A couple in church whose business is party balloons and stuff also sent us their 3 mascots: Dora, Spongebob, and Barney. Not only the kids were very happy - all of us adults who were there, also had a wonderful time.

More fotos in our Facebook page.

New Website, Again!

2010-12-02T13:40:00.007+08:00

Our website at publishpath.com didn't really work out for us. It was a free site, but had very limited features. Recently I came across Google Sites and it is fantastic! We are able to create as many web pages - even websites - as we want. What I love is that I am able to create a resources page, like an online cabinet, for all of our materials so everyone can download them. So I created a new site for us at Google Sites. Very happy with it.

Check it out.

Young Teens Event

2010-12-02T13:27:00.004+08:00

Jiji, Lorelei, and their team organized an event to encourage the young teens in church and to reach out again to young teens who attended the DVBS but are not attending their gatherings anymore. They were very happy because the young teens class attendance returned to its former number. They now have their own page in Facebook!

Linda Harding Visit

2010-12-02T13:14:00.003+08:00

Last November 21 our long-awaited guest speaker, Linda Harding, finally arrived. Everyone in church was excited and expectant to hear the word of the Lord for us. She exhorted all of us to reach out to people wherever we are, connect with them, so we can bring them to the Lord. Linda must have prayed for almost a hundred people! We all received very encouraging 'prophetic words' and promises from God.

VCF Discipleship Seminar

2010-10-27T15:48:00.003+08:00

The Lord amazingly provided us what we need at this time - a good discipleship system. We felt this is the way to go in order to faithfully steward the growth He is giving us. The Lord touched a dear sister in Christ in Manila to sponsor a team from Victory Christian Fellowship (VCF), Cagayan de Oro, to come to Butuan to conduct a seminar on making disciples. The team, headed by Pastor Janssen Torredes, very generously taught us the VCF system of making disciples, which we like very much. Sixty-nine leaders, workers and volunteers from the church and from our outreaches attended. Half of the attendance was young people, something we are very excited about.

We will soon do a strategic planning meeting to talk about how to implement this system in church. More fotos HERE.

Leaders' Fellowship

2010-10-27T15:38:00.005+08:00

The Lord has led us to strengthen our leaders in preparation for a new thing He is about to do in the church. So we decided to conduct leadership upskilling seminars, and also to have leaders' fellowships to pursue this guidance. Last October 17 we had a fellowship just for the leaders, workers and volunteers of the church. We had fun together, had dinner, and did some team building activities. More fotos HERE.

Youth Sports JAM

2010-10-07T14:37:00.003+08:00

The youth organization of our youth, Ecclesia, organized a sports event for all their members. They got the favor of a local school which allowed them to use the school grounds for this event. To see slideshow click HERE.

Children Sunday

2010-10-04T13:39:00.003+08:00

Last September 26 the church celebrated Children Sunday. The children of the church made us proud. They were in charge of the Sunday service: they did the welcoming, the emceeing, and performed an interpretative dance and a tambourine dance.

Many who participated in the presentations are new attendees in our Sunday School. It inspired us all the more to minister to our children in church. The Children Ministry also launched their Adopt-A-Child-In-Prayer program. We were asked to get pieces of paper that had on them profiles of children in the church and in our outreaches. We were asked to pray for them regularly. Then I preached from Lk 18:16-17, "Why Jesus Wants Children to Come To Him." The message challenged all of us minister to children. After service we had plenty of food and ice cream!

Leadership Upskilling

2010-09-21T15:50:00.006+08:00

The Lord has spoken to us about raising our leadership lid to the next level. So we began working towards offering training and team building fellowship for all the workers, leaders and volunteers of the church.

Our first upskilling module was about Spiritual Leadership using the video teaching of Henry Blackaby and Avery Willis. The teaching was great and very helpful. But what we enjoyed the most was the fellowship, learning together, and praying for one another.

More fotos here.

New Website

2010-09-09T17:17:00.006+08:00

We created a new website for the church. It's a small site which just tells people about The Jesus Family: what our purpose statement is, what we believe in, what our ministries are, and our calendar of events. Included is also a pastor's blog where you can read very short devotional thoughts from Edgar. There's also a sermon widget so you can listen to the latest uploaded sermon.

This blog, however, will continue to post ministry updates for you who are following us.

To go to the new website, just click on the ABOUT TJF menu button at the top of the page.

Mission Sunday

2010-08-18T14:18:00.006+08:00

Last Sunday we celebrated our second Mission Sunday this year. We invited a missionary couple working among an unreached people group to present their ministry; we released our mission fund for this quarter to them.
Our church Missions Team prepared presentations and a mission exhibit. I shared about the Great Commission using a powerpoint from Joshua Project. Our people said they were touched and challenged by last Sunday's mission celebration.

Click HERE to see the slideshow.

