November 6, 2012 _________________________________ _________________________________ _________________________________ Dear ____________________________ Greetings in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Filipino Youth Missions Movement (FYMM), formerly known as National Youth Missions Movement (NYMM), is a national movement envisioning the engagement of Filipino youth in global mission. With this purpose in mind, we will conduct a national summit for youth leaders entitled, "Igniting Filipino Youth Leaders for Global Harvest" on December 27 and 28, 2012, at the Sacred Heart Retreat and Seminar Center, Lagro, Quezon City. Our plenary speakers are Dr. David Lim, National Director, Philippine Missions Association (PMA) and Pastor BJ Sebastian, Youth Pastor, Greenhills Christian Fellowship-Ortigas. There will also be break-out sessions for group interaction and action planning. In this light, we would like to invite your church/denomination/organization to send a youth leader to this summit. Regular registration fee is P1,200.00 but those who will register before December 3 will receive a discount. Early bird registration fee is P1,000.00 for delegates from Luzon and P700.00 for participants from Visayas and Mindanao. The registration covers meals, snacks, and lodging for two days and one night. We look forward to your positive response. You may reach us at the following contact details: fymm2012@gmail.com, 09228894372 look for Herbert A. Nacion; globalfilipinocenter@gmail.com, 632-7272972/ 632-6959323 look for Eunice Tapao; missions.phil@gmail.com, 911-2491 look for Jev Mackay or Joel Syyap . Sincerely yours, Noted by: MATTHEW RANDOLPH VELASQUEZ DAVID S. LIM, Ph.D. Leader's Summit 2012 Coordinator National Director, PMA
This event aims to help youth leaders, in the context of their communities, (1) understand their role in global missions; (2) become advocates for global missions; (3) see themselves as catalysts for world missions; and (4) assess their current missions ministry according to FYMM's vision.
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
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Friday, August 17, 2012
It was last year that some NYMC'2k6 Core Leaders thought of pursuing another missions congress in Bacolod. A good discussion right after a mini-reunion at Ate Leah Aguirre's place stirred up the group to share what happened after the last congress.
We were all excited about the crazy idea and looking at how everyone have grown (spiritually & in size), we believe it's something worth to pray for and try doing after five years of the "dessert years".
2012 comes and the congress didn't happen.
Everyone became busy and the excitement died down. I have to agree at one point that there were only a few of us who continued on praying and sought the Lord's direction for the congress.
It was at that juncture that I prayed and sought the Lord's will for the congress and NYMM as a movement, it led me to say "YES" to help out plan for the congress and with whatever I can do for the movement.
A long discussion with Ate Leah, Ate Joy and some other close friends led me to think about "missions stuff" once more after 3 years. I personally looked at the idea as a stepping stone for something deeper for the movement.
Deeper, in a sense, that for the movement to reach the younger generation, a congress is not enough to deeply impact our cause. There has to be more than just workshops, plenary sessions and exposures.
We have to do something solid, gradual and surefire.
The think-tank meeting in PMA last April taught me a lot of things about mobilization. For one, mobilizing churches is both fun and challenging at the same time. And that there were only a handful of young recruits for the past few years.
The movement's focus should not only be to establish a strong connection of networks but also to fully support these networks by working together in training, supporting and mobilizing fellow youth for intentional crosss-cultural missions.
Also, it dawned on the group the reality that reviving the youth movement is something we can do if we want to but will also be a challenge specially that the movement has been silent for quite some time.
Lastly, a movement like NYMM would need to start somewhere and it needs to start with the youth.
The intention here is not just to raise up new missionaries but also push the youth to capture God's vision and pursue their destiny to the next level.
With this in mind, I'd like to invite and perhaps challenge you to think where you are right now with your personal walk with the Lord. I pray that God will also open your spiritual senses and join us as we once again establish a movement for the NOW Generation.
Let's try to build once again the Youth Missions Movement and work together in "raising generations of Filipino Youth for cross-cultural missions".
That is why National Youth Missions Movement was born, and I guess the same reason why even after how many years of silence, the reality of God's faithfulness to use the youth for HIS GLORY has remain true to this day.
Thank you for reading and be blessed!
Thursday, August 16, 2012
Then I heard the Lord asking, "Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us?" I said, "Here I am. Send me." - Isaiah 6:8
http://www.historymakers.info/
http://www.asialink.org.uk/
http://www.facebook.com/historymakersmission
http://twitter.com/missions2asia
"Raising generations of Filipino Youth for cross-cultural missions"
Sunday, August 12, 2012
Saturday, July 7, 2012
What Is 30-Days About? What Is The Purpose Of The Project?
Our purpose is to call Christians to pray for the Muslim world, specifically:
- for greater breakthroughs for the Gospel among Muslims,
- an increased commitment to prayer by Christians,
- and for more missionaries to be released to work among Muslims.
We do this by creating a 52 page Prayer Guide coinciding with Ramadan each year (first edition was 1993).
