By National Director Eugene Guzon

In 2005, our theme was "Our Faithful Walk with Christ." This was a prayerful vision of what we would like to see in our church. We thank the members for their steady support through their different ministries and personal sacrifices.

About 95 percent of our churches are led by bi-vocational teams. I could not imagine the church without such willing and committed men and women.

Members have shown their involvement through an increase in attendance and donations, despite the difficult economic condition in the country. Most Filipinos, including the members, have learned to live with political instability and focus on the challenges of day-to-day living.

Infanta: Landslides caused by a typhoon in late December 2004 left thousands of people dead or injured and caught up in desperation in the town of Infanta in the province of Quezon. The only apt response from the church was love and compassion. Armed with the word of God, money, used clothing, food items, and medicines, members from Metro Manila and other provinces trooped to Infanta to help the victims.

The initial relief efforts led to a deeper involvement with the people of Infanta. Succeeding visits were medical and dental missions, livelihood trainings, values-formation, Christmas gift-giving, and continuous Bible studies. God has been faithful and, as promised, his words did not come back to him empty. We now have 51 new members attending our Bible studies and worship services there.

Leyte: In February 2006, the townsfolk of St. Bernard in Southern Leyte suffered from an earthquake that caused a massive landslide, burying alive a whole village in less than five minutes. I went to the area with board members Captain Bahinting, Dr. Manzano and Charlie Shin, head of the Korean community in Cebu.

We surveyed the area, assessed the needs, and evaluated what the church could do to make a difference for the survivors, especially for children who were orphaned by the disaster. We decided that the church could best help in the area of education for the children and livelihood development for parents who lost their livelihood. So far, this is what we have done:

Due to the increasing number of pastoral teams, we remain committed to providing training in personal formation and pastoral skills for our leaders. A year ago, the first pastoral team leadership training course was launched in Metro Manila.

The condensed pastoral team leaders' orientation course is a required entry-level orientation program for all members of pastoral teams of our local churches in the Philippines. It includes an introduction to the roles, duties and responsibilities of members of pastoral teams and their relationships to the denominational structure and leadership. These leaders also need to be oriented to the knowing, being, and doing aspects of pastoral work. It is an orientation to servant-leadership models and principles, denominational structure, national and local church structure, and congregational financial administration. More than 100 leaders from churches in Metro Manila and outlying provinces attended the seminar.

The annual summer activity for the youth has evolved into an outreach and community service for the youths of the church and for non-church youths in the community. Last year, we were able to send 374 young people to SEP. We were praying for about 500, but due to limited funds and increase in costs, about 100 young people were unable to attend. Still, it was a fruitful activity.

There have been 103 baptisms from all campsites nationwide. This year, as a discipleship program for youths who have been to camp more than once, SEP will be modified to address spiritual formation, as well as equipping and mobilizing youths for a greater participation in future camps.

Additional youth camps outside of summer (shorter youth camps) will be also conducted to target non-church youths in order to bring them to a saving knowledge of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The table at right shows the camps for 2006, with the target number of campers.

Special new covenant celebrations that we hold during the year help maintain the vibrancy and connectedness of members in different congregations. These celebrations not only provide special worship and learning experiences but have also been rallying points to mobilize members for special community outreach activities like evangelistic crusades. Members have experienced the joy of working together and seeing new people accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior!

We were blessed last October with the presence of some members from San Jose, California, headed by Pastor Mel Dahlgren. He was one of the speakers in the youth outreach that led almost 1,000 young people to Christ. The opportunity of having international guests visiting our churches is something very encouraging to the brethren here.

In February 2006, we held the first nationwide Men's Conference, "Men United in Prayer." We were tremendously blessed with the presence of our Pastor General, Joseph Tkach, and Bill Sidney. It was a refreshing event for deepening our relationship with God and bonding with brothers in the faith.

The Condensed World Missions Course was conducted in Davao City in late January. It will be conducted in several other churches nationwide. This is a continuing effort to increase missions awareness among the members. In March, two tentmaker missionaries were sent to Thailand; two more will go before the end of the first semester.

In July, about 10 young people from the US will visit us for a cross-cultural mission exposure trip. This will be an opportunity for them to partner with us in doing mission and outreach activities together. We look forward to hosting similar exposure trips in the future.

We are also praying that two students from mainland China will be able to stay here to pursue Christian education and do some apprentice pastoral work in preparation for their church planting work in China.

This year, we launched our new theme, "Shining Together in Jesus." Our yearly themes keep our messages and activities focused on a specific goal. The theme becomes the focal point in our journey as a church and rallies us towards a common thrust. It is our prayer that our churches will become lights to the community in ways that we have not yet seen before (Matt. 5:14, Ps. 78:4).

We face this year with enthusiasm and gratitude to God for the partners he has sent us, so that this journey of faith may be a life-changing experience for many others to enjoy. Every day, we see desperate people ready to give up. They are our motivation to keep going. We cannot give up for them. 

Regardless of circumstances, we can shine in Jesus and for Jesus. Life is full of challenges. But what matters is what we become because of them. These tests can either become obstacles or opportunities.

God is infinitely good. With that assurance, we will not be daunted by any political, financial or other human and natural difficulties. We will continue to be dependent on his will. We will remain devoted to making disciples, as he commanded (Matt. 28:19-20).  

Other International News David Silcox has completed a five-year term as national director in the United Kingdom. The new national director will be James Henderson, who will continue to be the mission developer for Africa. Gary Moore, national director in Canada, and Wendy Holladay, national coordinator in South Africa, have announced their engagement. After a June wedding, the couple will spend one year in South Africa, where Gary will help train local church leaders, and then move to Canada. Gary will continue to be national director for Canada. In similar news, Donat Picard, the director in Europe, and Vicky Winkler announced that they will be married in Paris on Saturday May 20.