Youth Ministry

2010-08-18T14:10:00.004+08:00

Last Friday our youth conducted another Youth J.A.M. (Jesus and me). Over 80 young people came. This time majority of the attendees were the members of our youth ministry's campus organization called Ecclesia. This is a new wave of young people whom the Lord has brought to us. We are very excited at the prospect of implementing the more systematic discipleship program which we are developing right now. Our prayer is that majority of the members of Ecclesia will end up as disciples of Jesus.

Click HERE

New Move of God Among the Youth

2010-08-09T11:28:00.008+08:00

Our youth ministry "stumbled upon" the way God wanted to work among the youth they are reaching out to. God led them to start a youth organization. They called it Ecclesia, from the Greek word ekklesia (translated in our English Bibles as 'church') which refers to the gathering of citizens called out by the herald to discuss matters of their kingdom or city-state.

The youth in several campuses in our city really likes the organization and its ideals, so they are joining. In less than a month they already have over a hundred members.

Ecclesia aims to help the youth love God, take care of the environment, and learn to serve.

The goal of the organization is to make disciples. We are preparing a series of teaching topics that will become the material that members go through.

The fotos below are from their second acceptance rites. On their 3rd acceptance rites they accepted over 70 new members!

Young Teens Ministry

2010-07-27T10:04:00.006+08:00

Last month we launched our new ministry: Young Teens Ministry. Our Sunday School children have now grown up. New teens were added also as a result of the Vacation Bible School last May. Then 2 nurses in church felt God wants them to minister to these teens. So we segregated our 11-15 year-olds to join this young teens group, handled by Gigi and Lorelei. During Sunday they now have their own class in the 2nd floor hall. We feel the Lord is really speaking to the church about getting hold of the lives of our teenagers before they reach college.

To launch this ministry off, I conducted a seminar called "The Story of God's Purpose." This seminar aims to give our teenagers a Biblical worldview story to help them stand against the many false "worldview stories" that our animistic culture and today's post-modern world will throw at them everyday. This seminar tells about the story of God's kingdom from eternity past when some angels rebelled right down to the end of the Age when Jesus becomes King of kings and Lord of lords.

Church Needs Met

2010-06-06T23:00:00.002+08:00

We thank the Lord because He provided for the church needs we posted here. Our 2nd floor is now fully air conditioned: the 3 classrooms and the hall which we now plan to utilize as a session hall. We were able to buy 3 aircons. This meeting place will be the meeting place for a new ministry we are launching in church, our Young Teens ministry (for 12-15 year-old youth) which will be handled by a new volunteer, sis Gigi. As a result of the Vacation Bible School we now have over 20 young teens eager to learn the Word.

Our needed sofas, plants, tables, chairs, window blinds, a good speaker system, etc were bought because of this provision. We thank the Lord for the people who felt touched by Him to help meet these needs.

Youth JaM

2010-06-06T22:29:00.002+08:00

The youth had their Youth JaM (Jesus and Me) first anniversary last week. They had songs, games and testimonies. I shared about the importance of the Word and about post-modernism. There were around 60 young people and they were very responsive to the worship and the ministry of the Word. It is very encouraging to see the Lord encountering our youth.

Carmen Outreach

2010-06-06T22:20:00.006+08:00

Our outreach in Carmen, a town 1 hour away from Butuan, was re-opened 2 weeks ago. They held the Bible study at ate Bernadette's house. Daday heads up the Carmen team. Sis Ging taught the children the Word of God.

Vacation Bible School

2010-06-06T21:26:00.004+08:00

Last May 17-22 our children ministry offered a 5-day Vacation Bible School in church. They invited many children and youth from the community where our church is located. About half of the over 60 enrollees were from the community. The great thing about this event is that around 20 youth and over 10 children now come to church. Some parents now also visit the church.

Water Baptism

2010-05-19T13:08:00.004+08:00

We had our Family Day and Water Baptism last May 15 at Manapa beach. This is the first time Butuan, Bonbon, and Taligaman fellowships had a time together at the beach. 21 people from all 3 churches followed the Lord in water baptism. We also had lots of fun together that day.

May Events

2010-05-19T10:46:00.003+08:00

This month of May brought us a lot of exciting events. We had joint intercession night with brethren from Bonbon as the culmination of our April intercessory event for Butuan and the nation. Then we had 2 rummage sales to raise funds for our Family Day and Water Baptism. Auntie Cely arrived from the US and we welcomed her. We also celebrated Mother's Day Sunday with our ministry partners who arrived in Butuan from other countries.

YOuth JaM

2010-04-27T12:35:00.002+08:00

The youth had their monthly youth gathering in church last friday. The Lord visited them and many were touched by the presence of God during the altar call challenge. Taligaman and Bonbon youth were greatly encouraged.

