The Denominational Celebration
will be held
in Dallas, Texas, U.S.
on July 23-26, 2026.
Please mark your calendars. More information will be made available in mid-2025.
Two full-time positions are now open at the Grace Communion International (GCI) Home Office in Charlotte, NC, U.S.
The Legal Coordinator and Assistant Secretary to Board of Directors position is currently available, and applications are being accepted. See the job description here.
The Assistant Operations Coordinator position is currently available, and applications are being accepted. See the job description here.
If you would like further details on the position(s) or would like a GCI job application, please contact Human Resources at humanresources@gci.org or 980-495-3960.
Please share this announcement with qualified candidates who may be gifted for any of these positions at the Home Office.
Join us in congratulating Pastor Justine “Jep” Paolo Parcasio, a frequent contributing writer to GCI’s publications, Update and Equipper! (Read his devotional in this issue here.)
On May 4, Justine was installed as the new Lead (Senior) Pastor of Grace Communion Baguio in Luzon, Philippines. The ceremony was officiated by Pastor Audie Santibañez, GCI Philippines National Director. The installation was celebrated on the last day of North Luzon Weekend Youth Camp.
It was a bittersweet scene as the Baguio congregation, campers, family, friends, and other local district congregations witnessed Pastor John Tinoyan step aside and pass the torch to Pastor Justine. Thank you, Pastor Tinoyan, for your faithful service!
Read Justine’s 2024 member profile here.
For three days in late April, the Southeast Asia Leaders Conference was successfully hosted by GCI Malaysia. The participants were pastors and church leaders from the Philippines, Thailand, Myanmar, and Malaysia. Asia Superintendent, Dan Zachariah and his wife, Mary, also attended.
The following topics were covered:
One of the highlights of the conference was the lively interaction. Participants were actively engaged, and individual opinions and comments were a great benefit. The conference also had breakout groups that discussed the finer points of the topics that were presented. The participants enjoyed relaxing activities and dinner in the evenings.
On the Sunday, all the conference participants attended Sunday church service at the Klang congregation. Pastor Joselito Olaguer of Thailand and Pastor Chan Thleng of Myanmar gave split sermons.
It was very uplifting to see the grace and Kingdom Culture so vividly displayed among the members of the church. The presence of the Holy Spirit was so evident on all the days of the conference.
By Devaraj Ramoo, Pastor
Klang, Selangor, Malaysia
God shapes the world by prayer. The more praying there is in the world, the better the world will be. — E.M. Bounds
Join us this June as we lift our voices in unity and faith. View or download the full prayer guide here.
Would you like to receive this Prayer Guide straight to your email inbox before the first of the month? Sign up here.
Citizens of the kingdom believe the biblical evidence that the Holy Spirit is God in the same way that the Father is God and the Son is God. Scripture indicates that the Holy Spirit has divine attributes and works and is spoken of in the same way that the Father and Son are. The Holy Spirit is intelligent and speaks and acts like a divine Person. This is part of the scriptural evidence that led early Christians to formulate the doctrine of the Trinity.
We invite you to read an excerpt from “The Deity of the Holy Spirit” Read the full article here.
Christianity has traditionally taught that the Holy Spirit is the third Person or Hypostasis of the Godhead. Some, however, have taught that the Holy Spirit is an impersonal force used by God. Is the Holy Spirit God, or simply a power of God? Let’s examine the biblical teachings.
Summary: Scripture speaks repeatedly of the Holy Spirit, known also as the Spirit of God and the Spirit of Jesus Christ. Scripture indicates that the Holy Spirit is of the same essence as the Father and the Son. The Holy Spirit is ascribed with the attributes of God, is equated with God and does work that only God does.
Holiness, eternality, omnipresence, omnipotence and omniscience are attributes of God’s essence, that is, characteristic of the nature of divine existence. The Holy Spirit has the basic attributes of God.
Hello! Or Bula! as we say in Fiji.
To share my story, I learned to live on my own when I was just 14. That was the year I left home to attend boarding school for high school. And with that, I stepped into independence at a young age.
I was actually brought up in the church. My grandfather was also a Methodist pastor. Faith was a part of my everyday life. Every school holiday, we would gather at our grandparents’ home, and without fail, all the grandchildren were asked to read scripture during family devotion time.
From an early age, I knew of Christ. I knew the stories and the teachings. But it wasn’t until I was 14, when I left the comfort of home, that I slowly began to understand who Jesus really was — not just as someone I was taught about, but someone who was really personal and present.
Read MorePentecost is a celebration that commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles and other followers of Jesus Christ.
When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors were locked where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. John 20:19-22
The Greek word for “spirit” is pneuma, which means “breath.” When we speak about the Holy Spirit, we also speak about the breath of God, breathing in us. In this way, we can use the symbol of breath to bring our attention back to God.
The symbol of breath can remind us of the movement and power of the Holy Spirit. We may not see the Spirit, but we know he is working, and we can experience him.
The spiritual practice of breath prayer can be used to position ourselves to focus on the breath of the Holy Spirit in us. Here is a simple prayer guide that we can use:
May you have a Spirit-filled celebration of Pentecost.
Prayer:
Pentecost reminds us of your presence and power, Holy Spirit. You are the breath of life. Amen.
By Justine Paolo G. Parcasio, Pastor
Baguio, Luzon, Philippines
Adapted from the Equipper article, “Symbols of Pentecost.” Read the full article here.
As followers of Christ, we are called to be in the world, but not of the world. This New Testament theme originated with Jesus sharing this clear teaching with his disciples the night of his arrest (John 15:19, 17:14-16).
Citizens of God’s kingdom are called to be present in our world and be different. But how can we be? The plainest way to say this is that believers can be active in society, but instead of being shaped by society’s values, we are being shaped by the growing relationship with Father, Son, and Spirit, reflecting God’s nature.
Jesus inaugurated and led a counter-culture movement. That always sounds appealing to the younger generation striving to find its voice and make its mark. Finding the path of following Jesus is our hope for the emerging generation.
In what ways was Jesus counter-cultural? Let us consider Jesus’ approach toward women, children, and non-Jews.
Read More