Category: Philippines

Over the past couple of weeks, most universities in Cebu City have resumed classes for the new school year, which means the streets are once again full of students.

We’ve been setting up tables outside campuses and giving away free coffee, lemonade, and Coca-Cola. Something as simple as asking, “Hey, would you like a free coffee?” opens the door for a short conversation and an invitation to church and Street Level.

One highlight was being able to set up a booth inside one of the universities for a day. Even though we handed out hundreds of flyers, it still felt like just a drop in the bucket compared to the thousands of students who attend there.

On Friday night, we hosted a fellowship night at the office for Street Level, complete with board games, charades, snacks, and henna tattoos. A few new people arrived… then a few more… and then even more. So many showed up that we had to order more pizza three separate times! One of the best parts was seeing everyone connecting and building relationships with each other.

Following the success of the recent Cybersecurity Trainings, Britt and Daphne decided to host something similar that leans into their creative strengths: an Art & Design Workshop. It’s scheduled on a holiday at the end of the month, which should make it easier for students to attend. We’ve reached out to the art, design, and communication departments at several universities, and the response has already been strong.

God has truly been blessing our efforts. We haven’t done anything extraordinary. We’ve just prayed, shown up, and put in some sweat and elbow grease, but we’ve seen many new faces coming on Sundays and Wednesdays.

It almost goes without saying, but we’re in awe of what God is doing…and even more in awe that He allows us to be part of it. We know He doesn’t need us, but we’re grateful to be on His team, playing in the big leagues with Him.

If you feel led to pray, please pray for the new students and church attendees to get connected, for Street Level members to continue growing in discipleship and service, and for all of us to remain aligned with God’s plans for this ministry. We don’t know exactly what He’s up to, but we’re excited to be along for the ride.

This week Street Level Ministries has been trying something new – Cyber Security Training! Over the past three days, Erik and Josh have been teaching a Cyber Security course for university students, hosted by Street Level Ministries. We were only planning to have one day of training, but received such a positive response that the we opened up two additional days of the course so more students could attend. The attendees each day have also included a few of the Street Level students. It has been a great way to connect with more students, introduce them to our space here in Cebu, and invite them to the weekly Bible study and other upcoming events.

While the class has been going on, Brittany and Daphne have been putting up posters and handing out flyers around some of the nearby universities. There are so many students here, and we’re trying to get the word out to as many of them as we can about Street Level and the church.

This week we drove over to Toledo. We arrived Thursday afternoon and had Street Level’s weekly Bible study that night. We studied the parable of the hidden treasure and pearl of great value and discussed how incredible life with Jesus should be.

On Friday morning we had the first day of our Toledo Ministry Training Institute class.  

A few of us did a Street Level lemonade and coffee outreach outside of one of the universities. We had opportunities to talk with students and to invite them to a game night as well as our Thursday night Bible study. 

Friday night we hung out with university students from Street Level. We got to know each other more. We also had some pizza! Multiple people came, and it was a fun evening of fellowship.

Saturday we finished the week with day two of the MTI, while others went postering around the city. Afterwards, we went back to Cebu City.

On Monday morning, we all boarded a ferry to the neighboring island of Bohol. We had the evening to walk around and explore before we dove into ministry on Tuesday morning.

Several pastors and church leaders from around the island showed up bright and early for the Ministry Training Institute class. Most were returning students, but a handful were new. 

Meanwhile, Britt and Daphne handed out fliers at two universities to invite students to a pop-up Bible study later in the evening. Four students attended and engaged in a short study on abiding in Jesus. 

The next day, the team finished the MTI class while Britt and Daphne headed back to Cebu for the Street Level meeting. 

We will finish out the week in Toledo with the last MTI class and a Street Level meeting, outreach, and fellowship night.