Mission Sunday

2010-04-21T11:11:00.002+08:00

Last Sunday was our Mission Sunday. We had an invited guest from the Translators Association of the Philippines (TAP), a mission exhibit and mission presentations to emphasize once again the Great Commission of the Lord. We also had a child dedication after the service.

May DVBS

2010-04-20T14:33:00.002+08:00

Mabel's team is preparing for a Daily Vacation Bible School this May to be conducted at the church. They held several workshops to equip the teachers and volunteers.

Prayer Walk

2010-04-20T13:58:00.003+08:00

The Intercessory Ministry of the church, led by ate Tess, organized a prayer walk every Saturday 5AM for the month of April. We start our walk from the church to the city hall at around 5 AM, praying for the city of Butuan, the May 10 elections, the needs of the church and of the people in church. This is very timely because so many people in church needed prayer these past several weeks because of the trying circumstances they are in. We thank God we now sense a breakthrough beginning to happen.

Our New Place

2010-03-27T10:49:00.003+08:00

Here are fotos of our new place: Front view fotos and 2nd floor fotos. Included are fotos of the youth gathering and intercessory prayer that took place last night, showing other fotos of the place.

On the side bar is also a map of our new location on Google maps.

We Have Moved!

2010-03-18T23:11:00.002+08:00

Watch out for our post on our transfer to a new place.

We will post fotos, our new address, and a map of our place.

Tribute to the Graduating Class

2010-03-18T22:21:00.004+08:00

Our youth approached the principal and school student government of the Butuan City School of Arts and Trade (BCSAT), and were given the privilege of conducting a tribute to the graduating students, one hundred fifty of them! Through this activity we were allowed to give tokens (mementos with Bible verses) to the graduating students, share words of encouragement and guidance (our very own sister Carol Niepes was their guest speaker), and even pray for them. Our youth also had dance and song presentations and a personal testimony of God's blessing. Then they served snacks and invited them to the youth gathering next Friday. This tribute was very well received and many indicated interest in attending the youth gathering in church.

Youth Outreach

2010-03-02T16:56:00.005+08:00

Our youth went out to share the love of Jesus to people in Golden Ribbon and Philippine Match, districts in our city near the Agusan River. They were able to share the Word, pray for the sick, and invited youth and children to attend church - and they (youth and kids) did, last Sunday!
Afterwards they went to see Rezy's skateboarder friends and spent time with them. Our youth testified last Sunday of the joy they felt when they reached out to people.

Operation Christmas Child Distribution

2010-02-26T14:24:00.005+08:00

Last Saturday, February 20, we started distributing our Operation Christmas Child (OCC) gifts. We divided our lot of 180 boxes into 3 distributions of 60 boxes each time. Last Saturday was for Taligaman (see slideshow). Of those 60 kids who were recipients, around 30 were new kids. A Vacation Bible School will continue our follow-up of these children. We hope to reach 100 new children through these OCC events, increasing our Children Ministry to a total of around 200 children in Butuan church and in our outreaches. The leaders of the church are very excited with the prospect of a consistent ministry to these children for 7 years and see a harvest of youth disciples of Christ afterwards!

Mabel, who heads up our Children Ministry, envisioned a Children's Church two years ago. Now this vision could be within our reach, with the favor of the Lord of the Harvest. Please pray with us in this endeavor.

Our new vehicle was also used for the first time in the OCC distribution for Taligaman.

Youth Valentine Event

2010-02-16T15:59:00.004+08:00

The youth had a Valentine's Day event (see slideshow) in church last Sunday evening. They prepared a 'talk show' where the youth can ask questions about love to a panel of guests (Daryl, Delora, Lecille and me). They also had a dating game. Around 60 youth from several campuses came. After the event they told us how they enjoyed and are grateful for the things they learned.

Fotos also in Facebook, "Seekers Zone Clan".

Leaders' Retreat

2010-02-16T14:44:00.004+08:00

Last January 22-23 we had our annual leaders' retreat. We went to a beach resort to seek God, discuss our ministry vision, philosophy, and core values. I also shared what we believe is the Lord's guidance for us for the year 2010. We had lots of fun, enjoyed the beach, and also worked and planned for what the Lord wants to entrust to us this year.

Bonbon Christmas Celebration

2009-12-22T19:45:00.002+08:00

Bonbon outreach had their first Christmas celebration last Sunday. We rejoice with them for the faithfulness of God throughout 2009. See Bonbon page for slideshow.

Christmas Celebration

2009-12-16T12:46:00.004+08:00

Butuan church had our Christmas celebration last Sunday, Dec 13. There were around 180 people; our Taligaman brethren joined us as well as the key leaders of our Bonbon outreach. Bonbon outreach will have their celebration this coming Sunday. Our new children ministry playground equipment was used for the first time. This equipment was on our prayer list and the Lord touched a dear family in Canada to answer this need! The kids (around 60 of them) were overwhelmed with joy when they arrived in church and saw this playground equipment.

