JULY-AUGUST 2021
VOL. 1 | ISSUE 2
PLATFORM Newsletter of FCC WeTeaCh Ministry
In This Issue THE JOY OF UNEXPECTED BLESSINGS page 3
MEET YOUR MENTOR page 4
A WORD FROM WORLDTEACH MINISTRIES (PHILIPPINES) page 6
and more....
BEYOND BORDERS
For most of us, the pandemic is something we never imagined would (ever) happen in our lifetime. Though history indicates there have been similar occurrences in the past, experiencing it first-hand is a reality that none of us was prepared for. But as the pandemic continues to bring worry and fear globally, it is still important that we see the good even if the bad seems too obvious and difficult to just ignore. For WeTeaCh Ministry, doing the ministry of God should continue on - despite of and in spite of. May sound easier said than done, but we each have the power to choose what to do even in these unprecedented times. The ministry's goal is to use the webinar platform as a means to teach, engage and empower believers and unbelievers in the knowledge of God’s Word. After all, His Word is what remains to be true and constant at all times, no matter what the situation or circumstances may be. The ministry may have just been in existence for a good few months, but here are a few pictures to prove that in a short span of time, WeTeaCh is able to surpass limitations towards reaching as many as possible, and continues to do so....beyond borders.
STRICTLY FOR PRIVATE CIRCULATION ONLY.
JULY-AUGUST 2021
VOL. 1 | ISSUE 2
WELCOME MESSAGE Joy C. Demonteverde-Uvero Ecclesiastes
3:1
says,
"There
is
a
time
for
everything,
and
a
season
for
every activity under the heavens." What have you done during this season of life at a time of pandemic? We hope it has been a fruitful time of getting to know our great God and King, telling others about Jesus and serving Him to the best that we can. Welcome to the 2nd issue of PLATFORM, WeTeaCh Ministry’s newsletter. As you read on and browse through the pages of this issue, you will read about people like you, who have also decided to use this season of their lives during pandemic to draw closer to Him one way or another. Our stories are stories of people who have decided to engage in our Bible-based webinars, either as teachers or as attendees.
We hope you enjoy reading!
Newsletter and social media team
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Donna Z. Villena
We are excited to share with you that WeTeaCh Ministry has launched
three
(3)
new
webinar
offerings
this
month
of
Newsletter Lead Writer / Editor Social Media Specialist
Trish Zarate
August 2021.
Blog Writer
Chellie Camarse Joan Bitanga Contributors
Follow us : @fccweteachministry However, as a bonus, please note that all our webinars are offered
on demand !
Should
you
have
family
and
friends
who you think will benefit from any of our webinars, please feel free to get in touch with us to place a request and we will gladly deliver the content.
WeTeaCh Ministry Leadership Team
Pastor Benjie Masiglat Ministry Adviser / Coach
Joy C. Demonteverde-Uvero Ministry Team Leader
And if you find it in your heart to be part WeTeaCh Ministry as
a
social
webinar media
accounts, definitely
you get
teacher,
specialist may in
writer/contributor for
please
touch
with
our drop you.
Instagram, us
an
YOU
for FB
email may
be
Platform and and the
or
Twitter we one
will we
have been praying for to fill in the gap.
Meaning Lagangan
Head of Engagement Team
Djhoanna "DJ" David
Head of Coordination & Events Team
Chellie Camarse
Head of Data Analytics Team
For comments/feedback or inquiries, please email us at fccweteach@gmail.com. STRICTLY FOR PRIVATE CIRCULATION ONLY.
