My housemates invited me to go along with them to church. I accepted and after a Jeepney ride and short walk, we arrived. They had just started singing songs - all in English, so it was easy to follow along.
Afterwards, the pastor spoke on missions, reminding us that there are 4 parts of ministry - praying, encouraging, giving, and going. Each person is called to one or multiple of these. He had commitment sheets for people to fill out to say which part of ministry they want to be a part of. Then near the stage, there were 4 boards. One had P on it for praying, the next had E for encouraging, the next G for giving and G for going. There were ink pads on a table near by and each person that had filled out a sheet would put their thumb print on the board of which they were committing to. This would serve as a weekly reminder to each person of what they had committed to.
One of his prayers, that made me think about missions differently, was when he thanked God that someone had come bringing the gospel to the Philippines, and that there were now people saved here. Right before their last service, he asked if there was any newcomers. I glanced around, then hesitantly raised my hand. He finished by saying "you stand out, you can't hide, so please stand up." The way he said it, totally made my day. I do try to not stand out so much, but apparently I am not doing a very good job LOL
Awww! Which simbahon?
ReplyDeleteOne I have never attended before...
DeleteWhat a neat opportunity to fellowship with local believers! It is hard not to stand out at times. I sure feel like that even here in CA sometimes.;)
ReplyDeleteYes, it is an amazing experience to get to fellowship with believers in other countries!! LOL, I am sure you do! ;-)
DeleteI was referring to homeschooling and wearing skirts and such.:) Wanted to clarify my comment about standing out. Too being a Christian you will hopefully always stand out by God's grace because of His work in your life!
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