Today we wrapped up our time in Leyte with a Youth Summit as well as completion of the 2nd day of our MTI (Ministerial Training Institute). For the MTI, we had many familiar faces as well as a few new attendees and spent time learning about small group fellowships and the impact they can have on our churches and ministries.

While our MTI was going on, we had a group of youth attending our first ever Youth Leader Summit on the island of Leyte. Our team from America worked alongside our brothers and sisters from Believers Church Cebu to conduct the Youth Summit which consisted of teaching on what it looks like to follow Jesus and opportunities to discuss this in small groups.

We are heading back to Cebu and have a full week ahead of various outreaches at local universities as well as more MTI’s on the topic of small group fellowships. We appreciate your prayers for a fruitful time here and specifically that those who attended would be encouraged to go back and strengthen their local churches and ministries.

The team from Believers City Church has arrived safely in Cebu. It took over 24 hours of travel by planes, trams and automobiles. We have more travel to look forward to tomorrow as we head to Leyte and start the first MTI class there.

Tonight a few joined Street Level for dinner & Bible discussion. It was a big night for us as we finished up the gospel of John that we have been going through verse by verse for 43 weeks!

Thanks for all the prayers

We (Jesse & Chelsey) have been back in the U.S. for a couple of weeks – spending time with Believers churches to connect, work alongside, and plan for the upcoming year. While we are away, the ministry in the Philippines has not been on hold!

Our university ministry, Street Level has been active with Bible studies in Cebu, Toledo and Tagbilaran. Along with that, there has been many outreaches to connect with students as they come back into the city. They also hosted a Tong-its Tournament and have been opening the office up on Saturdays to serve as a free study space for students.

Additionally, we are nearing the arrival of a team from Believers City Church which means there will be Ministry Training Institute classes, a Youth Leader Summit, and other ministry happening in full force. We are looking forward to connecting with the pastors, church leaders and youth who will be involved in that.

We appreciate your prayers for these ministry endeavors, and are excited to see what God will do in the months ahead.

As students are starting to come back to the city, we are looking forward to kicking off a new semester in our university ministry, Street Level. August will be a month full of trying to connect with students. It is a little overwhelming just how many universities and students there are in Cebu City (in addition to Toledo and Tagbilaran where we also have groups). We just have to trust that God will make our paths cross with the right ones.

For Street Level this past week, we had a panel discussion with Andy & Laura, a couple from Believers City Church in Wisconsin. They shared a bit of their stories of how God got their attention while they were in university, and how they have lived out their lives because of their faith – specifically in the area of work. Talking about how being a Christian every area of life is so important so we don’t compartmentalize our life, but instead live out our faith in a way that has actual impact on the world around us.

Starting in August, we are opening our space in Cebu on Saturdays as a free study space for students. We are also looking forward to hosting some events, like a trivia night and a tongits tournament! We are excited to see what God will do this semester!