Joan Bitanga
Head of Finance Team
PLATFORM | PAGE 2
JULY-AUGUST 2021
VOL. 1 | ISSUE 2
THE JOY OF UNEXPECTED BLESSINGS
For most of us, having our prayers answered according to our heart’s desire is an undeniable blessing. But getting an extra favor on top of an answered prayer definitely adds up to the joy and happiness. For Gherlie Vinasoy, it all started with an invite from Bernadette Macababat (a friend from their previous church in UAE) to join the Raise Up A Child (RUAC) webinar. Part of the webinar team, Bernadette encouraged Gherlie to attend the April sessions for RUAC knowing that Gherlie was experiencing trials in her personal life which affected her and her three young children. Little did Gherlie know that attending the webinar will not only give her guidance in raising her children but will also connect her to people whom God will use to bless her family even more. “I have a learned a lot from this webinar. First of all I want to thank God for allowing me po to join and meet those people who joined and share their stories. Magkakaiba man po kami ng kwento ng buhay pero pinag-isa kami sa pamamagitan ng ating Panginoon. Salamat sa mga nagturo. Malaking tulong po ito sa amin, lalo na sa akin bilang tumatayong ina at ama sa tatlo kong anak. Napalakas po lalo ang loob ko, nadidisiplina ko ang mga anak ko sa paraang ayon sa kalooban ng Diyos, at lalong napapalakas nito ang spiritual life naming mag-iina. Lalo pong naging matatag kami sa kahit anong pagsubok ang kakaharapin namin dahil mayroon kaming Diyos na kasama. Yung faith po namin kay Lord lalo pong tumitibay," Gherlie shares. Previously based in the UAE, Gherlie was part of the Praise & Worship Ministry of their church in Al Ain. She went back home to the Philippines to be with her children and they are currently based in San Mariano, Isabela. They attend a local church in their place, where her eldest is training for guitar and piano lessons. As a family, they do devotions and study the Bible together. Gherlie lets her children pray before meals and they do so with fervent faith. Although Gherlie went through heartbreaks due to her failed relationships in the past, she stood up to her responsibilities. Being a single parent was not an easy task, knowing that she has to provide for her young kids for all their needs. Not wanting to be a burden to her family, she tries to deal with all her struggles on her own. There were times she would ask the Lord why she has to go through all these battles in her life. But thanks to her conversations with Bernadette who consistently communicated with Gherlie, her burden eased knowing that someone is praying for her. Gherlie’s stories about her and her kids touched the hearts of her co-participants and teachers from Team Abraham, who consistently encouraged and prayed for her. In one of her sharings, Gherlie mentioned that she earns a living by cooking barbeque and leche flan, but she has to sell everything she cooks daily because she has no refrigerator to keep any leftovers. Bernadette recalls, “The webinar team and participants reached out to me asking how to contact Gherlie to offer financial help, but I suggested it may be better that we collectively raise funds to buy her a refrigerator for her small business. Moreover, I saw the opportunity to show her children that our God will help them in all their needs and will use people to bless their their family. We eventually raised the fund and told Gherlie she can buy a refrigerator to use for her business.” So how are they doing now? Gherlie has this to say to us all, "Masaya kami though madaming challenges sa buhay, but we believe na pag may Diyos kang kasama, lahat makakayanan at malalagpasan. To the RUAC webinar family na nasalihan, ko, salamat po - sa encouragement, sa love at sa tulong niyo po. Mayroon na kaming napagkakakitaan na nakakatulong sa pang araw-araw namin pangangailangan. Sa lahat po ng bumuo ng Raise Up a Child webinar, thank you po from the bottom of my heart. Pagpalain po kayo. Forever grateful na nakilala ko po kayo. Salamat sa ating Panginoong Diyos na buhay, hindi nagsasawang magmahal, tumulong at gumabay sa ating lahat. God bless po!" STRICTLY FOR PRIVATE CIRCULATION ONLY.
PLATFORM | PAGE 3
JULY-AUGUST 2021
VOL. 1 | ISSUE 2
MEET YOUR MENTOR
and
JOY NATIVIDAD
“Audience
of
One.
principle
I
keeps
going
me
live
challenges when
that
we
doing
aged
the
Natividad,
webinar
teachers
amazing otLIVE.
one
who
portrayal
as
of
face
is
fondly
(Queen)
but
known
for of
2009,
I
was
FCC
2019,
I
part
Dubai
moved
of
Tentmaker
became
back
to
fully
her
Abu
Dubai
Dhabi
to
and
different
churches
serving
2020
in
a
so
I
ministry.
can
revive
Pastor
my
Benjie
the
RUAC
webinar
Abraham),
even
webinar
which
teaching if
I
have
no
We
taught
participants
my
at
and
batch).
Abu
I
am
handling
this to
we
time
do
is
the
have
and
Worship the
Ministry
Tentmaker
Dhabi.
blessed
BS
to
To
to
groups
teach.
usual
access
gifts,
via
teacher,
further
be
in
well-
Dubai
as
We
have
house-to-house
no and
to
zoom,
we
can
reach
You learn for
I
and
these
use
you
are
able
webinars.
different
to
As
cheap
share
a
items
the
webinar as
props
each time I teach to add variety to my teaching. I
the
do
find
myself
always drawn back to reading the Bible.
I also
enjoy
Philippines and in UAE. To date, I am a member of RUAC, God's Grand Story
while
Gospel
(Team
in
trained
skills
parenting
based
&
with
yourself, grow spiritually, use and enhance your
experience yet. This ignited my desire to teach again.
Praise
people regardless their location.
