Category: Stay Connected

Rey Taniajura, GCI-Philippines missions director, recently led a group of Filipinos on a journey around the U.S. exploring opportunities to plant GCI churches focused on reaching Filipinos living in the U.S. In this update, Rey reports on the final leg of the journey.

Together with Joe and Gie Manzano, my wife June and I were guests of Bart Baril and his wife Teresa who pastor GCI’s congregation in Port Orchard, Washington. Bart had arranged for us to meet representatives of the Pacific Northwest Ilocandia Association (PNIA), a group of more than 100 Filipinos living in the area. We gathered at PNIA’s building (where the GCI congregation meets for worship).

Bart and Teresa’s congregation and PNIA have partnered in various outreach activities in the area. Also, one of PNIA’s members, Josie, had been trained as a missionary by GCI-Philippines and sent to the Northwest. She has been connecting with various churches in the Port Orchard-Bremerton area and has raised up a small group. Josie will be connecting some of those she is working with to Pastor Bart.

Geoff Sole provided the following updates on Life Club meetings held recently in various locations around the world.

Last spring, GCI’s London congregation held a trip for their young people to view a replica of Noah’s ark in the Netherlands (see picture below). It houses full-scale plastic animals, some small live animals and birds, two cinemas and a restaurant. As a result of the trip, the congregation’s Life Club held a meeting with a Noah’s ark theme.

The Great Baddow, England, congregation held two Life Club meetings. At the first one, speeches were given on overcoming difficult circumstances, honoring parents, making a helpful difference in the lives of young people and perils and pitfalls of the first year of marriage. Graduation certificates were awarded to Maaike Mantel, Ricky Fowler and Annabelle Woolford (pictured at right). In the second meeting, speeches were given on the Church as “safety net,” health risks in eating genetically modified crops and cake-making.

At a Life Club (pictured below) hosted by one of GCI’s Cape Town South Africa congregations, the winning speech was given on career perspectives. The club also helped organize a youth service in the host church, a walking trip up Lions Head mountain, and a social day visiting area beaches.

GCI in South India held two Life Club meetings during their annual worship festival. At the first one, Patricia D’Costa (pictured at left), daughter of GCI pastor Joseph D’Costa, presented table topics. This was followed by four speeches, then a talk from pastor D’Costa on overcoming procrastination. Mission developer Rod Matthews then gave the overall evaluation, mentioning how club had helped him and encouraging others to participate.

Colin Lauchlan (pictured at right), pastor of two GCI churches in Canada, runs a weekly Life Club in a Teen Challenge drug rehabilitation center in London, Ontario. Colin writes:

We usually average around 6-8 attendees on any one evening. I have a few people in the Club who really see the benefit and are very enthusiastic about it. I rely on them to recruit new members as they join the program. Because of the frequency of the meetings and the few attendees, some members have now given several speeches and it’s great to see their progress. We have just started a new format for our meetings so that members can have more time to prepare. We now have a regular Club one week and a lecture the following week. What I am doing on the lecture evening is playing a recording of a speech to the Club, then discussing with them techniques the speaker has employed in organizing and delivering his speech. Last week we discussed Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg address. It is fascinating to see how even the “great” speeches of our time employ the simple principles we teach in Life Club. Next time we will be looking at Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech.

The Owerri, Nigeria congregation recently held a Life Club with 14 adults attending (see picture above). Chairperson Samuel Obih reminded members of the benefits of Club, including “taming the tongue” (from the book of James). Speeches were given on building a career and alternative ways of learning.

In England, a Life Club meeting was held during the annual fall festival in Paignton. The chairperson was Gemma Brown and the topics leader was James Esom (pictured at left). Speeches addressed planting seeds spiritually, overcoming a poor childhood, how astronomers know if planets exist, and gratitude. Meeting director Roger Lippross said that “speech enhances life and we should not miss opportunities to speak in Club.” He also mentioned the importance of having vision and of persevering by keeping one’s goals clearly in mind.

This update is from GCI-Philippines director Eugene Guzon.

Last weekend, typhoon Hagupit (Ruby) passed through the Eastern Visayas and Bicol region of the Philippines. The typhoon followed about the same path as typhoon Haiyan last year and affected about a third of the Philippine population. Thankfully, our prayers were answered and initial wind speeds of 150 miles/hour quickly diminished. People had been evacuated to higher ground early on, and military personnel were widely deployed to prevent looting.