We also had a Singaporean guest speaker who spoke to us about being salt and light in the community. This is a word that the Lord has laid in our hearts for several weeks now, something we will look at as a ministry for 2010.

We had Sunday service in the morning, lunch, then presentations, games and a Christmas shopping (our exchanging of gifts) in the afternoon. The celebration is a fitting event for what the Lord has achieved in our midst in the year 2009. He alone is to be praised.

November and December Events

2009-12-16T10:36:00.004+08:00

Delora and Daryl tied the knot last November 7 in Tagbilaran, Bohol, Delora's hometown. Tobey, Marichu and I were there. It was a lovely wedding.

The church watched Pacman defeat Cotto after Sunday service. We were very noisy, shouting and screaming.

The church sets aside money to give to mission agencies, workers and missionaries. We give this fund every quarter. So we invited Ptr Eulan Salem to share about his tribal ministry. We blessed him financially and we also asked him to pray for our people; he is a gifted evangelist and really blessed us that Sunday.

We also had a rummage sale; the proceeds we used for our Christmas celebration.

Bonbon Fellowship Opening

2009-10-27T12:55:00.003+08:00

Bonbon Fellowship opened last Sunday 2PM. Many of us from The Jesus Family Butuan, as well as our brethren from Taligaman, came to celebrate with them. We have seen the work of Jesus, the Head of the Church, in Bonbon. It is such a privilege of being part of this.
See slideshow in the Bonbon blog (link on the menu above).

Youth Event

2009-10-26T18:30:00.004+08:00

The youth had a big event last Friday. It was a huge success. They watched the Indescribable video, had a catered dinner (thanks to Ken and Ann Carter), had group discussions, and ice cream afterwards.
Many responded to Louie Giglio's message and received the Lord. Each group presented their response to the video; all of them were really touched by the message. Many are asking when the next youth event would be.

Bonbon Center Opening

2009-10-12T09:18:00.003+08:00

Bonbon center is finally done. It will be officially opened this coming October 25. On this day they will have their first Sunday service. This is also a milestone for the church because Bonbon is our first church-plant. Bonbon outreach is the Lord's firstfruits for us; we anticipate a great harvest (of people and church-plants) to follow. First foto below is the old meeting place; succeeding fotos are of the new center. See slideshow in Bonbon blog.

Recent Events

2009-10-10T09:56:00.006+08:00

After the Children Sunday we celebrated our Mission Sunday, something we do every 4 months to keep the Great Commission in the forefront of the church.

I also conducted a Purpose of God workshop because some of our leaders wanted to see a presentation of God's purpose and plan. We used the chart that I created for our Bible studies.

Last week, Samantha, JR and Marigold's daughter celebrated her birthday. Her parents and grandparents prepared lunch and invited many of us from church.

Additional updates: More fotos in this slideshow on the recent Mission Sunday. The Intercessory Ministry core group also met regularly this month to plan for church prayer events and for the upcoming Intercession Sunday. Cecille started a Sign Language class for all who are interested.

More fotos in the slideshow at the sidebar.

Taligaman Bible Study

2009-10-06T12:16:00.002+08:00

Our Bible Study in Taligaman is very fruitful. Both adults and children are very attentive and responsive. They now are regularly attending our Sunday services. We are using a new tool we developed, a chronological picture chart showing God's purpose.

Children Sunday

2009-09-08T14:16:00.003+08:00

Our fellowship believes that we must invest in ministry to children and the youth. Beginning this year 2009 we have allocated resources to intentionally intensify our ministry focus to them. So last Sunday we had our Children Sunday in order to cast vision among the people in church that we need to teach the Word to children and also to the youth.
Mabel's team organized this event - Mabel, Ethel, Cecille, Perl, together with their assistants, Geralyn, Angel, and Yzza. The event was a huge success! Yzza was the emcee in that Sunday service, the children had presentations, Mabel showed us the history of the Children ministry in church, Ethel and assistants made 2 beautiful display boards, I preached on children ministry, and we had balloons, confetti, and ice cream and cake for snacks. The church was full because people from Bonbon, Taligaman, and Carmen attended! There was a whole jeep-load of them from Taligaman. The atmosphere was one of joy and celebration.

Carmen Bible Study

2009-09-08T14:01:00.005+08:00

Last August 29 we finally conducted our first Bible study at Carmen, Agusan del Norte, in the house of ate Bernadette. This opening has been in our prayer list for several months and God has finally answered.
It was very exciting because we had adults in that meeting, friends and relatives of ate Bernadette. We pray this will be the beginning of an opening to the Gospel in that place among ate Bernadette's family.

Bonbon Center Construction

2009-08-18T17:11:00.003+08:00

The Bonbon Center construction started yesterday. Ken is overseeing the work. Everyone is eager to see this completed. More fotos in the Bonbon page (see tab on top of our page).

