The Greatest Wasted Potential in the world

I read an article recently that said the Philippines was the greatest wasted potential in the world. I thought about it, and I absolutely agree!


What do I mean? I mean that God is doing a special work in the Philippines. He has given a tenderness and receptivity to the gospel message that is not often seen. He has prepared the way in this country. It’s legally acceptable and even normally encouraged to speak about Jesus, the Bible, and eternal life. Schools, colleges, universities, places of employment, families are open to strangers who want to preach the gospel. Travel to cities and towns is relatively simple and safe. Even trips into the province and mountain are often not that uncomfortable. Most people can understand their own dialect, plus the national language, plus English – communication is not hard.

Let me give you our personal experience here on the Island of Bohol. We are a small team of missionaries, mostly local, one foreign. We are very busy and don’t have time to do all that we would like to, but God keeps opening doors. For example, we approached the superintendent over all of the high schools here just to ask and see if He would let a visiting evangelistic team preach the gospel to his students. His response? He signed a letter that gave us permission to enter every single high school on the island and enter every single classroom and preach the gospel message. Amazing! When do you ever hear of an opportunity like that? After that, we got bolder and asked him to sign a letter that said we could return and organize a school bible study and conduct evangelism every week. His response? He signed the letter!

Just this week we talked with a prominent local man who is also a Christian. He offered to open the way for us into three more colleges and one more dormitory housing 120 students. He was the one who came to us to talk! Another college administrator asked us a few days ago to inform him any time we could conduct a spiritual activity on his campus. On the islands of Negros and Leyte, the high schools are calling our missionaries there and asking them to come and help their students! In Tagum city in Mindanao there is open door after open door. These are just a few very recent examples, and the stories could just go on and on.

So, what am I saying? I’m saying that the harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few. The harvest is plenteous, the harvest is ready, but it’s not all being reaped. Why? The labourers are few. Could we join together and obey God’s command to pray to the Lord of the harvest? Could we all present ourselves to God and be ready and willing to be the one to go if He should speak? Could we be willing to sacrifice some personal comfort in order to support a local or foreign missionary whom God has chosen to send? We don’t know how long God will allow such wonderful doors to be open. I believe if we don’t do something about this now, we will be deeply grieved when we realize what has been lost for eternity, and that’s what is – eternal loss never to be regained.

My God, Me, and My Money

It has been said that people spend 50% of their waking time thinking about money – how to get it, how to spend it, how to save it, how to invest it, or how to borrow it. Some of the very serious challenges we face in our Christian walk is gaining a proper view on money and possessions and how to manage them based on the biblical principles we can find in the word of God. Even though we may vary in our financial situations, we have the same questions to ask ourselves which when answered will reveal a lot about our spiritual condition.


How a believer handles his money and wealth speaks a lot about his present spiritual condition. This subject about money, wealth, and riches is very important to God. I have learned that 16 out of 38 parables of the Lord talked about handling treasures on earth. 1 out of 10 gospel verses speak about stewardship which is more than all of the verses on heaven and hell combined. There are about 2,000 Bible references on wealth and property, which is twice the number of references for faith and prayer. The point is that it is extremely important to God, and it should be for us as well. The world is telling us to gain and get more…God on the other hand is saying give and give more!

How we view money determines how we spend it, which controls how we live each day, where our heart is, what our life’s priorities are, and what satisfies us (Mat 6:20-21).

Next time we will see that there are at least three important truths we need to embrace by faith for us to begin spending what the Lord has given us in the way He wants.

A New Name. A New Beginning.

On November 8, 2009, the new name for the Davao Church was formally inaugurated: The GrowPoint Christian Ministries. This momentous event was also graced by Pastor Mechelle Peregrino who introduced and explained the new name of the church. The members of the church, which comprise SMCians, Young Professionals, and families from the three (3) church outreaches, went to celebrate this significant day with the newly-installed Pastor Renz Degillo and his lovely wife. Together, the GrowPoint Davao family feasted in the lunch fellowship after the Inauguration Service.

Along with the new name is a new and fresh beginning. The GrowPoint Davao desires to live out its name and to joyfully pursue and proclaim Christ. By His grace, we can and we will. Let us keep on praying for God’s continual blessing upon this church both in depth and dimension. To God be the glory.

Change Into His Image

God has been blessing me as I study the lesson change into His image,mostly with my personal life.He did teach me on how to be an effective servant of Christ, the need to be an effective worker and to be a blessing.
-Edwin Ligutan-

I'm so blessed with the change into His image lecture's of Dr.Berg.The truth I learned encourage me to pursue Christ more in my life.
-Mark Anthony Intas-

The LORD is gracious to me that He save me by His grace.Only God can change me in and through out, by the Spirit of GOD take the word to change me not of my own strenght.To be avaible to live life for God's glory.
-Kathy Mae Suminguit-

I am blessed by the lectures. I have know that because I'm not growing in my Christian life it's because I did not put my dependence upon the LORD.There are a lot to be change and I myself cannot do it but through the power of the Holy Spirit and dependence unto Him, I can do all things.
-Joanne Eparwa-

Leyte...

Praise be to God for His sustaining grace and mercy for His work here in the beautiful island of Leyte. Though the work is still new yet God had showed Himself strong. Many souls had been preached of the gospel of Christ and had made that wonderful decision of accepting Him in their hearts.He blessed us with two male students who obeyed Him in water baptism last semester, who were also able to attend the Netcasters Training Seminar in Bohol together with seven other students and two staff workers.Truly, God's grace always abounds for He also gave us ways and means of letting others know Him and one of which is the "You Are Worth Waiting For" seminar - a sexual abstinence education program that is being taught to high schools and universities as a way of penetrating schools and introducing Christ through SMCI.