Reports from GCI pastors in the affected areas indicate that damage to life and property was only slight, though there was some damage to crops and homes. The pastors reported that our members are safe, though are tired as they clean their homes. Electrical power is still out in some areas, so GCI is providing generators to offer free phone charging services to the community.

We appreciate your prayers. We are thankful to God that he has spared so many of our countrymen from severe damage and loss of life. Nevertheless, we know that even so, many have experienced inconveniences and may have been traumatized because of their experiences last year. God is good, and we count on the fact that he is always with us even during these times.

Word of God Christian Fellowship, GCI’s church in Canfield, Ohio, recently hosted three non-GCI churches in a combined potluck (pictured below). The event focused on fellowship among churches and outreach to the surrounding community. Total attendance was about 250 people.

With leadership from their pastors (pictured below—GCI pastor John Dobritch and his wife Mary are at left) the four churches are partnered in a group called “Family First.” The group focuses on helping strengthen Canfield area families in Christ.

This update is from GCI mission developer Rod Matthews.

India: festivals celebrate God’s grace

Early in October, GCI members met in two locations for a week-long festival celebrating God’s grace. Members from across southern India met at a Christian retreat facility on the outskirts of Mysore (see group picture below).

A highlight of the festival in Mysore was the appreciation expressed to pastor Joe and Joanna D’Costa on the celebration of 25 years of employment in the church (see picture of a presentation to the D’Costas below). The D’Costas also celebrated their 34^th wedding anniversary during the festival. A stimulating session of the Life Club (a personal development and speech club) and an afternoon of swimming capped the activities.

Members from northern India met for the festival in a retreat center on the outskirts of Hyderabad (see group picture below). Some traveled from far north India and overseas, including the USA. The festival enjoyed a range of speakers including messages on the challenges of sharing the gospel in a modern Hindu nation while facing associated legal restrictions. Everyone laughed and learned from the movie night feature, a personal story of missionary work in New Guinea called The Pineapple Story. The pastor of a small group of churches who is building a relationship with our church in his area, attended part of the festival. Another young man took great efforts to seek us out as a source of teaching aligned with incarnational Trinitarian theology.

New Zealand – celebrating 200 years of Christianity

On December 25, New Zealand will celebrate the 200^th anniversary of the first time the gospel was preached on its shores. Here are some related facts:

1. The preacher was Samuel Marsden, chaplain of the convict settlement at Port Jackson, New South Wales (now Sydney).
2. Marsden became chaplain on the recommendation of William Wilberforce, famous anti-slave reformer in Britain.
3. Marsden had learned the local Maori language before he arrived in New Zealand.
4. On his first voyage, Marsden introduced sheep, cattle, pigs, poultry, horses, goats, dogs and cats to New Zealand, all on a single journey, a veritable “Noah’s ark” said a sailor. The Maori were amazed.
5. The spread of Christianity in New Zealand is credited largely to the indigenous Maori peoples.

GCI’s Auckland pastor and office manager Rex Morgan tells the story in an article in our New Zealand church magazine, Inside Life (cover pictured above, right) found online at www.insidelife.org.nz/files/8699/InsideLife21%20200Years.pdf.

Thanks for Falam Chin literature

The Discipleship 101 course is now in print in the Falam Chin language of northern Myanmar! After being translated by GCI friend and partner Van Thawme Lian, we recently printed 2000 copies, which he shared with pastors, students at the seminary where he teaches and other interested Christians.

When someone receives rare Christian literature in their own native language, their thanks can be quite effusive. Van Thawme Lian has shared the following letter of thanks:

 

Ron Ratliff, pastor of Creek Valley Church in Edina, Minnesota, has been tracking with GCI for a couple of years, leading to his being accepted as a GCI elder and commissioned as a GCI pastor earlier this year at our Chicago regional conference. Ron and his wife Sherri are pictured at right.

We’re pleased to announce that the members of his congregation met recently and mutually decided to become a chartered congregation of Grace Communion International. Pictured below are some of the Creek Valley Church members. We welcome these brothers and sisters in Christ to the GCI family!

Here is a video of one GCI’s congregations in Oriental Mindoro, Philippines. What a blessing it is to witness their sharing together even if they may not have much.

