By: Dr. Levi P. Quir, DCAGC Executive Minister

The head, heart and hand for mission

Every one of us believes something about missions. Others believe that missions serve a very important purpose to the church. While some would believe that it is only for the selected few. There are also people who believe that we can choose to be involved or choose not to.

I do not know what you believe about it, but I’m sure you believe something about missions.

To start with, the Bible reveals that God had an only Son and he was a missionary. The greatest mission endeavor was expressed when Christ Jesus came to planet earth as a human being.

Theology calls this as the divine kenosis. The emphasis here is on the fact that Christ emptied himself with divine attributes, made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, humbled himself to come where we are in order to save us.

For that reason, He took the form of a man and became obedient to the cross, even to the death of the cross. Before taking his last breath while hanging on the cross he said, tetelestai, meaning it is finished.

Ø The penalty of our sins has been paid.

Ø The power of death has been conquered.

Ø The gift of eternal life has been offered.

Ø And the great commission has been given to all his disciples.

The message must be proclaimed to all creation. That is the missions that the church in history is doing and must continue to do so until Christ comes again.

Missions from the very start do have a global perspective. It was God’s purpose for man to spread the gospel all over the earth. Man did not willingly do that at first and God then had to scatter man through persecution as shown to us in Acts 8:1-4.

The church was devoted in their faith but was not going beyond the city walls of Jerusalem with the Gospel. The Church in Jerusalem had (1) The Masses (2) They had the Miracles (3) They had the Message, but they were not fulfilling their MISSIONS.

For that reason the Lord had to scatter the church to get it started what He wanted it to be done. For a church to be greatly blessed of God it needs to have Missions as a number one priority.

Preaching the gospel to the world certainly requires the head, the heart and the hands to be working together for missions.

The Head for Missions. The head is where the mind is. That is where your thinking takes place. For us to believe the gospel we must take it into our minds. It implies that we have to think and plan for our involvement in missions.

Ø The Greatest Commandment involves loving God with our whole mind.

Ø The Great Commission involves teaching believers everything the Lord has commanded.

Ø Romans 12:2 says, “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

   1. We Must Recognize the Truth

The whole truth about missions reminds us of God’s love that he sent his son Jesus Christ into the world to die for our sins and offer the gift of eternal life.

We are also being reminded that as his people we are commissioned by God to spread the good news of salvation throughout the world.

The Word of God is a lamp to your path insuring that you walk in his ways. David knew this when he said, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and light unto my path.” (Psalm 119:105)

   1. We Must Receive the Truth

Once we recognize the Truth, it is time to receive it with gratitude and obedience. We say to God, Lord thank you for your great LOVE. I deserved to be punished with eternal death in hell but you died for my behalf.

We also say to him, Lord I receive the truth that you plan for the salvation of others. You commissioned me to be a missionary in my sphere of influence.

The Heart for Missions. The mandate to go and make disciples of all nations requires a lot of heart. The heart is the seed bed for the emotions. It is where you begin to feel and anticipate what you believe.

Some Christians may think that faith is so sterile and that there is only a mechanical application of Truth. I have been saved too long to believe that.

Faith comes by hearing and hearing of the Word of God, but it is not devoid of emotion. Faith will affect how you feel, but how you feel should not affect your faith.

   1. There Must Be Passion for Missions

The definition for passion is, intense, driving, or overmastering feeling for the salvation of people.

Missions are truly the passion of God. As God’s children we should develop that passion for the salvation of others. When we are passionate about the lost souls, it will literally move us to do something.

In this church we have people, we have prayers, we have programs, but if we lack passion for souls we will just be contented of where we are and enjoy these blessings from God.

   1. There Must Be Compassion in Missions

Compassion means, having a sympathetic consciousness of others’ distress together with a desire to alleviate it.

Compassion is hard because it requires the inner disposition to go with others to the place where they are weak, vulnerable, lonely, and broken. Consequently, this is not our spontaneous response to people who are suffering. It requires a heart for mission to be able to reach out to them.

Missions demand a higher level of compassion that transcends human inclinations. When we look beyond ourselves, we will realize that we are so blessed than others. That realization must lead us to do missions.

The Hands for Missions. The hands symbolize action. There are several things that we do with our hands. We work with our hands, we communicate with our hands, and we minister with our hands. We even fight with our hands. We use our hands to sign contracts, to play musical instruments. We use our hand to show joy or disgust. Your hands will reveal something about you.

