The lives of church planters, missionaries and full-time ministers are full of joys and challenges. But this life gets all the more meaningful with God’s gift of families - the ones who listen to the stories, dreams and trials we go through along the way. For the ECPM staff, they are the ones left at home whenever we travel to church planting areas. Yet, they are the ones we go back to who listen to our stories and view our photos and sometimes enjoy whatever we take home for them.
We had a very meaningful time during the family get together of ECPM as the families of Elvin, Vic, Christopher, Vida and Ella played and prayed and discussed matters with each other. Thank you for praying for us!
Church Planting Teams (PHI05)We thank the Lord that after fervent prayer and coordination, two teams among the tribal/mountain areas in Palawan started their first module last April. Team Tola-tola (photo on right) and Team Samarinyana (photo below) in Brooke’s Point are composed of native Palawanos who know the native language, which we believe will be very helpful as they reach out to locals in the area.
The photo below right shows the entry point going to Tola-tola, Palawan showing the house of Julius, (the team leader). There are a lot of families living in this area. Please pray as they see that this entry point will be very strategic as they reach out to the community.
Team Itis and Basikong in Saranggani just had their fourth module and we praise the Lord that through our partners in Mindanao and their network, a concrete gathering place was made for the community. In the photo Vic and Christopher (Topei) are praying for the new gathering place in Itis, Saranggani which will become the church in the community. ECPM respects culture and among the T’boli tribe, a concrete structure helps strengthen the faith of the people.
This coming August, another tribal church planting team will start in Rizal Palawan. This is in partnership with our first tribal church planting effort in Binta’t Kariz in Rizal. God never fails to amaze us as He continues to push us towards the ends of the Earth that people may know His name!
A campus ministry in Albay Bicol among the college students in Ligao will start this June in partnership with another previous church planting effort of ECPM, Ranao-ranao Christian Church. We are very happy that churches are now growing in the ministry! We can see the zest of the youth leaders in Ranao-ranao and we praise the Lord for that!
1) Please pray as the team in Samarinyana builds their mission house made of native materials in the area. This will also be used for fellowship in the future.
2) Please pray for protection and guidance to the families of the church planters, the ECPM staff and the partnering churches.