“But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.” (I Corinthians 15:10)
The year 2020 was a year full of challenges, but God never failed in making us feel His presence. We have faced some obstacles, but by God’s grace, we were able to overcome them.
Church Building Update
For the past several years, we have seen how God has blessed us with new people being added to our church. We began to grow not only spiritually but also numerically. From 30 people in attendance, we are now averaging 130 (kids and adults). With this increase comes a good problem. In order to accommodate a bigger crowd, we need a bigger facility where we can worship and hold activities without the people being cramped in a small space. In 2019, our desire to have our own place intensified when we received the news from our landlady that she was planning to sell the property that we are currently renting. With the help of some of our supporting churches, several friends, and the faithful giving of our church people, we were able to purchase our very own property. As of now, we are in the process of constructing our church building. It is still a work in progress, but we trust that what God has allowed us to start, He will allow us to finish as well. We just need to trust Him and be faithful. Please help us pray that we can not only finish our church building but also build Sunday school rooms and a nursery for our kids.
Church Activities
With the onset of COVID-19 in our country, many of our church activities and fellowships were put on hold because of the protocols implemented by the government. Even then, we still continued to hold our church services, and by God’s grace, 3 young people were baptized. Norberto, Cherry Ann, and Arvie Alexis are now part of our church family. Ma’am Cecilia and Ma’am Razel will soon be part of our church family, as they both have expressed their desire to transfer their church memberships.
Church Soul Winning and Visitation
Truly, our labor is not in vain. Through our soul-winning and visitation program, we met one family that is now a part of our church. Maricon and Kimber have three kids, and last year they had their fourth child. They came forward one Sunday to dedicate their child, Xian Alfred. Please pray that, in spite of the restrictions being enforced, we can still continue spreading the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and bringing more souls to the feet of Jesus. We give God all the glory!
On behalf of my family and the people of Grace Baptist Church, Burauen, we would like to say thank you for your continued support. Thank you for helping us in the construction of our church building and for your faithfulness in supporting our church ministry. God bless you all!
Prayer Requests
1. More souls to be saved
2. Spiritual growth of our church people
3. Finances for construction of Sunday school rooms and nursery
4. Family’s health
In Christ,
Parish Javier and Family
Missionaries in the Philippines