Category: Philippines

  • Change of Plans

    Earlier this week we were supposed to holding our second MTI class on Bantayan Island, unfortunately due to weather we were unable to travel on the ferry to host the class. We quickly pivoted to plan to use our time in Cebu City for outreaches and uncanceled Street Level for Wednesday night. To promote Street Level and Church, two groups with some of the Street Level members went out for free coffee giveaways at a few universities and to go pass out fliers. We invited 100s of people that we came across and made a few connections. 

    Many of the Street Level members and others came together for Street Level and we enjoyed fellowship and an intimate Bible study with the crew that showed up.

    On Thursday, we were granted permission to come on campus at Southwestern University and so a few team members spent most of the day with 3 of the Street Level members handing out the new Word on the Street magazine issue and over 1,500 fliers. It was exciting to see the engagement and to see how quickly God made a way when we had other plans. 

    Pray as we head into the Street Level summit this weekend, there are many new people signed up for summit and we are looking forward to what God will do.

  • Toledo Youth Leader Summit

    Toledo Youth Leader Summit

    This weekend we put on a Youth Summit for student leaders sent from different churches in the Toledo area. The material presented was intended to encourage a personal relationship with Jesus and disciple-making to a young, upcoming generation. In each session, students watched a short video teaching in a series called “Follow Me”, heard the US team talk about their personal experiences of discipleship, then broke into smaller groups to discuss the material more in-depth. Members from Street Level Ministries Cebu facilitated a few of the discussion groups too. Our goal in all of this, was to give students boldness to bring these teachings back to their home churches, seeing discipleship as a truly personal calling for them as Christians.

  • Toledo MTI & Street Level

    This week we have taken the group that is here from the US and have travelled to Toledo for a Ministry Training Institute (MTI) which we are holding at our Toledo office. These trainings are a continuing education that we have been providing on a regular basis for years.  It is geared toward pastors and other leaders at local churches here in the Philippines.  Please pray for the leaders that are attending the sessions – that they will be blessed by the teachings.

    During the same time as the MTI sessions, some of the group has been going out and doing outreaches at some of the colleges here in town.  The goal with these outreaches is to let students know about our college ministry, (as you may know is Street Level Ministries) as well as inform them that we are doing a movie night Friday night.  We have had a lot of varying levels of engagement, through coffee, lemonade, and a hint of awesome personalities.  A couple of new people actually came to our Street Level meeting last night due to the outreach, which is always a win.  

    A couple of very near things that will be happening are an outdoor movie tonight with popcorn and hot dogs, a youth leader summit tomorrow, and church on Sunday back in Cebu – at 5PM.  

    Please keep us in prayer especially for the next two weeks while the team from the US is here – as we plan to travel to do other MTI and Street Level events.  Thank you for your support in this way.  It means more that you probably know.  

  • September / October Update

    BELIEVERS CHURCH CEBU

    The end of September marked 2 years of Believers Church Cebu – it is amazing how quickly that time has passed. It seems just yesterday we held our first service, not knowing if anyone would show up! We have been very blessed to see God growing our fellowship – in strength and number. In addition to Sunday service, we have begun a class, focused on discipleship and doctrine, for those who have committed to serving at church.

    We are currently working our way through 1 Corinthians on Sunday evenings, which is proving to be an insightful look at what real life Christianity should be, and how messy it can be.

    STREET LEVEL MINISTRIES

    In September, we held a special informational meeting for SLM – to explain who we are, and why we do what we do as an organization. We also hosted a board game tournament in Cebu, which proved to be a good night of friendly competition and lots of laughs. With the recent earthquakes, university life in Cebu and Toledo has been majorly disrupted, with most schools being entirely online for over a month. We are continuing to meet for dinner and Bible discussion in both locations and are currently studying the gospel of John. We are also looking forward to our upcoming summit in November!

    SHOFAR MISSION

    We are gearing up for the arrival of the next U.S. team in a few weeks! While they are here, we will be hosting more Ministry Training Institute classes, “Staying Strong: Abiding in Christ Through Prayer and Bible Study” in three locations. We will also be gathering some youth who are stepping up as leaders on the west side of Cebu Island for a summit discussing David Platt’s “Follow Me” material. And, as previously mentioned, hosting a Street Level summit as well! Those are all things we have planned, but God always surprises us with other opportunities or changes in our plans, so we look forward to what He has in store for us.