About 87 pastors and church leaders representing 35 churches in Central Luzon gathered for the first Central Luzon Purpose Driven Church Conference held at the Christian Praise and Worship Church in Mabalacat, Pampanga. Spearheaded by PD champions and pastors Joule Bonus and Juil Miole, the conference was held on October 21 and 22, 2005 to equip participants in pursuing the purpose driven campaign in the region. Participants came from Pampanga, Tarlac, Olongapo City, Zambales, Nueva Ecija, Bataan and as far as Pangasinan in the north.
“All of us who are gathered here are blessed by the Lord. Out of millions of people, you are chosen to be a Purpose Driven Church,” remarked Pastor Miole, as he introduced the first speaker.
Purpose Driven Philippines National Coordinator and GCF South Metro Pastor Dr. Narry Santos talked about building a purpose driven church.
“The reason why I stand before you today is because I am a satisfied customer. What we will teach you, we have personally experienced. We have experienced the truth of Purpose Driven and we are never the same again,” Pastor Narry explained. He also underscored the fact that when a church learns to be a caring church, it becomes a caring community.
“And when you are a caring community, the church also learns to care for the community (where the church is located),” Pastor Narry added. As a caring church, the GCF South Metro has been doing missions work around its area and addressing the needs of the underprivileged in their midst.
“This conference taught me how to strengthen our church. The lessons I learned here were simply presented and straightforward and I am greatly encouraged,” Ramon Ramos, deacon of Olongapo Agape Baptist Church remarked.
On the second day of the conference, participants attended small group lessons of their choice. These included Celebrate Recovery, Implementing 40 Days of Purpose, Peace Plan, organizing Purpose Driven small groups, Implementing 40 DOP with Catholic communities, What’s Next After 40 DOP, and Encouragement for Pastors’ Wives.
With Central Luzon pastors leading the conference, resource persons were Harvest Christian Ministries (Gerona, Tarlac) Pastor Tani de Jesus who discussed Targeting Your Community for Evangelism, Ablaze Christian Ministries (Hacienda Luisita, Tarlac) Pastor Joule Bonus, What Is To Be Purpose Driven, and host Christian Praise and Worship Church Pastor Juil Miole, Attracting a Crowd to Worship and Second Reformation. On the other hand, Pastor Greg Roasa of Gospel Church of Manila came all the way from Binondo, Manila to discuss Building your Congregation, Developing Mature Members, and Empowering your Core for Ministry.
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