New Outreach Efforts

2009-08-11T13:16:00.004+08:00

During the past 4 weeks something has been bringing excitement into the church: our outreaches. Our Bonbon outreach will start to construct their meeting place, a modest, makeshift place, where they will do Bible studies, seminars, music practice and other activities. We challenged the church people to give and to ask donations from non-Christian friends as well. The response was amazing. We were able to raise over P20,000 plus plenty of GI sheets (for roofing) and lumber. We hope to start this week.

Then God finally answered our prayers to have a Bible study in Barangay Taligaman where Marichu's family and relatives live. Three Saturdays ago we finally begun! A number of volunteers also committed themselves to help in this outreach, Tobey and Marichu (organizing, preparing), Mabel and Jenny (to teach children), Ate Tess (praying for youth), Auntie Cely, Auntie Dida, and Dadang.

Below are fotos of our 1st and 3rd Bible study. On the 3rd Bible study we already had 40 children and 7 adults. Praise the Lord! See also sidebar for more fotos.

But this is not all. On August 29 ate Bernadette (attendee of Auntie Cely's Bible study) invited us to go to their house in Carmen (a town 1 hour away) so we can start Bible study will all her relatives there! Please join us in prayer that the Lord will also open a door for the Gospel in that place so that they, too, will become obedient followers of Jesus and become agents of His kingdom there.

Special Sundays

2009-08-11T12:46:00.003+08:00

For 2 successive Sundays we had visitors in the church. They were students of the Perspectives Course that was conducted at LSI, who took the course with us (Lecille, Delora, me and all LSI staff). Some of them came to church on those Sundays; they were from Hongkong, Thailand, Bangladesh, UK, USA. On the second Sunday Linda Harding was our speaker and the church was so blessed, especially every individual who asked for prayer and received words of prophecy. Actually almost everyone in church came forward for prayer and Linda prayed for each one from 11:30AM-1:30PM! As a result, our adults, leaders, and the youth are now experiencing personal revival. We thank God for visiting us and using His people to bless us.

Training

2009-07-21T12:41:00.007+08:00

The church is committed to moving our people from "Visitor" to "Nurture", to "Equipping", and finally to "Service" stages. We continually encourage them to join our leaders' meetings which are open to all who are interested in helping in the ministry, and also to attend various seminars offered round about Butuan City. Last June Steve and Kathy King came. Last week Ptr. Don Barry, also from New Zealand, came and shared about the inner life of leaders. Ptr. Don has been in the ministry for almost 20 years and is pastoring a large church. He was also mentored/coached by Ptr. Jack Hayford in the USA together with other pastors and leaders around the world. It was great to have most of our key leaders and ministry workers/volunteers in church attend Ptr. Don's seminar and receive a blessing from him. I was also surprised by our director, Max Chismon, who asked me to share in one afternoon session. I did, and the participants said they enjoyed my session, praise God.

Mission Sunday

2009-07-21T12:27:00.003+08:00

Last June we had a Mission Sunday. We want our church to be committed in contributing to the advance of the Great Commission locally and globally. I prepared a mission sermon and people in the church prepared presentations. The youth prepared an ethnic dance while the adults prepared a drama. The drama was integrated into our celebration of the Lord's Supper. During the Lord's Supper I asked, "Has everyone been served?" One by one the drama people dressed in costumes of ethnic groups said, "Our people group has been neglected by you; we have not been served!" People in the congregation were crying as this drama/Lord's Supper went on. It was very powerful in challenging us all of our responsibility in preaching the Gospel to all nations.

New Equipment

2009-06-09T09:25:00.004+08:00

A couple in the US, who have been our faithful ministry partners for quite some time already, blessed us financially so we can purchase needed equipment and instrument for the church and for Bonbon ministry. These equipment has helped our ministry - our ministry of the Word, music ministry, and church outreach - tremendously! Thank you so much for your generosity. The Bible says "And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward." (Mt 10:42)

Kathy King Seminar

2009-06-05T16:08:00.004+08:00

Some of our companions in church attended an inner healing seminar held at LSI. They had a great time learning new things and enjoying the fellowship of other Christians from other churches. There were over 80 participants of this seminar. Steve and Kathy King are pastors of a large church in New Zealand; Kathy is a professional counselor and now ministers worldwide in this area. The entire seminar was recorded on video at the LSI studio. Ram and I operated the cameras; I trained Glaiza to operate our video mixer. She was a natural; she's studying Communications and is familiar with video production.

Bonbon School Supplies Distribution

2009-06-05T15:38:00.003+08:00

A couple from the US, who are our ministry partners, sent money to buy school supplies for the children in Bonbon. Ken, Rose and Ging bought the items and distributed them last Monday, June 1. The parents and children were very, very happy. Some mothers jumped and danced with joy when they learned we were going to distribute school supplies. Many mothers were already worried because they still have not bought notebooks for their children and the school is already starting. See Bonbon blog for a slideshow.

