Hailing From the South...

ECPM teams are on the move right now down South. And not far away is the new church planting team at Ibaan, Batangas. Located at the CALABARZON* region of the Philippines, the area boasts of good Lomi(egg noodles - you should try this when you go to Lipa or Ibaan!), friendly people & there’s more to find in Batangas. It’s barely 2 months since the team started and they’ve gone out of their way to get to know the community. Their skills in business, teaching, reflexology & knowledge in herbal plants are being used as their tools in getting to know the people. Sounds interesting eh? …(Ibaan Team Profile)

Elvin, Wilson & Vic Enriquez (of Taytay Christian Church), recently had a trip to Himamaylan, Negros Occidental. Located at the WESTERN VISAYAS region of the Philippines, one food you must try is the Piyaya. This is very famous in the area. The team just had their first module last Sept. 17-21. Let’s start praying for this land soon to be conquered by the Lord. (Himamaylan Team Profile)


Read about a miracle story in the lives of church planters Nilo & Homer of Polillo Island together with Pastor Gerry from the partnering church. See how your prayer works for them in any instance of trials & troubles... (read Saved in Bordeos)

“Pag sira na ang toothbrush at walang pera pambili ng bago, paano na?” (if your toothbrush is worn out and you have no money to buy a new one, what will you do?) This was a question posed during the Health Seminar in Linao Community in Brooke’s Point, Palawan.(MIMAROPA REGION*) The Espinola family carefully taught a very practical way in answering this question. They even taught an alternative for toothpaste. That is very helpful with the situation of the community in Linao. The community raised very interesting question about the topics in the health seminar and it helped them understand some hygiene issues especially about toxic wastes. (read Linao health seminar)

But a day before that, it was a very interesting night for a film showing. Classic films like peace child & “hinugot sa dilim” opened the eyes of the natives who attended. Some parts of the hinugot sa dilim film were applicable because of the some practices in the area. Brother Job Lagrada, a missionary in Palawan, and knows the Palawanos very well gave a short explanation after the movie and Brother Popoy, a church planter in Bentat, gave a message in between films.

We have more than praises and thanks for how the Lord is guiding the campus ministry team in Palawan. They have had 5 fellowships, held every Sunday afternoon just before their worship service in Puerto Prinsesa. The 6 Youth Campus Leaders, together with their 8 Core Group Leaders, are now gathering their contacts – students and board mates- establishing relationship with them as the team starts to plan for their Evangelistic Gathering this coming November. (See Pictures)

The first ever Youth Missions Congress 2007 is just less than three months away and we are calling Church Youth Leaders or Sunday School Teachers to attend this event. This is your opportunity to see the calling for mission for your whole congregation by starting to inculcate the passion in your youth curriculum. This will also help you channel the passion to your church leaders. Be challenged… to MOVE! WITH THE BODY!









notes:


* CALABARZON - Region IVa - CAvite,LAguna, BAtangas, Rizal, QueZON

* MIMAROPA - Region IVb - MIndoro, MArinduque, ROmblon, PAlawan

Empowered Christians in Partnership & Ministries (ECPM)

Through all these years, God has geared ECPM to different heights. There were things we have to learn along the way and we saw areas for development and change. But what is amazing is how the Lord continued to give us opportunities of being key players in the kingdom building.


Our New Name: More from God!

ECPM has a new name… though trials and obstacles come along the way, we saw the Lord entrusting more areas of ministries for us. ECPM started focusing in Church Planting ministry through partnership with the local churches in the Philippines. But some years later, we saw the need for training not just in church planting but evangelism in the church (E-Train), Community Development (integrated curriculum for church training modules), Youth’s part as Mission Movers (YMC) and in the campus or university as well (Campus Ministry). All of which are now being done with the main thrust of PARTNERSHIP still in the center. Though church planting is still the main ministry of ECPM, we saw the need to do more. This led the ECPM team to improve our name… and for us, it is not just another technical thing of changing the name but a very meaningful step of committing more for God’s glory. It didn’t happen overnight but it was days, and years of realizations and passion of stepping up and taking more of our crosses just to follow Christ.



Our New Logo: Moving up!

Our new logo signifies ECPM’s core value of Partnership and dependence on God in everything. Partnership with other churches, and of course with the Lord, that we may preach together the glory of His name. The different colors of the weaves represent the varied ministries ECPM is and will be acting upon. The upward direction of the weaves shows the building movement. Still focusing on church planting, the logo represents the idea of the development and growth of churches.


Elvin’s Prayer Letter…

Thanks so much for being our partners in praying for the health of the ECPM staff specially brother Elvin (ECPM’s Exec. Director). An update about him could be read in our PRAYER LIST please take time to read it.




NEW CHURCH PLANTING SITES!

God entrusted two new church planting sites for ECPM.
* Ibaan, Batangas
* Negros Occidental


The team in Ibaan, Batangas has started their first module last Aug. 7 – 10 with Wilson Tayaban & Dado Alcala. This coming Sept. 14, they will be having their on-site module with Elvin, Ellen & Ella.

Please pray for the new church planting sites and the other sites ECPM has been praying for.



HEALTH EDUCATION IN LINAO!
This coming Sept.3, Espinola Family from Sumapa Christian Church will be going to Linao Church Planting Site to help the team in the community. This family of nurses will be teaching the community practical steps in hygiene and sanitation and other health precautions adaptable to their culture, availability of resources and others.

Please pray for Espinola family, the community in Linao, ECPM and our partners in Palawan for this feat. May we all help the community in one way or another.


CAMPUS UPDATES!

Please pray for the campus ministry teams in Palawan and Tarlac. They are both handling fellowships with their possible Core Group Leaders (CGLs) and building relationships with possible contacts in the campus. Soon, they will be starting their planning for their evangelistic gathering.

Thank you very much for always including us

in your prayers... God bless you more!