September and October were exciting months for our church. God greatly blessed our soul-winning efforts, as we saw 1,088 people profess faith in Christ.
It has been a great joy to see our lay workers becoming more involved and taking on more and more of the responsibilities of the work. For example, Niel Arellano, one of our faithful men, has “adopted” Daniel, our oldest jeepney. He has devoted many of his off hours to getting the jeepney road-ready. Now that it is running, Niel continues to give it the TLC it needs to stay on the road.
One of the greatest blessings we have seen is several of our ladies going on visitation. Ester goes out several times a week and always has several ladies go with her. Ester, our staff, and our college ladies bake and cook different snacks to give to the folks they visit. Their work has a tremendous impact on the morale and enthusiasm of our church.
I mentioned in our last prayer letter that we had started a program called “Christ in Our Homes,” where we go into the homes of two or three families in our church each week for a short Bible study and prayer time. It has really had a positive effect on our families. It took about three months to cycle through all the families in our church. We just started the cycle again a couple of weeks after finishing all the homes. It has really encouraged folks to have family devotions and walk closer to God.
Many of the 1,088 people who trusted Christ were led to the Lord while soul winning at a public school. What a tremendous opportunity there is here to be able to go soul winning in public schools.
We began our annual Harvest Campaign during October. It has been one of the most exciting programs we have ever had. Our people have really gotten involved and are bringing more visitors than ever. Our church is divided into three groups (the Ranchers, the Share Croppers, and the Gleaners), and the competition has been neck-and-neck. Our theme is “Fruit That Remains.” We not only give points for bringing visitors, but we also increase the points each time the visitor comes back during the program. Our goal is that folks will not only visit but will also come enough times to feel like part of the church. We have also found that negative motivation works very well, and folks will put extra effort in to avoid the “punishment” that the group with that least amount of points receives. The punishment is something unpleasant being poured on them from the balcony, such as flour, ice water, or gulaman (sticky, watery gelatin desert).
As we see God’s blessings and mighty hand at work here in the Philippines, we are eternally grateful for the sacrifice of the dear folks who have prayed for and given financially for this wonderful harvest. Thank you so much.
Yours for souls,
Courtney & Ester Godsoe