Celebrating God's Faithfulness

Faith Fellowship Laoag church anniversary celebration on May 10...

Jasmin, Jaymar & Kenneth on the worship team
mark lead the opening prayer

during the praise and worship

and of course... eating time!

Many of us are being confused on how seeds grow and turn into plant that bears plenty of fruits, how the ugly duckling turns into a beautiful swan, or how Mt. Pinatubo maintains its perfect cone shape. Those simple yet difficult to answer questions continuously dig our deepest imaginations that can create different non-factual theories and explanations. But if we think and focus more closely to those issues, we can find out the simplest answer: Its God’s will.

Faith Fellowship Laoag celebrated its 6^th anniversary last May 10, 2009 at the Navotas-B Park. Pastor Emil Galzote led the program together with his daughter Jasmine who was the song leader. Pastor Let Malaluan, who was the former pastor of Laoag and currently leading Tagaytay Faith Fellowship, also joined the said celebration. Pastora Let shared us her testimonies and experiences while she was still here in Laoag some years ago. We reminisce all of our unforgettable experiences on how Faith Fellowship Laoag started with the other 3 Pastors, Ptr. Jonathan Cariaso, Ptr. Mau Rivera, and Ptr. Richard Teodosio, challenging activities, and all the joys that we share with each other for 6 long years. As Pastor Emil has said, those memorable scenarios help us to build a strong character that changes our views in life that encourage everyone to promote peace through fellowship. Pastora Let, was so flattered acknowledging the same faces, as well as new faces, continuously serving the Lord. After the program, we’re all gathered for our traditional packed-lunch.

Faith Fellowship Laoag will continue to plant seeds and harvest more fruits for us to build a strong foundation of love and fellowship with Christ.

by: Mark Moneda of Faith Fellowship Laoag

In the Hands of the Master Planner

Just as the Lord prepared everyone else in the Bible when He gave a task, so was He still in the business of preparing His servants today...

Pastor Mar testifies a lot on how the Lord has prepared him for the huge responsibility of being the National Coordinator...

• As the Senior Pastor of Faith Fellowship Dagupan, he was able to plant daughter churches in five years...

He just said that he won't leave Dagupan, but when it was the Lord who said "Go!" who are we to say no?! so he accepted the responsibilities... God's ways are not our ways.

• Before he finally took over as the National Coordinator in April, a summit was held in Antipolo among FECPI Board of Trustees and OMS International leaders to have an agreement on the church planting method to use here in the Philippines... that really set the stage for him to take over the ministry. A direction was already set by the Lord--where to go and how to go about it.

Last day of the summit held at Faith Fellowship Ministry Center

some pictures taken during the discussion held at Gem's Hotel in Antipolo

• The Lord not only prepared his ministry but even their house in Manila, the Lord has provided. From Dagupan they had to transfer to Manila so he would be near the main office. His relatives and his wives relatives were mostly in Tarlac and Pangasinan but Belle's sister bought a house in Montalban which he criticized because it was so expensive and far from their relatives.

"I didn't know that even that the Lord as prepared for us. April was already approaching and we didn't know where to stay then Belle's sister arrived from abroad and asked them to stay in her house in Montalban."

Those are just some of the many blessings they have received from the Lord. If we are faithful, God is more than faithful to bless His servants.

Pastor Mar and Belle hold on to God's promises in Jeremiah 29:11 which was proven true in their life. The future is in the hands of the Master Planner!

Jeremiah 29:11 says, "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

A New Milestone... A New Calling

Click image for a closer view of the Ordination Banquet Programme

The Lord has been doing marvelous things in the lives of our FECPI church planters. Just recently, we have witnessed how the spirit of these servants were ignited during the FECPI retreat at Pranjetto Hills, so much so that their faces were glowing with joy and excitement as the new vision, mission and core values were formulated and established for the common interest of all members of the FECPI family. Glory to God! It's such a wonderful experience to see how God's people with different personalities, backgrounds and experiences could just come together and unite in spirit and in mind for the purpose of pleasing, serving and glorifying the one true God!

And now, another milestone, another challenge, a new calling: Four of our church planters, along with 3 other FECPI pastors, made it through the screening, interview and "heart" examination to become ordained pastors. It's not just a title, so we say. It is a calling.

What does it take to be ordained? What does it involve? What lies ahead? Hmmmm we wonder... But whatever lies ahead, we are but sure it is all under God's masterplan, and goodness follows according to His perfect will and purpose. Hallelujah!

Congratulations to our newly ordained FECP Church Planters and pastors:

(From left)Jun Pinili, Jerry Cruz, Jonathan Trino, Noel Penaranda, Alice Penaranda, Aileen Dabandan and Let Malaluan.

Also in this picture are FBC President Ermalee Hidalgo, NSC for churchplanters Mar Ocampo, and FECPI President Brent Burdick.

May you look forward to what lies ahead, press on to reach the end of your race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling you.

Shalom!

Saying Hello to Greater Responsibilities

The pastor who just said goodbye to a church is actually saying hello to the churches.

Pastor Mar's goodbye to Dagupan was his hello to greater responsibilities entrusted to him by FECPI to be the National Coordinator of FECPI Church Multiplication Teams...

ON the first day of April...

Pastor Mar first met with the Regional Coordinators of the church planting teams. They have meeting for three months already for planning and brainstorming but this was his first meeting with them as the National Coordinator.

The First Visitation

Together with other Regonal Coordinator, Pastor Mar and wife Belle visited the church multiplication teams... Their first destination was Cavite province where the church planters of Region 4A gathered.