BS
became
experience
Dubai
(1st
long
as a participant but not to teach back. Then I
first-ever
the
involved
face-to-face BS teaching, but at least now, as
leaders to an OT webinar (GGS) so I registered
joined
join
got
in
chance
in
invited
to
classes
have
joined
drive
in
This is now the ‘new normal’ and the ministry we
FCC’s Leadership Training & Equipping (LTE) in December
units
Why do you think webinars are important?
pursue
then
have
Francis Flores for being a good mentor.
in
During the lockdown, I began attending several of
I
part of the tentmaker ministry, thanks to Pastor
another assignment for the Tentmaker Ministry.
webinars
since
BS Camp and Pastor Ben Hur PIneda’s Theology
GGS
established
old
develop my skills, I attended Tita Vi De Mesa’s
Let us get to know more about Joy.
when
years
also
groups
How were you led to WeTeaCh Ministry? In
People
Ministry where I had the opportunity to teach BS
Ministry’s
Esther
3-5
intended
webinars.
WeTeaCh
the
Education. I moved to Abu Dhabi in 2008 and
Regardless of how people will
Joy
Solving
the Philippines, I used to teach nursery students
react or respond, I will just continue on.” Words from
the
I actually am a teacher by profession. Back in
which
despite
recently,
Any teaching experience?
The
by,
most
Puzzle (SPP) webinar teams.
attend
the
webinars
fellowship
too
with
and
my
I
co-
participants,
and most of them actually became my new set
(otLIVE & ntLIVE)
of friends.
TES·TI·MO·NI·AL SHARON LINA CORDOVA God’s Grand Story is the best! This
is
what
Sharon
Lina
Cordova
has
to
say
about
GGS,
the
very
first
WeTeaCh webinar that she has attended to date. A good start for her webinar journey and she definitely is looking forward to attending more.
Get
to
know
about
her
experience
with
WeTeaCh
Ministry
as
we
read
her
necessary
for
experience. “GGS
webinar
was
lively
and
interactive.
As
a
Christian,
it
is
us
to
know
about
God's Story, to share His Word to others. This is very important, not only as a tool but a-must so that we can stand firm on our faith and can share with boldness who our God really is. What made
GGS
remember
webinar
the
more
storylines
of
exciting
were
the
Testament.
Old
the
hand In
signs
effect,
which it
will
truly also
make be
it
easier
a
lot
to
easier
share
to
God's
Grand Story to our loved ones, friends and even the kids. Overall, GGS is an important webinar as it helped give life to the Old Testament, especially with the use of the hand signs technique. We at FCC Al Ain are truly thankful that we are included in these webinar offerings of WeTeaCh Ministry. Now, we are looking forward to the New Testament series!”
Currently,
Sis
Sharon
is
part
of
the
Filipino
Christian
Church
-
Al
Ain,
where
she
has
been
a
member for 13 years now, ever since the FCC Tent Makers started in Al Ain in 2008. Her church involvement
includes
the
following
:
member
/
coordinator
of
Al
Jimi
BS
Group
and
Head
Young Pillars for Christ, plus actively doing presidership and ushering roles.
STRICTLY FOR PRIVATE CIRCULATION ONLY.
PLATFORM | PAGE 4
of
JULY-AUGUST 2021
SPOTLIGHT ON MEANING LAGANGAN
"The world is constantly evolving. Changes will always be inevitable. Therefore, so that no one will be left behind, one must continue to learn." Inspiring words from Meaning Lagangan, Head of the Engagement Team of FCC WeTeaCh Ministry, where she leads a team of experts on publication and social media. Meaning moved to Abu Dhabi nearly 4 years ago when her husband Ferdie was relocated to the Middle East region as part of his work. A few months later their son Sean joined them and they later on became active members of FCC. “I have been involved in the Social and Sports Ministry (SSM) from the time I joined FCC Abu Dhabi. As the name implies, our activities at SSM are physical in nature. Last year, I started to get involved in the Prayer Ministry, where activities are considered to be spiritual in nature. WeTeaCh Ministry is a lot different from these two because at WeTeaCh I get to learn and teach at the same time,” Meaning shares. But how did her involvement in WeTeaCh come about? Meaning recalls, “Because of my interest in making videos, Pastor Benjie asked for my help to work on video editing for this new ministry. Learning about the ministry’s vision, I got hooked and immediately got on board. After some time, the vision evolved into a much bigger scope. Now it covers not just video editing, which then led to the birth of the Engagement Team. When Pastor Benjie introduced the SOV webinar and asked for volunteer teachers, I accepted the opportunity right away, not knowing at that time that SOV would be the beginning of the many webinars that I will volunteer for. I enjoy doing webinars because I really want to be involved in teaching and at the same time allow God to use me to spread His Word.” Even at this early stage of WeTeach’s existence, the ministry’s activities have already been keeping Meaning busy. As earlier shared, Meaning was first and foremost a webinar teacher for WeTeaCh prior to being named as the Engagement Team Head. Meaning recognizes that as a teacher, she and her fellow leaders in the ministry continually attend webinars and at the same time, they teach what they learn from these webinars. To this she realizes that there are a lot of opportunities insofar as serving the Lord and leading His children through WeTeaCh is concerned. “The Engagement Team is WeTeaCh’s link to the world - to make known what it is doing and what the Ministry is all about. I hope you all could share our excitement with the webinars that WeTeaCh is offering. Get to know all about them via WeTeaCh’s social media channels,” Meaning ends. STRICTLY FOR PRIVATE CIRCULATION ONLY.