Youth Event

2009-06-05T15:22:00.009+08:00

The youth organized their first big event last Sunday evening. There were over 50 of them in that gathering. They had worship, drama, dances, teaching, and prayer for their friends. It is so encouraging to see the youth in church work hard as a team to prepare their event and to see them minister to other youth.

Baptism

2009-06-05T14:36:00.003+08:00

We conducted our 4th water baptism at a beach in Manapa. Nine people followed the Lord in baptism. We also made this time a Family Day. We had lots of fun together. The people from Bonbon came with us also. See slideshow on the sidebar.

BonBon Party

2009-05-28T18:32:00.002+08:00

Last Saturday there was a big event at Bonbon. We shared the Word, had games, prizes, songs and snacks. Check out the Bonbon blog.

Youth Ministry Revived

2009-05-28T17:55:00.003+08:00

For several months we have been praying that somebody would minister to our youth. Then 2 weeks ago JR and Marigold approached us and told us of their burden for the youth, not just in church but also youth in our city! We gave them permission to start something out with the youth in church.
Their first activity was an overnight planning and prayer gathering in the church. Out of this first planning meeting, a plan for youth outreach is beginning to emerge. This coming Sunday will be their first big youth event which they call the Seeker Zone. They already listed a total of 70 young people who are coming - mostly their friends!

Mother's Day

2009-05-11T11:01:00.003+08:00

We greeted the mothers in church a happy Mother's Day. We watched a Mother's Day Powerpoint presentation then we asked them to come up front and gave them french bread from Pan de Pugon.
There were so many people in church yesterday. Auntie Charit and Ate Peth Manalac just arrived from the US. So many people from Bonbon also came. And since it was my birthday on May 8, we had camote, kinilaw, behon, etc for snacks. Ethel Go also bought me a cake....she's so thoughtful.

Pacman Wins Again

2009-05-04T10:58:00.003+08:00

We watched Pacman vs Hatton yesterday in church after service. It was wild; everyone was screaming and dancing, kids and adults alike.

Bonbon Blog

2009-05-01T18:21:00.003+08:00

Good news! We launched the Bonbon blog today. A link in our Menu Tab (see above) has been added to go to the Bonbon page. Ken will maintain this page and I might contribute posts from time to time.
See this page for more fotos of the Bonbon DVBS.

Bonbon Vacation Bible School

2009-04-30T18:58:00.006+08:00

Vacation Bible School in Bonbon began last Monday. This was actually requested by the parents of our children in Bonbon. This event is very, very encouraging for the whole church. Many of our people have volunteered to teach, assist, or just go there to encourage the others. For many, it is a joyous time that they can express their service to the Lord and to His people. Ken and Ann Carter also sent us money to buy the sound system for Bonbon ministry, so we were able to use it right on time.
There are 3 classes: Pre-school, Elementary, and High School. On monday we had 54 students; by Wednesday, the attendance went up to 78! There were many youth who attended, too; there were around 25 of them on Wednesday. The graduation will be this coming Saturday.
First foto below is the planning meeting for the DVBS, followed by registration day.

Missions in Church

2009-04-30T18:48:00.002+08:00

We gathered people in church who graduated from the Kairos Course. We wanted to hear from them what they would like to commit to God in helping fulfill the Great Commission. During the meeting we were very excited to hear each one's desire and commitment to participate in the Great Commission.
All the core group members of the church has now also gone through the course. The core group has now implemented policies that position our church to be a Great Commission church. We now have a missions fund. We will now support mission agencies and missionaries. We will now have prayer for the nations every Sunday.

Hear ye, hear ye!! Wedding Bells!

2009-04-13T20:40:00.005+08:00

Here is good news for all people on earth: Daryl and Delora are now engaged! Halleluia! Let us all pray for their wedding preparations. Let us all pray, as well, how we may bless them on their wedding day.

April Bits

2009-04-13T20:22:00.004+08:00

Last Holy Thursday night we had a "Meet the Lord Service" in church. We had a wonderful time praising and worshipping God, sharing the Word and having fellowship. The previous week, Lecille and I went to Cagayan de Oro to dedicate our nephew, Peniel Oscar, the son of Junjan and Sharon.

Small Group Planning

2009-04-13T20:12:00.003+08:00

All small group and Bible study leaders had a planning meeting at Bit-os. Ram, Mabel, Lea and Cris hosted the meeting. They prepared behon guisado, camote and lots of 'lamaw' (coconut meat and juice). We met at a waiting shed/cottage beside the Agusan River. We all planned how we may serve the people and the leaders in church through nurture groups and accountability groups. Daday heads up/coordinates this ministry.