The second destination was in Pangasinan where they met with pastor Emil and then to Quirino province where they met with the church planting teams of Region 2.

The visit was highlighted by prayer time with the workers. That was actually the first and most important agenda of the new National Coordinator--to gather everyone and pray believing that more would be accomplished starting with the most essential yet neglected part of the ministry--PRAYER!

The visiting team stayed with the church planters to encourage them and listen to what they have to say. That was the time also to show them where the church planting teams are going and should be going with the right vehicle to ride on and proper instructions to follow...

Pastor Mar even shared a testimony that on the first two days that he was going to the office in Aurora Blvd. from Montalban where they are now living, he got lost. That happened not just once but twice. He knew how it felt to be lost. With the new and clearer direction the Lord is leading the church planting teams, he was encouraged and that's exactly what he shared with the rest of the church planters which encouraged everyone as well.

"It is not hard to follow a leader who knows where he is going..."

Pastor Mar & Belle got a lot of testimonies to share when it comes to how the Lord has prepared them for this ministry... Watch out for those stories!

Part of the visit was to mingle and have fellowship with the rest of the teams and their spouses. The visit wasn't only encouraging but it was also fun exploring the caves in Aglipay, Quirino!

when a pastor says goodbye...

Pastor Mar & Belle Ocampo said goodbye to Faith Fellowship Dagupan in March. They served in Dagupan for 5 years after Pastor Mar graduated from Faith Bible College in 2004. Those years have been very productive. Their commitment and faithfulness in the ministry gave birth to two other churches--Faith Fellowship San Carlos and Faith Fellowship Malued.

Now it's time to say goodbye...

Faith Fellowship Malued prepared a farewell party for the couple on the same day Pastor Mar & Belle were celebrating their 14 years of marriage. Through the messages of the members you would know how the couple has served the church and how they have impacted the lives of the people. Mr. Martinez, the uncle of everybody, was critical of God and the Bible. He kept challenging Pastor Mar about the Bible but he was surprised by Pastor Mar's honesty & humility which led him to get to know God.

The church also gave a plaque of appreciation to Pastor Mar & Belle. It was hard for them to lose a dear pastor who served the Lord faithfully but were very grateful and with the blessing, they released their pastor to serve on a higher level of leadership.

Pastor Mar is now serving as the National Coordinator of FECPI Church Planting Teams.

Lucena City for Christ!

Fun, Fellowship & Family Day

It's only eight in the morning and the kids & youths were already in the resort, jumped in the pool and played while waiting for others. They brought their food to share with others for lunch. That's how excited they were for the event.
The program started with a praise and worship, followed by water baptism when Kuya Jun adn Julie Ann decided to obey the Lord through water baptism. The testimonies were really moving stating how the Lord has changed their lives.

a recognition given to Nanay Emma for preparing the food during the youth activity in December

There were also a lot of games for the fathers, the youths and the kids. Prices made the games even more exciting and fun!

check this slide for more pictures

The Right Worship to the Right God

Dagupan Faith Fellowship had their youth camp on December 29-30 at Barangay Sta. Cruz, San Jacinto, Pangasinan. The youths were accomodated by some Christians there during the night while their sessions were held in a church building nearby.

34 youths from pre-teens to young professionals attended the camp. The youths came from Dagupan Faith Fellowship and its daughter churches in San Carlos, Malued and Pogo Grande. Sherilyn de Sola, one of the youth leaders, reported that these youths are already involved in praise and worship because the camp's theme is about "the Right Worship to the Right God" which discussed also the manners of worship and the use of music to worship our One True God.

Sherilyn reported a list of what they have learned during the camp. Here they are:

• that we should offer our time, talent, treasures, and our temple to the Lord
• that the worship leader should know the songs and not just imitate other known song leaders but be creative with his or her own style.
• that song leaders should also be a worshipper and not seek to be worshipped... remember that God looks at the heart
• that the instrumentalist should also be worhsipping and singing while playing their instruments
• the back-up singers should know how to modulate the voice so as not to overpower the song leader
• and for everyone to be true to self and offer a genuine worship to the Lord

they also learned to do household chores and were able to meet new friends as they stayed in the houses of the Christians in San Jacinto.

The camp resulted to transformation and realization among the youths and they are definitely looking forward to the next camp meeting.

FECPI Workers Christmas Party

presenting... the singles of FECPI

A Christmas Party in November

Can you feel the cool breeze at night? It only tells us that Christmas is fast approaching and for FECPI workers, Christmas starts in November.

It started in 2007 when FECPI workers--local senior pastors, pastoral staff, ECC church planters and FBC faculty and staff gather for a time of celebration and fellowship in November. It used to be First Monday of December now it was moved to last Friday of November. The reason? December is a very busy month so why not gather and celebrate before everybody gets busy arranging different parties, retreats and other events.

The program started with a movie about Christmas followed by the opening number of ECC church planters singing It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year. See pictures below.

What is a party without games? With the pictures you can tell how the pastors enjoy the games...

the Big Foot Race

guessing game--the Americans guess the word on their forehead being described in English by a Filipino... the Winner? Pastor Brent and Pastor Richard!

another game is the game of survival! Singles are paired and went through challenges... the winner? Grace and Bong!

after the games, the workers enjoyed the food and the fellowship. But the program did not end there...

The committee surprised the pastors with special awards... the pastor of the year award voted by the workers themselves goes to Pastor Mar Ocampo--for the outstanding servant leadership he has shown in the ministry!

pastor of the year: Mar Ocampo and wife

The night ended with a surprise tribute to FECPI President Brent Burdick and his closing speech and prayer encouraging everyone to keep on serving the Lord no matter what the cost!