Every Friday, during the current summer term, a group of students who opened their hearts to the Lord Jesus Christ meet regularly to celebrate God’s goodness in the Christian Clique. The Christian Clique is an informal group of Christians, most of them new in the Christian faith. They are being guided by a couple of Christian teachers who happen to be their teachers in at least one subject.

Here are a few pictures shot during one of their regular meetings.

Clique leader Mr. Jessie Paragas shows a Powerpoint presentation to the group through a laptop.

Sir Jess explains the power of the presence of God as the group listens.

The group attentively watch the Powerpoint presentation.

The clique takes a snack break.

Some of the group pose with Sir Jess after the clique meeting.

Here’s another shot during the snack break.

Four ladies pose for a shot after the Clique meeting.

The Solid Rock Bible Congregation (SRBC) has scheduled its very first Encounter God Retreat (EGR) on May 29-31, 2008 at the SRBC compound.

The expected delegates are members of the cell groups being handled by various cell group leaders of the church. About 30 to 40 delegates are expected to sign up.

The Encounter format is the one being used in Bogota, Colombia, seat of the G12 Vision. The delegates will go through a 3-day incubation with their Maker not just to revive them but to make them fruitful as well.

In related developments, some selected cell leaders of the church will troop to Nueva Ecija to go through a 3-day Encounter which will be conducted by the FIFCOP Mission, the mission organization of SRBC. The Nueva Ecija Encounter will run from May 1-3, 2008.

Also, there will be a Macro-Encounter to be held at SRBC on May 15-17, 2008 which will be attended by pastors and leaders of the EGR Pangasinan Network. The idea of the Macro-Encounter is to pass on the anointing of the 3-day Bogota type Encounter to pastors and leaders so that they can already embark on conducting their own Encounter Retreats. The Macro-Encounter will be handled by SRBC pastors and leaders who have gone through the 3-day Encounter.

Here’s one of the nicest verses I’ve ever read.  It’s calling on men, but I believe women should seriously take it, too.

The World Needs Men…

Are you the man (or woman) the world needs?

If you’re a Christian and you are tired of the old-fashioned styles of one-on-one evangelism, you might find the life-and-death ambigram useful in your next sharing time.

The life-and-death ambigram is a presentation of the words “LIFE” and “DEATH” in one symbol.  It is called an ambigram because on one face you see the word LIFE, and when you turn the symbol 180 degrees, you see the word DEATH.  See illustration below.
              

When used in evangelism, the ambigram could offer a quick sharing of the message of salvation.  Here’s how:

First, show the ambigram to your prospect starting with LIFE.  Ask him if he can read it.  Usually he can read it.  Now turn it 180 degrees and show him DEATH.  Some people have a hard time reading it, but when your prospect does read it, congratulate him for doing so.

Now turn the ambigram just 90 degrees.  It can be read upwards or downwards depending on which side you turn.  But this time ask your prospect to read not upward or downward but sideward.  He could not read anything here.  From this position turn it 180 degrees and ask your prospect to read again.  He could not still read anything because there’s really nothing readable in those positions.

Now explain to your prospect that we only have to destinies: life or death.  A destiny of life is a life lived with and for God.  A destiny of death is a life lived without and not for God.  There’s nothing in between, that is why he can’t read anything sidewards.  It is just a choice between life and death.

Now ask your prospect which one he would choose.  He will, of course, choose LIFE if he is serious, not joking.  Others may choose DEATH, no joke.  If this happens, all you can do is to pray that that person would come to his senses.  If he jokes, ask him not to joke about it.  Tell him he can receive eternal life if he accepts Jesus Christ into his heart as Lord and Savior of his life.  At this point, you may opt to explain the fact that Christ died on the cross for his sin.  Yes, He died but He rose from the dead and is now alive.  If your prospect accepts Him as Lord and Savior of his life, he can have the eternal life that Jesus promised.  When your prospect chooses life and you have told him the meaning of his choice, ask him to pray.

Tell him to pray the prayer of acceptance.  Give him a sample prayer if possible.  When he says he’s willing to pray, lead him to the prayer.  While you say that you will lead him to the prayer, tell him to follow you and say the words sincerely from his heart.  When he does so, you have a new brother born in the family of God, all in five minutes, more or less.

Of course, it is necessary that you have a copy of the ambigram.  Try this evangelistic style and see the results.  God bless you.

This time it’s the Bogota type of Encounter God Retreat that the Solid Rock Bible Congregation (SRBC) will conduct starting next month. This development occurred after five SRBC EGR staff went through a dry run Encounter held at the Masagana Mall along Taft Avenue, Corner Kalaw St., Manila last April 4-5, 2008.

Yes, the Bogota type of Encounter is a 3-day Encounter God Retreat designed especially for the local church. The recommendation of G12 Philippines Director Rev. Oriel Ballano is to do away with the 2-day EGR of the Pangasinan EGR Network. The 3-day Encounter is really custom-designed for local churches so that they can conduct their own. They don’t have to go somewhere else for the Encounter part of PEPSOL.