VOL. 1 | ISSUE 2
FUN FACTS : WHAT THE SURVEYS SAY by Joan Bitanga
To measure the achievement of our mission, vision and goals, WeTeaCh Ministry keeps track of demographical numbers for analysis. Please note that these webinars, along with our previous offerings will continue to be available by request through Sis DJ David. Here are a few interesting facts we are happy to share with you all. Top FOUR other topics that the attendees of EPDW are interested in :
Rest assured we will keep your requests in mind for our future planning. 41-50
Biblical Portraits of Marriage (BPOM) 57% of our attendees are from
21-30
the 30-40 age group, followed by the older than 50 age group at 18%.
The satisfaction rating by weighted average is at
90%
Kudos to our SPP Teams : Sensational, Intensified & Certified!
GGS : Children’s Ministry 100% complete attendees for all levels at FCC Abu Dhabi, Dubai & Sharjah.
*Data as of August 2021
PLATFORM | PAGE 5
JULY-AUGUST 2021
VOL. 1 | ISSUE 2
A WORD FROM WORLDTEACH MINISTRIES (PHILIPPINES)
by Rev. Gil Balignasay
The Bible plays a vital role in changing the course of societies and transforming lives of people. Engagement with the word of God brings enormous blessings to those who are committed to obey (Joshua 1:8, Deuteronomy. 29:9). In engaging ourselves with the word of God, we grow in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ and become Christ-like. This truth is unprecedented and irrefutable. Research study shows that: “Over the years we have surveyed more than 100,000 people from around the world about their spiritual lives. Consistently, we have found that engaging the Bible four or more days a week has a profound impact on the individual’s life. In fact, for Christ-followers, regularly hearing from God through His Word is the single most powerful predictor of spiritual growth.” (source : Center for Biblical Engagement Study: Bible Engagement as the Key to Spiritual Growth; A Research Synthesis) In my personal experience and engagement with the word of God, I would like to share three important truths that deeply impacted my life as a teacher of God’s word. 1. The word of God is our weapon against the enemy. The Bible describes the devil as our enemy who prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8). In Christ’s temptation, he used God’s word to resist the temptation of Satan in the wilderness (Luke 4:1-13, Matthew 4:1-12). Our Lord Jesus Christ prevailed. He showed us the way to overcome temptation as He did. Use the word. 2. The word of God is our tool in equipping believers (Ephesians 4:11-13). Maturity and walking in truth are two sides of Christian faith (Colossians 2:10, 3 John 4). As teachers of God’s word, we are exhorted to equip the believers for the works of service to help other believers to mature in their faith. The Apostle Paul exhorts Timothy, “Preach the word of God. Be prepared, whether the time is favorable or not. Patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage your people with good teaching (2 Timothy 4:2). Embrace the word. 3. The word of God is our instrument for holy living. Our sanctification (daily consecration and purity of our walk with God) is God’s will for all believers. As we desire to live blamelessly and to please the Lord in our lives, we need God’s word to enable us to pursue holiness. The Psalmist instructs us, “How can a young person stay on the path of purity? By living according to your word” (Psalm 119:9). Live the word. I humbly pray that followers of Christ will embrace the passion of Ezra in his commitment to share, teach and proclaim God’s word to people. Just like Ezra’s pursuit, this undoubtedly resulted in the great revival in his nation that affected families and individuals drawn closer to God. The word of God echoes Ezra’s testimony, “For Ezra had devoted himself to the study and observance of the Law of the LORD, and to teaching its decrees and laws in Israel” (Ezra 7:10). Use, embrace and live the word of God so that many will be attracted to the God of the word. Remember, the Bible was not given for our information but for our transformation. Therefore, be a cleansed vessel in God’s hand through your powerful proclamation and teaching of the word that Jesus Christ is the only way, the only truth, and the only life for humanity’s redemption (John 14:6).
"Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful." (Joshua 1:8)
Rev. Gil Balignasay is the Regional Director of Walk Thru the Bible Southeast Asia & Pacific (SEAPAC). He is also the Training Director of WorldTeach Philippines and is the Senior Pastor of Marikina Faith Bible Church. FCC WeTeaCh Ministry thanks Rev. Gil Balignasay for writing this special feature. STRICTLY FOR PRIVATE CIRCULATION ONLY.
PLATFORM | PAGE 6