   1. There Must Be Hands of Submission

When the head is right about missions, and the heart is right about missions, then the hands need to be right.

When we look for volunteers, we ask them to raise their hands. When they did so they were admitting that they understood what was asked of them.

When a soldier or police officer apprehend a culprit and ask him to surrender, he will ask him to raise his hand.

Are you holding on to something that may keep you from serving God?

   1. There Must Be Hands of Service

Our church provides a lot of opportunity for service. If you want to serve the Lord with your gift, talents and abilities, we are more than willing to help you. If you need training, the church offers a lot of training programs designed to equip believers.

We must have the head for mission by recognizing the truth, receiving the truth and responding to the truth. We must be willing to let the truths move us to action.

When you think about your goals in life, plans for the future or dreams you hope to achieve, make sure that the great commission is part of it.

The message is plain and simple. Mission to each one of us must have the head, the heart and the hands for missions. There may be those of you now who have your own mindset and it doesn’t involve missions. But if you have truly learned and understood what God’s will about missions, you will have a passion or conviction to do something about it.

You will either be going if you are already prepared, or be helping with your prayer and finances to support those who are going to the mission field. I have only considered one small aspect of the big picture of missions. Missions involved our total being. If we get this simple principle regarding our attitude towards missions, it will never be the same again.

By: Faye Dianne M. Gayo and Rasmie Dotollo Garcia

My house is full but my field is empty,

Who will go and work for me today?

It seems that my children want to stay around my table

But no one wants to work my fields

No one wants to work my fields.

This is what Lanny Wolfe said in his poem, My House is Full But My Field is Empty. What an irony! We, Christians, love to go to church, to worship God, to tell Him that we love Him and yet, often fail to do His Great Commission: “Go and make disciples…”

God wants us to be missionaries. But often we cringed at this word.

Mission is not only about going to the far fetched, almost never-been-places. Mission is all about loving God. And because we love God, we respond to His call.

Missionaries are not only those who travel to preach and share the gospel being the frontliners of God’s army. The brave ones who went out from the comfort of their homes to bring others back home to God’s kingdom.

These frontliners are backed up by those with generous hearts. Those who willingly sacrificed a day’s allowance, a budget for a new cellular phone, or a portion of their salaries. Their gift is giving. And because they so lovingly give, they were able to touch lives. They are considered missionaries, too.

Oftentimes, we think that giving and going for mission are the only two qualifications to become a missionary. We all know that prayer makes a great deal. If the financial partners, or the givers, are the ones supporting the physical and material needs of the goers, the prayer partners support their spiritual needs. Yes, prayer partners are considered missionaries, too.

These three are of equal importance. No one can say one is greater than the other. If all will go, who will give and pray? If all are givers, who will go to the mission field and pray? And if we all just pray, who will do the work?

God calls His children in different ways.

Samuel heard God’s call when he was just 12 years old. Young as he was then, he responded positively. He committed himself to do God’s will for his life – without hesitation, not a single doubt.

Jonah was ripe. He was already sharing the Lord’s message. Yet, when God called him for a specific mission at Nineveh, he tried to run away. It took him a tragedy to bring his knees bend before God.

Are we the present day Samuels who, though we still lack experience, willingly say ‘yes’ to God? Or are we the modern Jonahs who don’t have a problem doing the Lord’s work as long as it is within our comfort zones?

How many of us would want to give up a meal at McDonald’s, another not-really-needed shirt, a time alone with our self at the beach, a trip solely for enjoyment just so we could give to the mission needs?

Each one is a brick that builds God’s kingdom. We all have a part. We are all important. Let us share our lives to others. Let God use us in whatever way He plans to use us.

And He is waiting for us to say, “Here I am, Lord, send me.” It really doesn’t matter where, how much, or how long we must pray. What matters is we respond because we love God.

The Website

By: Jofferson Jones C. Panos

Are you wondering why the articles in the previous pages are hanging? As you noticed in this newsletter, the complete stories are found in our website—http://www.dcagc-camacop.com.

The world has been making swift technological advances and one of them is the Internet. It is now one of the most accessible means of communication and getting information because it links people into a single virtual community.

We are blessed that our church has now its own place in the World Wide Web and that God’s message can be accessed in all parts of the globe — just right at our fingertips.

This innovation in church has already started a year ago; however, only a little was known about it and there was also a quite few number of people who visit the site.

