It has been an exciting month in the Philippines… keep reading to see what God has been doing through Shofar Missions!

Teamwork

At the end of January, the first missions team of 2023 arrived in Cebu. We’re thankful for the time spent serving God alongside of them. There were three Ministry Training Institute classes taught on different islands: Bohol, Cebu, and Bantayan. We had many returning students and built relationships with new ones. The two-day classes were meant to equip pastors and church leaders in “Knowing the Voice of God.”

We also held a Street Level Summit in Balamban with a special Friday night gathering for SLM members. On Saturday, 19 students and young people gathered to study the book of Jonah and find the practical application to their lives. Jesse and Matt were both able to preach at different churches, and we also visited the TV stations to add new content to Shofar TV programming.

Please pray that the ministry that was done with the team would continue to bear fruit!

Street Level Ministries

While the team was in Toledo, we held a remote radio broadcast across from the University of the Visayas. We met a lot of students and asked them trivia questions for a chance to win a Street Level Radio t-shirt. It was a great way to meet students and get the word out about Street Level meetings in Toledo.

In an effort to reach students who have classes on Wednesday nights, the Cebu group has been having micro-Bible Studies at various times and locations near universities. A lot of students say they’re “busy,” so we ask if they have 15-minutes for a short Bible study and discussion about the “Crazy Things Jesus Said.” These discussions are meant to be short, impactful, verse-by-verse studies in between classes.

At our regular meetings, we finished the series “Living Life… Jesus First.” The groups in both Toledo and Cebu have been confronted with the idols of self, money, work, family, and relationships to assess whether Jesus really is first or not. Please pray that students would prioritize Jesus, build relationships with each other, and that God would continue to help us connect with the students He wants us to meet.

Exploring Creation Science

Recently, we had an opportunity to connect with the School Principal and Field Director at an orphanage in our neighborhood that we have worked with before. We look forward to teaching there once a month starting in April. Exploring Creation Science lessons have resumed at 4 schools throughout Metro Cebu. We also reconnected with a school we taught at before COVID. However, they recently had several students exposed and test positive, so we pushed pause until next month.

Since returning in September, there have been opportunities to attend staff devotions at schools. The opportunity to lead devotions at Banawa Nazarene has been offered, along with joining junior high and high school staff to discuss topics relevant to those in Christian Education. The last discussion was about Sexual Orientation and Gender Identification (for those that do not know, there is a bill out there giving people the right to choose and sanctions for those that discriminate against them). Please pray for staff that they would be good Godly examples for students and that students would challenge their classmates, especially those in Senior High School.