Cornerstone@5

A few weeks ago we had a tremendous weekend celebrating five years of Cornerstone Churches. We have been amazed at the goodness of the Lord and what He has done since 2004. We invited Pastor Yang Tuck Yoong and his wife Daphne to be our guest speakers - they are the Senior leaders of Cornerstone Singapore. They brought three other team members from Singapore.

What a weekend we had! On Friday we picked up the Team and on Saturday morning we did 'Street Pastors' in Santiago. On Saturday night we had 'Colours of Cornerstone' where every church and department gave a video or PowerPoint of their ministries and then did a song, dance or testimony as well. It was great! The Police sent representatives, as did the Bureau of Jail, politicians and business friends. So much effort had gone into organising the event - especially from Jane Mangadap and her team!

We now have 12 Cornerstone Churches and we are planning to plant 6 more in the next 6 months. Every church wore different colours - what a night!






On Sunday morning we had the Anniversary service and Pastor Yang spoke about being a prophetic church. He prayed for all our leaders and the praise & worship was wonderful - a taste of heaven! At the end of the service so many came forward for prayer and to be touched by the power of the Holy Spirit. Incredible morning!


After the service we had a baptismal service at the Sefton pool. We had four groups of pastors baptising because we had around 60 candidates to be baptised. What a wonderful time. In the evening Pastor Yang and Pastor Daphne spoke to our Cornerstone leaders and then at 730pm other leaders from nearby churches joined us for a leadership seminar.




On Monday we went to the jail and had a great service there. Pastor Yang spoke ... and the fire of God fell!! We baptised 15 new believers after the service.








So we thank God for his faithfulness to Cornerstone in the last 5 years. It's incredible to see what He has done with a group of willing and surrendered leaders. Our theme was taken from 1 Samuel 7:12- "Ebeneezer - God has helped us every step of the way."

And He has. And He is. And He always will.

Selah

New Life Weekend!

Well, the team from Fraserburgh, Scotland are well and truly home now. We had a wonderful time with them. I have returned from a Cornerstone Pastors Summit in Malaysia/Singapore and yesterday we celebrated the 4th Birthday of my lovely son Josiah. All news, views and photos of the above events will be blogged about soon!

Just want to let you know of an amazing weekend we had when the team were here. On the Saturday and Sunday we had the privilege to baptise over 60 new believers! Around 23 were baptised in the jail and around 38 were baptised here at Sefton after the Cornerstone United service. We had to baptise in three rows because there were so many to be baptised (plus it was scorching hot!) I was so blessed because I was able to baptise folk alongside one of my best friends Kenny. What a moment! I will never forget.

God us doing some great things among us. We are seeing a great number of people committing their lives to Christ - particularly in Cauayan and also in Nagssican. The church in San Isidro is also growing, even though they have 'no fixed abode'! Keep praying that these new believers will follow the Lord through the rest of their lives and become great disciples of Christ in their lives.

In the jail, Pastor August is doing such a great ministry. He and his sister Mildred have been so faithful and they are now seeing fruit for their labour. I am so blessed every time I go there. They are leading their own meetings, leading the w praise & worship, writing their own songs, testifying ... and they have 7 preachers who are on a rota every week! They even take up the offering ... in a jail! August is trying to teach them about the blessings of giving.


The people in jail are not convicted criminals ... they are waiting for their trial. For example, I met a guy last week who was in jail for 7 years. His name is Dennis and inside jail he found the Lord through the ministry of Cornerstone. He was only 15 years old when he went to jail and was released when he was 23. His two friends murdered someone and because he was in the vicinity of the crime, the police also arrested him. He had nothing to do with the murder but he had no money to prove it.

On his release papers (above) it says that, "He has served his sentence of 10 days imprisonment." It took 7 years to complete a ten day sentence... i.e. he was innocent all that time. Imagine. It doesn't bear thinking about. Your best years of your life ... gone. Your reputation ... gone. Your integrity ... gone. Your hope ... gone. But ... Dennis found the Lord in jail! He has faithfully attended the services at the jail and he really wants to serve the Lord. His family have rejected him and he has nowhere to turn to. But Pastor August and his family are trying to help him find work so he can find his place again in the society that let him down so badly.

Please pray for those 61 people who were baptised last week. Pray for August and his team who minister faithfully to people like Dennis. Pray for Dennis (above), that he finds work, continues to walk with the Lord and that he will put the past behind him. Pray for our Pastors who are serving the Lord in our local Cornerstone Churches. Pray for a greater harvest.

Be blessed and encouraged ...

Jail ... A Place of Freedom!

Last Saturday was a great day for many of the men and women at the local BJMP (jail). We have been ministering there for almost 7 years and now we really feel we are beginning to see fruit for our labour! Let me tell you this brilliant story ...

In 2001 a team from the N-E Scotland came to Sefton Village. One of the team was a lady called Anita and she had been ministering in prisons for a number of years in Scotland and wanted to find out if she could reach the prisoners here. To be honest, I had never really been to the BJMP before but I had heard many rumours that, shall we say, indicated that it was not a nice place to be!