On YouTube at http://youtu.be/zhwAXqhbZ8s.

Here are reports on GCI youth camps recently held in Mexico and Oklahoma.

Mexico

This report is from GCI Generations Ministries national coordinator Anthony Mullins, who with his wife Elizabeth visited GCI’s youth camp in Mexico to assist in equipping camp leaders.

What an inspiring time my wife Elizabeth and I recently had with 35 brothers and sisters (pictured below) at the annual GCI Mexico camp near Monterrey! We witnessed four young adults (Jose Louis Lujano, Naoko Gonzalez, Anahi Tabares and Daniel Garcia) step up and share the gospel through the chapel messages using GenMin curriculum; we shared the joy when Daniel Garcia, an emerging leader, was baptized under a magnificent waterfall (see picture at right), and we rejoiced to see three sisters from the outreach mission in Guadalajara blossom with bright smiles as they felt the inclusion of the entire group! There were many beautiful stories to behold, and it was encouraging to see new leaders being developed.

During sessions I facilitated with camp leaders, we imagined the future possibilities together through “What If?” questions. What if they planted multiple camps throughout Mexico? What if the young adult leaders met more than once a year, and invited GCI pastors to discuss how they can intentionally be on mission in their communities? What if this national camp became an outreach mission instead of exclusively serving GCI kids? Mexican camp leaders Samuel & Hayde Mercado and pastor Natanael Cruz (pictured with me and my wife Elizabeth in the picture at right) are planning to strategize in the upcoming year about how to make the camp more missional and outward in its focus.

Oklahoma

This report is from Joe Brannen, one of the leaders of CrossWalk—the Generations Ministries camp held near Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

We conducted our 26th session of CrossWalk in November with 33 senior campers, 30 junior campers, 9 mini campers and 55 staff members. There were 13 new campers and 4 new staff. Eight campers were unchurched.

Our theme, Hunger Games, was based on the movie series with the same name. As campers arrived Friday afternoon they were greeted by costumed staff members who set the theme by inviting everyone to share in games that helped them feel included. Then campers were “reaped” into eight “districts” to train for upcoming events related to the “economy” designated for each district.

Saturday began with private devotions, chapel and activities, followed in the afternoon with Hunger Games. The games began as each district raced to retrieve a bag filled with assignments for 13 activities that would challenge them physically and mentally. Most importantly, the activities brought unity to each district—it was amazing to see how they pulled together!

That night there was a banquet followed by a time of powerful, Spirit-filled worship led by the CrossWalk praise band made up of young adults. Following worship, campers gathered for a social in the dining hall, which was beautifully decorated in the camp theme.

CrossWalk was a wonderful example of God’s inclusive love—a message that was emphasized in camp chapels and other gatherings. We were powerfully reminded that God, in his grace, includes us all—in Christ, all are loved, forgiven and accepted. Chapel speakers used the Hunger Games theme to expose lies to the contrary.

Here is a video of the “Day of Nations”—a community outreach event conducted by Comunion De Gracia, GCI’s Spanish-language congregation in Sun Valley, California.

On YouTube at http://youtu.be/lZXOF80jqRc.

Thirty-one GCI members from the U.S., the Caribbean and the Philippines gathered recently at St. Stephen’s Retreat and Conference Center in Titusville, Florida for an Odyssey in Christ, Experiencing the Trinity spiritual renewal retreat.

GCI Caribbean regional director, Charles Fleming (shown addressing the group at left) observed that God seemed to touch everyone in transformative ways during the retreat. GCI pastor Bonny McQueary said: “What an awesome weekend experience. I basked in God’s love, I had answered prayer, I lost the weight of some personal guilt, I was affirmed, I learned something positive about myself, and I met some new Christian friends.” Beth Harris, who heads up a para-church prayer ministry devoted to the struggle against human trafficking commented: “I have never witnessed a day of Pentecost before this retreat. All who attended were filled or filled anew and I’m sure the news will spread abroad since several countries were represented.”

According to Odyssey in Christ director Larry Hinkle (at the center of the picture below), the retreat “focused on helping participants experientially know our Triune God better (Ephesians 1:17). Through spiritually formative activities and loving fellowship, participants were shown how to create sacred spaces in their lives that help them connect with God in ways that can lead to lasting spiritual fruit for living and sharing the gospel.”