Sunday, January 6, 2008

Let The Race Begin

On January 8, the Youth Mobilization Team will be holding its first team meeting for the year 2008. Everybody's excited for two reasons. First, the meeting will be held in their new office, a two-room space in the third floor of a building somewhere in Makati City. Also, everybody is anticipating what God will unfold for the team. Just before the end of 2007, they completed the plan for 2008 after a week-long planning.

It was there that everybody agreed that the year 2007 was a year of seeing "new births". New ministries and departments were born in 2007. Like the new ministry of Jason Agana which uses hip hop music to reach out to young people, and also it is in 2007 when we saw the Training and Partnership Departments launching events and activities that are geared toward training youth leaders and postering unity among churches. Among their projects last year were the RAVE concert and Leadership Training for Trust and Obey Christian Fellowship. Moreover, many received a burden to start new projects that will help the poor and the unfortunate. One of them is Mercy Ministry's campsite for the rugby boys, and a separate orphanage for street kids.

For the year 2008, Joshua shared to the team what the Lord is putting in his heart for the year 2008. If 2007 was a year of "new births", 2008 will be a year of "stretching and growth". He encouraged everyone to expect growth for their ministries. Growth in terms of having new ministry members, funding and facilities. With God's promise in his mind and heart, Joshua challenged the team to believe that God will begin "to extend the place of their tents" (Isaiah 54:2-3), and people from many nations will start to join them (Zechariah 6:15, 8:20) and everyone's work will definitely bear much fruit (Zechariah 8:12).

But the growth won't be complete without the other word - stretching. For the growth to happen, everyone also needs to be willing to be stretched. It could mean more stretching of one's faith; also, stretching in terms of meeting deadlines, attending trainings and continous eduication, submitting ministry updates and daily schedules, adhering to new guidelines and office policies, upgrading of personal skills, etc.; and the most important thing of all, stretching that refers to having a deeper personal relationship with Christ and a spiritual life that is maturing day by day!

Finally, before the end of the year, Joshua is reminded of Paul's admonition in Philippians 3:13-14, "Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. "

Let's continue moving forward, anticipating growth and looking forward for God's stretching!

LET THE RACE BEGIN!!!