Asia Superintendent Eugene Guzon together with Regional Director for the Indian Subcontinent Daniel Zachariah flew from India to Kathmandu and Taplezung, Nepal, for pastoral visits and a series of meetings with ministry partners there. Over the last 15 years, our denomination has been involved in some medical outreach work, children’s ministry and leadership training with a ministry partner in Kathmandu.
Opportunities for participating in God’s work in the Indian Subcontinent are being explored to deepen our relationships and strengthen our participation in living and sharing the gospel in Nepal.
Prayers are needed for the work in Nepal to thrive and for the encouragement of Christians even in the face of mounting challenges. We ask for prayers for wisdom, protection of Christian leaders and members.
Hyderabad leaders meetings and Easter celebrations
Superintendent Eugene Guzon visited Hyderabad, India, for a Good Friday service and Communion, leadership meetings and an Easter celebration from April 18-21, 2019.
He was assisted by Regional Director Daniel Zachariah, who organized personal and group meetings with the Hyderabad leadership team on Saturday, April 20.
The Easter celebration was very encouraging as 52 members and guests enjoyed excellent breakfast meals together, the warm fellowship and worship.
Prayers are requested for the continued health of the congregations in India, and for guidance and direction of pastoral teams as they conduct their strategic planning and leadership training in the next few weeks.
We Are GCI Series is a collection of videos where various GCI leaders and members are highlighted. In this episode, GCI Pastor, Jonathan Martinez, is joined by his beautiful family and shares a little about himself and why he likes to serve in GCI and in what ways he connects the most with God.
“May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Thessalonians 5:23)
In the face of persecution and the spectre of death, Paul writes to the believers at Thessalonica to help strengthen their faith and encourage them of the glorious return of Christ.
He reminds them that God is so committed to us that he himself works in our lives and performs the sanctifying and redeeming work that we desperately seek. His work in our lives is so complete that his cleansing touch reaches every fibre of our being: spirit, soul and body. Being made in the image of God, we are trinitarian beings in microcosm having diverse faculties of spirit, soul, body – yet united in and as one fundamental person, like a single, seamless fabric. The “fall” affected every aspect of our being. Nevertheless, our God of peace will restore the inner peace that will resonate the fullness of life within us.
As we wait upon our Lord, who will surely come, let us be assured that our God remains committed in restoring us to the glorious creation that he meant us to be. The process of sanctification is not a “do-it-yourself” program but the dynamic activity of Father Son Spirit in our lives. Let us be encouraged to submit, participate and persevere in the restoring work of our creator. “The glory of God is a human being who is fully alive,” said St. Irenaeus.
Prayer: Thank you Lord, that your love is so vast that you remain committed to see me restored to the fullness of life. Thank you for reaching into the very depths of my being and removing the brokenness to ultimately reflect your life and love through me. Help me to remain faithful and allow your cleansing work in my life.
Martin Luther promoted the idea that every Christian believer is a priest regardless of his or her full-time occupation. He likely based this on the writings of Peter and Jude and from which comes the phrase, the “priesthood of all believers.” Ministry is for all of us. Therefore, if you are a Christian you are a priest.
Notice Peter’s words, “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9 NRSV).
We are all priests in that we join Jesus and participate with him in his active ministry to the world around us. As active participants with Jesus, we each play different roles as we are uniquely gifted. For example, not all Christians are called to preach or lead, yet we are all called to serve according to our giftedness. Notice what Paul says to the Christians in Rome.
For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ, we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith;if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully. (Romans 12:4-8 NIV)
God calls you to use your gift diligently and cheerfully. There is incredible joy in Christian service, and it is even greater when we experience this together in community.
You have probably noticed that we in GCI have been teaching and practicing “team-based” ministry. We believe we are better together. I recently heard Scott Ridout, President of Converge, make the statement, “Team will out think, out produce, and out live the individual leader.” That statement is confirmation of what we’ve been up to in GCI.
Our Media Team has produced some outstanding tools to help us better understand the concepts of team-based ministry. In the Team-Based Pastor-Led Prezi presentation, there is a slide that provides a macro view. At first view it may look like the solar system, and with further examination you see how multiple ministries flow out from the foundational venues of Faith, Hope and Love. This slide is only a basic beginning of what ministries could exist within the life of the church, and we encourage the local church to expand the expressions of ministry based on the unique giftedness of their members and the opportunities their context makes possible.
