God is Faithful

Happy 2nd Anniversary, City Baptist Church! 🙌

I can still vividly remember how it started. "God has called me somewhere else." That was all I knew. I was rushing from the doorway of "the place where I'd been" with tear-swollen eyes and a heavy heart, a bit worried about the results of the choice that I made. Trust and obey, as the old hymn says. Though I couldn't see the future, I knew God was already there. And so, I've chosen to trust in the Lord.

On the same day, June 21, exactly two years ago, in the afternoon, I said "Hello!" to where God has called me, City Baptist Church. Our first connect meeting was held at the park of the subdivision where we were waging war against the mosquitoes for they were too many. We were just around ten adults with a few kids with us. We're a small group but the Spirit of God was evident in the midst of us.

A few months later, we moved to Barangay Hall. We also met up in our good pastor's house alternately. We didn't have a permanent place for worship, but still God was in the midst.

Almost a year passed when God has blessed us with a place to rent for our growing church. We took it by faith for our funding was still really low. And like what God has always been, He's been amazingly faithful to us on providing for our church needs.

Two years. Two years of fruitful ministry -- fervent prayer, sound preaching, active evangelism, intentional discipleship, heartfelt fellowship, good baptism. From 15 members to 30 to 75 to almost a hundred; our church family has grown and still growing.

In this year, we helped with the medical (and evangelistic) missions in Bulacan in February. Bible clubs in Amparo and Hilltop are still ongoing. Our young people joined the camp in May. We held our very first Vacation Bible School in the same month, with the great help from a church in Ohio. God has allowed us to reach around 200 people preaching to them the message of the gospel.

We have many plans to pursue for the next half of the year and we're excited on what God will accomplish through us.

Like any other churches, ours isn't a perfect one. Some people came and went away. (I believe that God has also called them somewhere else too; and we still love them.) There would be a couple of misunderstandings but we let the love of Christ cover us. There would be struggles and worries, but we fix our eyes on Jesus Christ. Our church is one of the numerous manifestations of God's grace and faithfulness.

It's not about finding a better church for there's really no point in comparing; but it's about seeking where God has called you. I have found where God was leading me and I hope you'd find yours too (or maybe you were there already).

As our church celebrates God's faithfulness, may I borrow Brian Litrell's song, "In Christ alone, we place our trust and find our glory in the power of the cross. In every victory, let it be said of us, 'Our source of strength, our source of hope is Christ alone.'"

Glory to God!