Looking Back, Looking Ahead - JKKCC's 3rd Anniversary

Time and time again, we are witnesses of God's faithfulness and awesome power.  Looking back as we celebrate Jesus King of Kings Community Church, one would immediately see God's faithfulness.  Who would have known that what was once just a dream will become a reality.  We have already been ministering to a group of young people who were former gang members for quite sometime when Rodel, a former gang leader himself and an YM team member shared his unusual dream.  He said that he saw young people coming out of a building where he could also hear people singing worship songs.  

He couldn't understand the dream then, as short as it was, but deep in his heart, he knew, it wasn't just his own.  God is up to something although it is not clear yet.  During that time our ministry to the street gangs was only through friendship evangelism and home Bible study groups.  Since we have been doing the Bible study for more than a year, we decided to invite the youth to attend church services.  Sad to say, none of them wanted to continue attending, the churches then were not ready to receive former gang members.  Not that they don't want to, but they just were new to the idea of ministering to former street gang members.

But we really wanted to teach the youth how to worship God, so we said to ourselves, why not just hold a worship service just for them.  That's one great idea, but the problem is, we don't have a place nor the equipment and the manpower to do so.  Finally, YM agreed to let us use the training room for the worship service.  So in the afternoon of the first Sunday of February 2008, we held our very first worship.  A handful of young people came. Everything was borrowed - the sound system, chairs, instruments and even the instrumentalist, but the worship time was so great.  It is so glorious to see the young people we are ministering learning how to worship God.

(JKKCC'S FIRST WORSHIP SERVICE IN 2008)

Even though the worship service was great, questions still linger in our minds.  Should we continue the service, Sunday after Sunday?  Where will we get the funds to pay rent and utilities?  Who will lead this new ministry since no one in our team knows how to plant a church?  How can we sustain it if it becomes a church since we don't have any workers and even if workers come, where will we get the funds to support them?

Another Sunday came and we held yet another worship service.  Many Sundays came and we lost track of time, and yet, we kept on worshiping God.  Many other young people came until the room became packed.  Mothers came too.  After a year of doing it, we finally saw the outcome - a church was born but honestly no one wants to plant one because no one knows how to do so.  

(THREE MONTHS AFTER - THE CHURCH BEGINS TO GROW)

(JKKCC'S FIRST YEAR ANNIVERSARY)

We came to one conclusion - God uses the foolish to shame the wise.  It is not by man's wisdom that JKKCC was born, but by God's.  Since it is God who made it happen, He will be the one to provide for all the needs of the church.  Funds came for rent, utilities and other needs; and workers one by one came too.  Backed by God's miracles, we have agreed to do one thing - to keep moving forward.  We always look ahead knowing that God's power is available for us.  He gave us the promise to never leave us nor forsake us.          

Now after three years, JKKCC story remains the same - it is all about God's faithfulness and awesome power.  He is faithful to fulfill all His promises - even the dream he showed Rodel many years back.  JKKCC now is renting the 5th floor of a building for its worship services and ministries, the third venue they have used in the last three years.  The two previous ones were in a building too.  Rodel finally understands the dream he had.  JKKCC is the fulfillment of that dream.

The church keeps on growing.  Aside from the worship service, it has a Day Care Center, a feeding ministry and an educational program aside from the ministries to the mothers and the youth.  All of these are testimonies of God's abiding presence and awesome power.  As the church look ahead, everybody is excited for more of what God is doing today and what He has prepared in the future.  The best is yet to come!  JKKCC - Happy 3rd Year Anniversary!!!