Graduates

2009-04-13T19:57:00.002+08:00

Congratulations Kairos graduates! They were in ethnic attire. Ken and Cely shared their testimony to the class. Choleng and Cely bought a lechon...wow, sarap!

Church On Facebook

2009-03-24T15:50:00.000+08:00

Hi everyone. We are now on Facebook. If you are on Facebook you can find our page by typing "The Jesus Family Ministries" in the search box. Please become a fan in order for our page link to appear in your Info tab. Fans can write on the Wall and upload fotos. Enjoy, and see ya!

Mission Course

2009-03-23T13:42:00.005+08:00

Several of our people in church are attending the Mission Course at LSI which is conducted this whole month of March: Cely, Choleng, Tobey, Marichu, Ken, Roselyn, Ram, Wayne, Ethel and Perl. In the course they saw God's dual plan of redeeming all peoples and re-claiming His usurped kingdom. They are now very encouraged to participate and contribute in the Father's business of blessing all nations. They will graduate next week, on March 31. Delora, Lecille and me are helping to facilitate this course.

Refreshing From The Lord

2009-03-23T13:00:00.003+08:00

The Lord has shown us favor by visiting the church starting at the closing weeks of February. This visitation started during our intercessory nights and so we decided to teach about the Person, Work, and Gifts of the Holy Spirit. We also did 3 successive Friday night prayers till midnight to prepare ourselves for this refreshing from the Lord. Since that time God would visit us with His manifest presence during our praise and worship times and during altar call after the sermon. People began encountering God in a real way as the ministry team prayed for them. Many of them tell us, "Now I know God is real; He has touched me in a very real way." Many have been baptized with the Holy Spirit and received spiritual gifts. Those who received gifts of healing immediately helped us pray for the sick. Ken prayed for Carol's father in the hospital; the following day he got out of the hospital!

Child Dedication and Bonbon People

2009-03-23T12:46:00.006+08:00

Last March 1 was a very special Sunday Service. JR and Marigold's daughter, Samantha Abram was dedicated to the Lord. The folks from Bonbon also came to church for the first time. There were almost 20 of them, 8 adults and 12 children. They have been asking Ging and Ken to visit the church, so they finally came that Sunday. That day Marichu, Roselyn and Jenalyn sang an offering song to the Lord! Their husbands were very happy. It was a very exciting Sunday as well because the topic was about The Holy Spirit and God moved powerfully that day during praise and worship and after Lecille's teaching.

2009 Leaders' Planning Retreat

2009-02-06T16:59:00.005+08:00

The Lord gave us 2 clear words guidance for the year 2009:

1. He wants us to help our people become responsive to Him. Jn 8:31
Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."
We are to help them learn to hear from God and obey Him. So we now have a campaign for people in church to covenant with one another to follow a daily Bible reading guide, the Daily Bread digest.
2. He wants us to keep the territories we have won; expand them, and not lose ground.
Amos 1-2 shows several Gentile nations harassing Israel. These nations, actually, occupy the territory God promised to Joshua as Israel's inheritance (Josh 1:3-5). David and Solomon had already conquered these territories. But Israel lost ground because of her unfaithfulness to God.

So we held a leaders' retreat to work out practical steps in obeying the guidance the Lord gave us. Responsiveness to the Lord, passionate spirituality, and diligence in the kingdom of God has to begin with us, the leaders. So we covenanted to attend to "our ship's ballast" - to what is beneath the waterline (which God looks at), rather than on those things above the waterline (which people look at; things we tend to work on to impress people).

Garcias in Cebu

2009-01-20T18:25:00.003+08:00

The Lord has blessed us and allowed us to go to Cebu City to spend Christmas and New year with my family. Lecille, Ethan and I went there. Our daughter, Alenna, who's in Cebu met up with us there. I haven't seen my parents and brothers and sisters for a long time and it was great for us to have a sort of reunion there on Christmas.

Fotos at the sidebar, or you can click here.

Bonbon Gift Giving

2008-12-22T17:02:00.003+08:00

Months ago we prayed that the church will be able to give Christmas gifts to our outreach in Bonbon. The Lord answered our prayers by touching people here and in other parts of the world to give finance and gift items towards that project. So we distributed these gifts last Saturday, December 20. All our Bible study contacts there were very, very happy and thankful for the blessings they received. We would like to thank everyone who gave to this project. The Bible says those who give to the poor actually 'lend' to the Lord! And we know no one out-gives our God.

See the fotos in our side bar, or click here for a larger slideshow.

Christmas Program

2008-12-16T14:17:00.004+08:00

We had our church Christmas party last Sunday. It was just FUN! We had lots of visitors: family members and close friends. Sunday service was great. Lunch was beautiful. Our afternoon program was the best of all of our Christmas parties. Everyone just had a wonderful time.

See the sidebar for the slideshow, or click here.