I went to the jail with a letter asking if we could hold some services with the Scottish team. The Officer in charge was a lovely man called Captain Dornogan and he was a true gentlemen. He really had a heart for these people. He showed me around the jail ... something I will never forget.

The first thing he told me was that these people were not actually convicted prisoners. They were simply awaiting trial! Some of them had been there for 7 years and were accused of simple things like shop lifting! One guy was there for 5 years and when he was sentenced he was ordered to spend one month in jail. What a waste of 4.9 years. The judicial system here in the Philippines is so slow and so corrupt that it takes years to bring someone to a trial. Tragic.

And the conditions .... were like a living hell. In a cell where 12 men should be I found over 30. They slept side by side because there was not enough room. The lights did not work, they had no fans and the place looked terrible and so scabby. the inmates only got out for a few minutes every day to wash.

We had a great mission there and during that time the Lord out a burden in my heart for these 'forgotten ones." My dad and uncle Billy were over and we painted the cells, put in some basic fans & lights and aunty Betty and my mum made huge pots of home made soup. They were so grateful. One guy said, "You have made me feel human again."

Sefton Village began to minister there every Saturday and the work was eventually taken over my Mel & Mercy Bareng. They are a lovely couple with such a heart for these inmates. In 2003 Pastor Jim Dick came to Sefton Village and I took him to the BJMP to have a look. He was so moved and challenged by what he saw. He went back to Kilsyth and promised that he would help these men, women and young people. And they did! They raised a lot of money for the jail and we accomplished so much - new paint, new fans, new lights, a basketball court and sports equipment, water pump for the new garden, an aviary for the visiting area and money to plant trees and bushes. The place was transformed!

The men began to get out to play basketball twice a day and the whole atmosphere of the place changed. God was at work. The Bible says that 'It is God;s kindness that leads us to repentance." We try and shout and shove people ... sometimes 'acts of kindness' will arrest someone in their tracks. They began to ask me, "Pastor, why do you want to help us? Why did you come? What is your reason for changing our lives?" It was then - when they saw we were the real deal - that we could speak about the real reason why we were there ... because Jesus loves them enough to send us.

We opened the basketball court with the presence of the mayor of Santiago. Captain Dornogan was so blessed that he had rented a huge tent and made it a massive event. What a day.

Over the last few years Mel & Mercy have been ministering faithfully every Saturday (their day off!) They always go the extra mile. They were joined by one of our young Pastors called August who has a real burden for the inmates. August believes that if it wasn't for the grace of God he would be in BJMP right now! (August is in left of above picture and Mel is on right)

They are always collecting toothpaste, clothes etc. for the inmates. Every Saturday the inmates will give Mel handwritten notes with a family members' mobile phone number written on it. Mel & Mercy will text every message personally to the family member. Then they will handwrite any response from the family member and give it to the inmate the next Saturday. Now that is true love.

The inmates have really been discipled by Mel, Mercy & August. I went there a couple of months ago and the inmates took the whole service - leading the meeting, praise & worship, testimonies, three preachers and even the offering! August told them that if they can be faithful in their giving when they have little they will be faithful in giving when they have much.

Last Saturday was a great day ... August and Mel baptised 21 of the inmates! It wasn't pretty and the tank was neither heated or tiled. In fact, it was an old rusty drum. But the presence of God was there and 21 people wanted to show the whole world that they belonged to Jesus; no matter what they had done - whether guilty or innocent - their lives have now changed because they have met someone who has set them free.

There are three inmates who want to go to Bible School when they leave the jail. We have plans to run discipleship classes and simple Preaching Seminars. These people are hungry for God!

Pray for Mel, Mercy & August as they continue to touch the lives of these forgotten people. If you want to give a gift to help this ministry (we desperately need a simple PA system and some Bibles, toothpaste etc.) you can send a cheque to our agent (Dr. Norman Reid, 'Hazelbank', 83 Marjoribanks Street, Bathgate, West Lothian, Scotland, EH48 1QH) made out to 'Assemblies of God - Sefton Village' and just write that it is for the jail ministry. Your little can go a long way here! I don't usually do this but I feel I should give the opportunity for anyone to give as the Lord leads.

Can the Lord transform a jail? Can he still set the prisoner free? Can revival come in a place no-one would expect it? Watch this space...

Selah!

The Beauty of a Tranformed Life

Last Saturday at 9am we had another Cornerstone baptismal service here at Sefton. We had eleven people follow the Lord through the waters of baptism. It is always a lovely time when we come together, worship and watch our friends enjoy being obedient to the Lord.

Nine young people from Naga were baptized … and Pastor Danny was so delighted! Pastor August has now left Bible School and is the Assistant / Youth Pastor at Naga and he is making a big difference. Some of the testimonies of these kids are heartbreaking. Below is a picture of Pastor Danny praying with a wee 11 year old boy who is going through a difficult time. Two years ago his dad just suddenly left the family home and has never contacted them again. And every week Wilfredo comes to the front of the church to pray that his dad would be safe and will come home again. He loves his dad. Wilfredo was also baptized on Saturday... please pray for him and his family.