We are looking forward again this second semester for God's bountiful harvest of souls and the equipping of saints believing that all will be well in His name.To God be the glory!

“Faith like Potatoes” – a testimony of God’s working

This is the title of the movie that has made a huge impact in my heart just recently. It talks about the faith of Angus, a farmer who just got saved and is stirred of the reality of a powerful God. He has witnessed many answers to his prayers and thus persuaded him to believe that God is a God who can do wonders. They were suffering from El Nino at that time and he challenged the people to look up to God and trust Him to save them from devastating effect of El Nino. He showed his faith by purchasing tons of potatoes and planting them in his field under the scathing heat of the sun. And lo, and behold, after 4 months, he harvested tons of healthy potatoes to the amazement of many.
Potatoes do grow unseen and unknown in the outside. Unnoticed, unapplauded but the result is there – the crop is growing underneath the barren field. Harvest is certain!
I then told myself, “Jonah, in your service for the Lord, how much applause have you received? How much works have you done that is seen and known and observed by others? How willing are you to work faithfully unnoticed and unapplauded until the fruits reveal the depth of God’s power in and through your life?”

As the work of the Lord here in Cebu Province is progressing, by His grace, those questions ring in my heart and mind louder than ever. I became more and more desirous to honestly say with John the Baptist, “He must increase and I must decrease.”
Oh! My dear friends, I confess, it is not that quick and easy process of actually living the life of total yieldedness and surrender to God and until now I am yet away to the utmost reality. But I praise the God of all grace for the patience and long-suffering to work in me. He is nailing that everyday in my heart.
As the team Cebu is keeping on for the harvest for this semester, qualitatively and quantitatively, that reveals the work of the Mighty One, we painfully desire to have a changing touch from Him that will bring us to the point of nothingness and dependence on Him alone.
We are seeing you in prayers and desiring that through all of us, God would continue to do wonders that He alone can do. Amen.
Please pray with us as we do some arrangements and changes in our local organizational set up.
Please pray for wisdom and discernments, leading and guidance and preservation of lives and testimonies.
Please pray for provision of needs financially.

A God so Amazing

Brethren, it has been more than a year since the Lord has visited me and eventually made me know of His long-time-ago-wrapped-gift, eternal life. He has done so much in my life from that time on. He has been working so greatly and mightily and has put me in the ministry.
Just recently, God has proved to me that indeed He has heard all my prayers and is very willing to answer them but not the way I expect them to be, rather, His own perfect way.

After begging Him for a year or more to save my family members too, God is now starting His work of saving them. Last October 14, 2009, He saved my third earthly parents. I considered them third parents because they are the parents of the one who took me from my real parents and called me their own :) (Quite confusing huh? But that’s the way God led my life.)
God is so amazing! He works in ways we cannot fathom and comprehend. Often His ways are very, very far greater than our ways and expectations. Even in His ministry here in Southern Cebu, Philippines. He has been working deeply in the hearts of the few core group members. They are just few but God showed us that these few are really the ones whose passion and burden for Him and His work are kindled so mightily.
Presently, these few students are doing evangelism and follow-up inside their campuses where we are not allowed to get inside to facilitate the bible studies. God is indeed STILL on the Throne! He deserves all the glory and honor. Praise be to His name forever.

Netcasters Training Seminar - Negros Chapter

Last October 26-30, we have conducted a Netcasters Training Seminar here at Negros Island and was held at Grow Point Tanjay City..The Lord has given us 34 trainees, young in faith and in age..we have highschools and college trainees this year..During the training, there were 102 professions made..To God be the Glory..We are blessed to hear that the trainees shared the gosple to their loveones as they go back to their places..May the Lord continue to put that fire burning to reach more lost souls for God...

Testimonies:

I am Omar Estrabela, one of the trainee from SMCI- Guihulngan-Negros chapter. It’s my privileged to attend the seminar together with the other SMCI members. I'm so blessed with first night preaching of Pastor Joven on how to catch fish. The passage in Matt.28:18-20, reminds me of the great commission. It encouraged me to share the gospel to others. Netcasters seminar taught me on how to present the gospel well. And with the following nights, the Lord used Kuya Mark to reminds me of my relationship to God and trust in the Spirit in us.

I am thankful to God for the fellowship I experienced and for motivating me to pursue the purpose of my life according to His plan and Vision. I am so thankful to God for the lessons He have revealed to me. Three personal lessons to my life. First, I should be on what God designed me to be. Second who am I? I am according to the word of God: I am a sinner saved by grace., And the third , I must be filled with the Holy Spirit, moment by moment, specially in winning the lost souls.TO GOD BE THE GORY (Ariel-Guihulngan Chapter)

Soldiers They Are!

Last week we had our yearly Netcasters training seminar. Although it's a yearly event, it's never boring and never the same! This year we had trainees from all over Bohol and even from the Island of Leyte. Throughout the week the trainees faced a huge list of verses and a detailed outline to memorize. For many of them, it was their first time to tackle a challenge like this.
It's such an exciting and yet sobering feeling to look around the room and see it filled with young people, young in age and young in faith giving themselves to be trained as soldiers of the cross - and soldiers they are! They get up early, stay up late, sleep on the floor, bathe in cold water, brave the hot sun and labour all day, just to complete the course...not to receive a certificate, but to please their newfound Saviour and share their newfound hope. Please remember to pray for them. The training is over, but the real battle has just begun. Some have already visited their parents and relatives in far off barangays (small villages) to share the truth and have been met with persecution, but some have returned from times of sowing 'bringing in their sheaves'!