The five SRBC staff who went to the 3-day Macro-Encounter are: Rev. Charlie Loranza and his wife Tess, Ptr. Jess Paragas, Sis. Kess Malicdem and Sis Angelita Fernandez.

May 14-16, 2008 is the tentative schedule of the Macro-Encounter here in Pangasinan to be conducted by SRBC. Member pastors of the EGR Pangasinan Network are expected to go through this 3-day Encounter for them to see how the Bogota Encounter works and how they can do the same in their own churches later on.

At the time Jesus was hanging on the cross, He uttered seven sentences which in the Christendom is popularly known as the 7 Last Words.

In the Good Friday of 2008, 2:00pm at the Solid Rock Bible Congregation in 151 Samat, Bugallon, Pangasinan, more than a hundred people heard seven inspirational messages highlighting the value of the 7 Last Words of Christ in the life of each person in attendance.

Then when Resurrection Sunday came, the church went to Tobuan Beach and at exactly 5:30am, the Sunrise Service was celebrated commemorating the triumph of Jesus Christ over death when He was not found in His tomb three days after He died.

Rev. Charlie Loranza stressed in his sermon that the Resurrection of Christ is the bedrock of our hope of an eternal life with God in His kingdom.

After the Sunrise Service, the church witnessed the water baptism of 33 brethren, all of them products of the G12 Vision of the church.

Rev. Charlie, assisted by his associates, Pastor Jess and Pastor Joel, and by church and cell leaders, led the baptismal rites.

The Encounter God Retreat (EGR) set on February 22 & 23, 2008 at the Villa Narcisa Vinoya Resort in Labrador, Pangasinan has been cancelled.

The next EGR is tentatively scheduled in May. Everyone is adviced to keep posted to The Postman for developments.

Meanwhile, the Solid Rock Bible Congregation (SRBC) graduated eight School of Leaders (SOL) students last February 10, 2008.

Those who finished the SOL curriculum and who comprised the 2nd Batch of SOL Graduates are:

1. Charisse Pearl Fajardo - Valedictorian
2. Maria Cristina Maneclang - Salutatorian
3. Trixia Maneclang
4. Ptr. Joel Maneclang
5. Juanito Maneclang Jr.
6. Julie Cervantes
7. Precilla Ayson
8. Elizabeth Reyes

These graduates went through the tough 10 lessons in each of the three levels of the SOL program. They also prove to be fruitful Christians because they already have their respective cell groups.

Congratulations to the new SOL graduates!

The first Encounter God Retreat of the EGR Pangasinan Network has been set on February 22 & 23, 2008 at the Villa Narcisa Vinoya Resort in Labrador, Pangasinan.

The Postman invites all who have not been to an EGR to take advantage of the February EGR which is likely going to be the last 2-day EGR of the Network. The next EGR is tentatively scheduled this coming May 2008 and it is a 3-day EGR.

The 3-day EGR is patterned after the EGR of Rev. Castellanos of Bogota, Colombia.

Interested parties should make sure they go through the Pre-Encounter Lessons. For more inquiries, please contact Rev. Charlie Loranza at cell no. 09203290415.

By now everyone has gotten back to normal day-to-day life.  The Christmas and New Year breaks gave us probably enough time to “escape” from the routines of our lives.  Parents get back to the usual office, business or home activities and look after the children’s classes.  Children resume schooling and make their teachers buzzing again.

But as we get past the first week of 2008, may we learn to look back one more time to the past years and thank God for whatever we had gone through.  Anyway, life is a matter of being grateful to our Maker whether we received more blessings or not in the past. 

Life is an enormous blessing in itself whatever your attitude toward it.  Your way of looking at the happenings of life does not affect the fact that you are alive. 

One thing that we should all learn to do is to live life to the fullest and this can only be done if we connect this life to its Author.  Only the Author knows the full extent of a life lived fully and only the one who confides to the Author knows if he/she is living a full life.

The year 2008 is the Year of the Lord, not the year of the earth rat.  Every year is the year of the Lord and if everyone just lives each day of the year for the Lord, then this year shall also be called the Year of the Lord’s favored ones.

I pray that you reader belong to the Lord’s favored ones this year and to eternity.

This is a rather late post but just the same, it is to the delight of The Postman to tell everyone that there was a December EGR which hosted 88 delegates from Zambales, La Union and Pangasinan.

The December EGR which was not actually in the schedule was held last December 21 & 22, 2007 at the Villa Narcisa Vinoya Resort in Labrador, Pangasinan.

It was thru a strong request that the December EGR was held.  The next EGR is tentatively scheduled on February.  Specific days are still withheld at the moment because there is a proposal to make the EGR a 3-day activity.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and may God make 2008 a year of breakthroughs, triumphs, blessings and hope.