The amazing website features varied articles in accordance with our bi-monthly theme for our once a month newsletter publication. In addition to that, one could also be informed on the recent church happenings.

Learning more about God’s goodness and being updated are just but a few of the benefits when visiting the site. If this would materialize, this could leave a great impact not only in our church community but also to places abroad!

So, what are you waiting for? Let’s plant the seed of possibilities. Everytime you open the Internet, log on to www.dcagc-camacop.com. It’s very simple, yet glorifying to God.

Let’s be a part of this improvement! It’s not that difficult to do. Just type the complete website address of the church and let the monthly dose of God’s Word shine in you!

By: Audrey Amanda C. Quir and Kristin Joy P. Jaravata

“Go forth and make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19).” This is God’s great commission before the Lord Jesus ascended to heaven, leaving this message to all his disciples.

Two thousand years after, the Christian church is still abiding the mission that God and His followers are committed to. This mandate, however, was not only given to the pastors, ministers, or church elders. Instead, this task was given to all Christians with the inclusion of the youth.

As a result, 23 young people with hearts for mission has been gathering every Saturday, from 2 to 5 in the afternoon at the Junior Church Room to learn more on how to share the Gospel.

Known as the Youth Evangelism Explosion (YEE), it helps the youth understand on how to share the message of salvation. The training started last July 26, 2008 and it will end on October 18 of the same year. The graduation of the YEE trainees is scheduled on November 9. There are five teacher-trainers and one trainer who are handling every meeting and willingly share not just their knowledge, but also their lives.

Pastora Laila Lapi-an, head of the Ministry Department, believes that the youth of DCAGC has the heart to love the Lord God above all and is not ashamed of sharing His word to unbelievers.

She believes that lack of knowledge of the youth in sharing Christ will hinder them from becoming effective witnesses. In an interview, she stated that when Christians are not equipped and not ready, they would be reluctant to go and witness. So, in their early age, the church takes the practical steps to equip them.

On these trainings the trainees not only learn more on how to share the word of God, but they also experience God in a new way.

The training is also fun because they learn together and support others who seemingly get left behind. The trainees have availed themselves by making sacrifices of their time and effort, even their resources because they love the Lord God and they wanted to learn more.

Most of the trainees are students who go to school five times a week. It would be very much appreciated when you include them in your prayers:

·        Jofferson Jones Panos

·        Kristin Joy Jaravata

·        Mariancres Mamburam

·        Jedidiah Badayos

·        Jeffrey Olaivar

·        Desiree Maglanoc

·        Chris Paulo Tan

·        Irene Jaravata

·        Jirah Jhad Pin

·        Fil Henri Hechanova

·        Faye Diane Gayo

·        David Bryan Gayo

·        Beatriz Maglanoc

·        Naomi Jossele Salmon

·        Aileen Escolar

·        Christian Charles Tan

·        Gloryzel Pelones

·        Audrey Amanda Quir

·        Calvin Axl Ampon

·        Jaclyn Deniece Gayo

·        Micah Haradin Sabiniano

·        Rei Gerald Lasay

The trainers and teacher-trainers are also in need of your prayers:

· Mary Jane Andres

· Michelle Ugos

· Atty. Ferdinand Tugas

· Engr. Deana Joy Tugas

· Ptra. Laila Lap-ian

· Rasmie Garcia

Meanwhile, writer Kristin Joy Jaravata believes that people are experiencing a ‘sudden need’ in some parts of the world. Though the need for food, shelter and clothing are now given attention, there is still one important thing left behind. That is, the presence of JESUS in one’s life. Some people don’t know him and haven’t got any idea about him. The saddest part is that the younger people are mostly the ones who are in deepest need of him.

Being a teenager, Kristine said, is a very difficult situation. It is when we decide what to do whether it is right or wrong.

Many places are experiencing chaos. In this case, it’s only God whom they can turn to. And I’m glad that God has given me a chance to be a part of the Youth EE training. In this 13 week training, I learned several things. It trains us how to preach or share God’s Word, especially to the youth in need.

I believe through this minute way, this can be a big help. And God is indeed pleased. We are all God’s children; thus, we have to take care of each other and help each other in times of need. That’s what God is all about…LOVE.

As an inspiration, the teachers and trainers along with the trainees are holding on to an off-quoted saying: it is more strategic to train a witness than just to win one person to Christ.