God is doing a great work through Danny and his team in a very poor area of Santiago. Many have given their lives to the Lord and the great thing is that now the husbands of our lady members are giving their hearts to the Lord! Last Sunday they had over fifty attend our church - 40 adults & young people and 15 kids. God is going to turn that place from a place of shame to a place of honour!

There were a couple from Santiago who were baptized – Jimmar & Marie ‘Che’ Gutieres. Their story is a testimony to the grace of God. They were both Roman Catholics but they were never happy and were spiritually seeking for the Lord. It got to a stage where Che wasn’t really attending any more.

I met Jimmar (right) a year ago when we were trying to get my brother David’s broadband working. Jimmar is a computer expert and works for a local Computer company. I asked him to church and shared about the Lord, but it was not the right time.

Last Christmas they went on vacation to Manila and they found out that Che’s mum lived next door to a Pastor. Her mother went to the Cornerstone Church in Manila and gave her life to the lord. So when Che went to Manila they went to Cornerstone Novaliches, pastored by my friend Fred Abad. They loved it!

We came back from Scotland in January and I just could not get my Mac configured to the web. Jimmar came and the fist thing he asked was “Do you know any Cornerstone Church here in Santiago?” Not only did I know one … I pastored one!

So that week they came to Cornerstone with their wee boy Raj. Two weeks later they gave their lives to the Lord and the change in their lives is wonderful to see. They are radiant and so hungry for God. They are so responsive and desperate for more of God. Jimmar is so keen to help us with all our I.T. in the church and Che is now playing guitar in our Sunday services - as well as joining us in our Hospital & Prison ministries! Pastor Winston took them through baptismal classes and on Saturday they were both baptized. On Sunday, Jimmar was baptized in the Holy Spirit! Unbelievable. So amazing.

The unforced rhythms of grace …..

Selah

p.s. - This is my 100th blog!!!!!

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Easter Weekend Remembered!

Wow, right now the heat is killing us over here. I know that it has been hot back home .. an answer to prayer to many of you! But here, we are praying for clouds and rain ... funny world eh? Keith was telling me today that his thermometer touched 40C (104F) inside!

I know that Easter has come and gone, but I forgot to share about the wonderful Cornerstone weekend we had at Sefton Village on April 7-8. We met on Sunday afternoon and had an afternoon of games and sports. The Helga Mosey aunties won the volleyball tournament ... but I did point out that they were playing 'at home!!'


The church supplied the meals for our members and we enjoyed fellowship. On the Saturday night we had great Celebration in the Fire Centre and Keith preached. Afterwards, we had a fun/talent night followed by a bonfire. Check out our Cornerstone actors!


We woke up at 4:30am and started our Sunrise service at 5:15am. The guys took up all the instruments and we had a great worship time on the volleyball court! The sun rose and we were filled with thankfulness and awe. We went straight to the pool for our Easter Sunday Baptismal service... yup, at 6am!!!


I had the joy of baptising around 20 new believers. Fantastic. One funny moment ... one of the guys getting baptised had just come from the hospital where he had a small operation to his arm. He was desperate to get baptised but wanted to make sure his arm did not go under the water! (see pic below) I told him we believed in total submersion and that we would baptise his left arm at the next baptismal service!! Pastor Marlou dunked him while I held his hand in the air...the things they didn't teach you at Bible School!


After breakfast we had our Easter celebration and it was full of testimonies, songs and drama. I preached about the Power of the Cross, and around 12 people responded to the Lord for salvation. I have discovered that when I preach about the cross ... amazing things happen and people always respond to the message. We prayed for many who were sick. What a wonderful weekend we had. What a celebration!

Jesus .. STILL IS the resurrection and the Life! Let me share an amazing story that proves that there are no hopeless cases with God! In one of my first ever blogs, I asked you all to pray for a lady called Pastora Julie ... remember her? She ministered in the mountains around an hour from where we lived and had planted a church there. She became very sick after the birth of her 3rd child and the pain would not go away.

She went for tests at the beginning of 2006 and they found a huge malignant tumour. She underwent two sessions of Chemotherapy, but her body was too weak. In April, the Doctor sent her home to die. he wrote in her records that she was a 'hopeless case' and that he did not expect her to live very long.

When I found this out, I felt in my spirit that she would be healed! We texted her to come to the House of Refuge in the Fire Centre. They had to carry her in - she could barely speak and was so weak. As me and two other Pastors prayed, God showed us we must rebuke the spirit of death. As we did this, Pastora Julie felt something happen in her body.

For three months we prayed and prayed ... and she got stronger and stronger! She began to walk, her hair began to grow and her appetite returned. When we came back to Scotland last July .. she went back to her family ... healed!

Well, I hadn't seen Pastora Julie for nine months - but at the Easter Convention we saw her again! She said to me, "Do you know who I am" This threw me, as I did not have a clue. But when she smiled, I knew. I could not believe it! Her hair was beautiful and she had put on weight. She was doing great and feeling strong. Isn't that amazing?

He was, still is and always will be ... the resurrection and the Life! Trust Him....