Worshiping in Manila

Today I was privileged to visit Fellowship Center Baptist Church in Manila. What an encouraging morning! I am so impressed by the pastoral staff as well as by their ministry. Here I am with 3 of the pastors as well as several deacons:

They were very kind and hosted me to lunch as well.

One of the encouraging things they did was to have everyone go into discussion groups right after the sermon. People just break up into groups around the sanctuary and take 30-40 minutes to talk about the sermon and how they will respond to it. People tend to be in the same groups week to week, and then end their time in prayer together. Then they call the people back together to sing a final song. It is a great way to build relationships, to build on the sermon, and to explore ways to put it into practice.

They are also working to find ways to reach out beyond themselves. One part of their strategy is something very similar to the building-based fellowships we have tried to do at MSU. That is, they are challenging people to start a Bible study and prayer group at their place of work. They have started one at a medical facility and they are in the process of setting one up for a fire station. May God bless their efforts and their ministry!