Our Lord has made you with a unique mix of spiritual gifts. When you add those gifts to the gifts of others in your fellowship group or congregation, much can be done. We can always do more together than we can in isolation because this is how God planned it. In his first letter to the Corinthians the apostle Paul makes it clear that the Holy Spirit distributes the gifts and that Jesus is Lord over the church. The church is a body made up of many parts, and God has placed us within the body as he wills. All of this is for a common good, that the Triune God gets the glory and that the church is built up.
In our divine participation, we are also called to participate with one another. So, brothers and sisters, I encourage you to diligently and cheerfully take your place in the body and together, we can all take another step forward into Healthy Church.
The following article was originally published in Life Together, a GCI Australasia, newsletter written by John McLean, Superintendent of Australasia.
Earlier this year we had another wonderfully constructive and successful national—now Australasian—pastors conference. We are blessed with an outstanding group of pastors and ministry leaders in our region. It was a delight to share fellowship, friendship, learning and discussion together.
Shehana and Peter Edalere, and Phil Van Djik
We welcomed Dennis and Sue Richards and Rex Morgan from New Zealand to the group. We also celebrated Mohan Jayasekera’s retirement, honouring and thanking Mohan and Nihara for their many years of faithful, dedicated service across several different countries, and often in trying and difficult times. Peter Edalere will take the reins as pastor of Perth, and Peter and his wife Shehana attended their first conference with us.
The theme of the conference was “Healthy Church,” and we spent considerable time in discussions around themes that both feed and implement this vision, seeking to further develop congregational environments of faith, hope and love.
We also discussed dealing with change, and followed up on child safety matters and pastoral supervision. These latter two were recommendations coming out of the recent Royal Commission in Australia. Daphne Sidney is already doing excellent work with the child safety policies and protocols, and has the role of ministry supervision as well.
Below is a report written by Hazel Tabin about a leaders retreat for her local congregation, Grace Communion Fellowship.
Last March 15-17, fifteen leaders from our church reserved time to enjoy the Spirit’s presence with one another. We went to Pine Mountain Club, a great place to retreat from the busyness of the city. Turning off our phones and intentionally being present allowed us to see the beauty of community.
On the first night, we focused on praising God through prayer, Scripture reading, and singing songs. It was a sacred and honest space to come just as we are and worship God with our whole beings.
The next day, we feasted during breakfast, which helped us become ready for the whole day. We started with worship and a devotional from 1 Peter 5:1-10, then we took the 5 voices assessment, which helped us understand one another’s strengths. We then discussed how we could implement scriptural reading in our church as well as strategies in which we could connect with our communities. Next, we washed each other’s feet and heard a message about humility and serving like Christ. Lastly, we had communion and each prayed in the process of taking the bread and the wine. At the end of the day, we laid hands for each other and lifted them up along with their families, their work, and any prayer requests they had.
This retreat was a refreshing time for the leaders of our church as we rested and were reminded why we are serving—because of the immense love we have tasted and seen from our Triune God, which we are compelled to share with others.
This article was originally published in GCI Philippines Newsletter, written by Pastor Romy Pusta, Senior Pastor, GC Tagbilaran.
In February, Mrs. Margie Bahinting was commissioned as District Pastor for Central Visayas. As part of her plan to visit the churches she oversees, she visited Grace Communion Tagbilaran on April 6-7.
She delivered an inspiring sermon “Standing on the Promises” to 47 attendees coming from different parts of Bohol. A potluck lunch provided a “love” venue for extended fellowship and bonding among those present. The District Superintendent was also able to meet the Grace Communion Tagbilaran pastoral team on her arrival, April 6.
Margie emphasized that we are all called to be leaders and God has equipped us to be so through our Experiences, Qualifications, Unique spiritual gifts, Interests and Personalities. The visit was a promise fulfilled and much appreciated by the Boholano brethren.
Asia Superintendent Eugene Guzon together with Regional Director for the Indian Subcontinent Daniel Zachariah flew from India to Kathmandu and Taplezung, Nepal, for pastoral visits and a series of meetings with ministry partners there. Over the last 15 years, our denomination has been involved in some medical outreach work, children’s ministry and leadership training with a ministry partner in Kathmandu.
Superintendent Eugene Guzon visited Hyderabad, India, for a Good Friday service and Communion, leadership meetings and an Easter celebration from April 18-21, 2019.
