Street Level Ministries
What a crazy month it has been! Some students have been wrapping up their semester with final projects, papers, and presentations. Other students are starting summer classes. Each university operates on a different schedule, so there’s no slowing down during the summer.
We’ve continued meeting on Fridays for dinner and discussions. In Toledo, a few students who previously attended Shofar Camps joined! Last week in Cebu, we had a couple SLM alumni surprise us in the office and at our meeting. Ruby Mae was in the city to process paperwork for GRADUATION! Can you believe it? In August, we’re holding a one-day summit on the west side of the island. The directors of all 4 branches of SLM will teach and lead discussions about living an unwasted life.
Street Level Radio & Word on the Street
We’re excited to announce a new sponsor of Street Level Radio! Draft Punk Craft Café is now an official sponsor and host of one of our Wi-Fi antennas. This antenna connects to the SLR antennas at our office, thus expanding our broadcasting reach! In the coming months, we plan to add more antennas to cover the area near National Bookstore. We recently joined the USA staff online to pray together and hung up posters around the city. Althea and Christian (from the SLM Toledo group) started volunteering and will help hang up posters around Toledo next weekend.
Issue 90 of Word on the Street Magazine is almost ready for printing, and Issue 91 has begun! Passing out magazines is a primary means of meeting students and inviting them to SLM. Last month, Britt met a Senior High School art professor while passing out magazines and fliers. He introduced her to his graduating students on campus, and all of them got a copy of WOTS.
Exploring Creation Science
The 2021-2022 school year has ended for many private schools, but there is still plenty to do. Limited face-2-face classes for students at Banawa Nazarene School will begin on Monday, June 27 with staff and student orientation. This includes information like entering and exiting the building safely, handwashing/sanitizing station, mandatory face mask wearing, emergency contact information, etc. Since we will be away for orientation, Laura visited the school last Monday to talk through what school reopening will look like and how students can participate during classroom lessons. Laura will teach her first in-person class on June 30.
All the schools are beginning to plan for classes to start again. Some will start the first week of August. Each school has their own set of rules and regulations in accordance with the Department of Education and government protocols. Plans are being discussed for Laura to teach more in all three schools. She may have occasional guest lessons for schools as more schools bring students back, she has gotten requests from schools that have been waiting to have lessons again in person.
Laura will be attending the moving up ceremony for grade 6 and graduation for grade 12 Southern Bethany Christian School students on June 30 at South Town Center in Talisay.
Shofar TV
Exploring Creation Science lessons for students in grades 4-12 continue to be recorded for use on Shofar TV. We are hoping this part of the ministry will be launched by the time the school year begins. It will be another way to reach students we wouldn’t normally come into contact with and provide an opportunity to share about Shofar Missions. We are also following up on to broadcast Shofar TV at other cable stations throughout Cebu.
Team Prep
The first missions team since January 2020 will arrive in August. Ministry plans include a Street Level Summit, Shofar Youth Leader Summit, and Ministry Training Institute classes for pastors in three different locations: Cebu City, Balamban, and Bantayan.
As things open up more and restrictions ease, ministry groups are starting to hold meetings again. The Cebu City Ministerial Fellowship is a group of pastors that gather each month. School principals join if they have something to invite the other private schools to or if there is discussion about school related items, since that often involves pastors. We were invited by the pastor and his daughter at Banawa Nazarene Church & School to present Shofar Missions at one of their meetings. We will attend in July to share the Ministry Training Institute, Street Level Ministries, and Exploring Creation Science. We visited the Four Square Gospel Church of Cebu City to meet the pastor, who serves as the group’s chairman. The church is close to our office – about a 20-minute walk. We look forward to developing a relationship with him and the others involved in the ministerial fellowship!