Church Watches Pacman

2008-12-08T14:28:00.004+08:00

Some of us remained in church and watched Pacman win yesterday.

Rummage Sale

2008-12-08T14:09:00.005+08:00

We raised funds for our Bonbon gift giving project and also for our church Christmas party. The people in church were very generous and we gathered many, many items.
Our first customers: Dadang and Jingjing, Auntie Cely's helpers
Lea
Geralyn, Adin's daughter
Carol
"Shoppers"
We had over 100 DVDs
Lecille and Auntie Ging trying out some clothes
Cashier Mabelle and helpers Daryl and others

Preparing for Bonbon Gift-giving

2008-12-08T13:51:00.005+08:00

On December 20 the church will distribute Christmas gifts to our outreach in Bonbon. The Lord has blessed us with a monetary gift and with 6 boxes of items, all from the US, designated for Bonbon outreach. When the boxes arrived we immediately started sorting out the items for distribution.

We had lunch together

Bonbon Outreach Update

2008-11-24T16:31:00.010+08:00

Last September the church prayed and fasted for our Bonbon outreach. We prayed that God would give us additional volunteers/workers who would commit to join Auntie Gingging on our Saturday ministry there. We also prayed that a family would open up their place for regular Bible study.

One week later our first prayer was answered when Ken and Roselyn Russel committed to help in Bonbon. Over a month later, a couple requested for Bible study and offered their place where we can have our Saturday gatherings.

Roselyn and her friend teaching the children

Ken shared the Word with the youth and adults

The children

The youth with some of the adults

Aunti Ging and Daday prepared snacks. Daday and her husband offered their machine shop area to be our venue. She and her husband attends the Bible study.

Ken was able to get a few Cebuano Bibles from the Gideons ministry here in our city

More fotos in the sidebar!

Lola Tiyang's Passing

2008-11-24T15:25:00.002+08:00

Last November 9, Auntie Cely's mother, Lola Tiyang, passed away at age 97. The church was there to comfort the family and to provide funeral services. It was a time for meeting Auntie Cely's family and relatives and also an opportunity to share the Word of God during our services.

More pictures at the sidebar.

Edgar, Lecille and Delora in Thailand

2008-11-10T23:27:00.011+08:00

The 3 of us went to Thailand last Oct 15-29 for a conference. Actually, the organization where we are working organized it, so we all went. The conference was a huge success. It was attended by over 130 people from 25 countries. We praise God for the strength He has given us.
at bangkok international airport
packing the delegates' welcome package
lecille and her team did registration
the conference
filipino team led worship during our cultural night

delora was our worship leader
lecille, ruby and robert. ruby and robert came all the way from the USA to be our official photographers. lecille and ruby are old-time best friends.
lecille, ruby and delora
this icebreaker was a hit in the conference; it comes, by the way, from our church; carol and company used this in our retreat last may. amazing! congratulations carol; i'm sure your icebreaker will go to over 30 countries.
a group leader reporting
i gave the mechanics of the icebreaker activity
we also helped the malaysian team in praise and worship
my official work at the conference is multimedia setup and recording
thailand's famous tuktuk
at Chiangmai's night market buying stuff
on the way back from thailand, lecille and i bought stuff from the duty free shop for our organization's fundraising

Excellence In Preaching Seminar

2008-09-26T17:17:00.004+08:00

I recently conducted a seminar on expository preaching and teaching. It was held at LSI. Several of our church leaders attended: Daday, Carol, Tess, Gingging, and Delora. The seminar covers 3 essential components: how to interpret Bible passages (hermeneutics), how to prepare the expository preaching or teaching material, and how to deliver the message to the audience (homiletics). The students also had a hands-on practicum when they actually preach or teach on the passages assigned to them. Our leaders presented very good teaching and preaching!

Carol, Daday and Tess
The class
Some of the participants
Me teaching

Small Groups

2008-09-26T10:36:00.006+08:00

Some of our small group meetings happen at Pan de Pugon. We meet there on Thurdays at 7PM. Four groups meet there: Lecille's, Daryl's, Delora's, and my group. We are really enjoying our time together. These are not Bible study meetings; we use the discipleship material from Victory Christian Fellowship as a tool for discussion and sharing personal matters. Some of our group mates find these meetings very helpful, even 'therapeutic.' We also encourage them to start their own small group because the material is so easy to use. Some of our group mates are about to begin handling their own group.
Delora's group: Ethel and Maimai; Bobo was absent this night
Daryl's group; William, Cris, Rowie, and Jerry
My group; William Radaza was absent; JR and Dino

Lecille's group did not meet this night so we don't have a foto of them. Pipim and Glaiza meets with her.

Other small groups meet in other places. Carol's and Eirah's group meet after Sunday service in church. Daday's small group meet either in Ken's or Roger's house.

We thank God for giving life to our small groups.