"Raising generations of Filipino Youth for cross-cultural missions"
Friday, April 20, 2012
Sharing to you a good article about missions by Kuya David, the current National Director for Philippine Missions Association. Below is the complete article and a short profile of who he is:
Towards Closure: Imperial or Incarnational Missions?
David S. Lim, Ph.D.
Is it possible to finish the Great Commission or reach all the unreached people groups (UPG) in the world by our generation, let’s say by AD2025?
The AD 2000 Movement envisioned this “closure” when they convened the Global Congress on World Evangelization (GCOWE) in 1995 in Seoul, Korea. At that time, I predicted that it was “Mission Impossible,” because almost all of the participants still used the traditional mission paradigm to extend Christendom through what I called “imperial (or denominational) missions,” instead of “incarnational (or integral or transformational) missions.” If we do not make this missional paradigm shift, I’m afraid I’ve to also repeat my pessimism that it’s “Mission Impossible” by 2025. As Einstein said, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”
Yet I believe “closure in 10-15 years” can be “Mission Possible” – if, by the mercy of God, the mainstream of missions shifts into “incarnational missions” immediately. All of us who share the passion to win the lost into the Kingdom of God share almost the same vision and mission. Generally, we would all say that we are working to fulfil the Great Commission, bearing witness to the gospel of Jesus Christ to manifest the glory of God by the power of the Holy Spirit.
But we would differ on the basic strategic paradigm of mission dei (God’s mission), which includes 3 major aspects of bearing witness to Jesus as the way (Missiology), the truth (Christology) and the life (Ecclesiology):
Missiology: Imperial or Incarnational?
First of all, how do we do mission? The predominant “imperial” traditional missiology focuses on the recruitment of “career missionaries” who are sent out from middle class churches to plant their church’s (= denominational) model in less developed regions from a position of wealth and control/power.
In contrast, “incarnational” missiology emphasizes the mobilization of all believers to go among their non-believing networks to make disciples (= followers of Jesus) through love and good works, from a position of simplicity and servanthood. “Every heart with Christ is a missionary, and every heart without Christ is a mission field” – locally and cross-culturally.
Christology: Insulated or Incarnated?
Secondly, what truth/message do we communicate in our mission? The “gospel of salvation” proclaimed by imperial missionaries highlights the spiritual aspect of Christ’s death on the cross, and thus has focused mainly on the eternal destiny of people to go to heaven or hell, with hardly any regard for their earthly welfare and especially for their “growth” into self-denying, cross-carrying discipleship/maturity, except to become loyal church-goers, attending as many religious/liturgical services as possible.
In contrast, the “gospel of the Kingdom” shared by incarnational missionaries promotes the holistic dimensions of Christ’s work on the cross (including peace-building, justice-seeking and community/reconciliation), and thus also the earthly ministry of Christians (as prophets, priests and kings like Jesus) and practical disciple-making so they will grow in Christ-like compassion in doing as many community services as possible.
Ecclesiology: Imported or Indigenous?
And thirdly, what kind of churches do our missions produce? The ideal results of imperial missions are imported (or foreign) church forms (in liturgies, theologies, architectures, etc.) of the missionary’s sending church(es), which also magnify the role of expatriate missionaries who dispense funds raised from their supporting church(es).
In contrast, the ideal results of incarnational missions are indigenous simple churches (actually networks of house fellowships) which are from the start self-governing (with their own leaders), self-supporting (own budget and funding), self-propagating (own programs of action/ministry) and self-theologizing (own statement of faith), which aims at community conversion to Christ (not to a particular brand of Christianity) and community transformation through their obedience to Christ’s law (loving one another and their neighbours and enemies to the ends of the earth).
Please note that the visible result of incarnational mission is not in religion buildings (cathedrals or temples) for performing religious ceremonies (liturgies) led by religious leaders (pastors or priests), which often separate believers from their community and divide themselves into different denominations. Instead it is seen in transformed communities that experience peace, justice and righteousness emanating from their love for Jesus and for one another that emerges from their intimate fellowship, which discuss and apply God’s word facilitated by any believer who has been discipled by an earlier believer in a micro/simple/house church (in any building); existing church buildings may be turned into multi-purpose ministry centers, like the synagogues in New Testament times.
Main Models
The main models and proponents for incarnational mission are two: the global house church movements (HCM) and the Jesus (or kingdom or people or insider) movements (JM). Their impact are now starting to be noticed in church and mission circles today, especially those movements in China (since ‘80s), India (especially among Punjabis and Dalits), U.S.A., and some regions of the Muslim world.
Their “best practices” combines three “Cs” = Church Multiplication + Contextualization + Community Development/Transformation. For this to happen, they simply just need to master the skills of making disciples (Jesus-followers) who can lead people to Christ through friendship evangelism, and disciple new converts in small Bible discussion groups.
The simplest method today is called the Viral Simple Bible Study (VSBS). It asks only three questions of any chosen text:
(1) What does the text say in your own words?
(2) What does God require of us from the text?
(3) Who are the 3-5 people you can share what we learned with before we meet again next week?
The disciple-maker aims to empower them to do likewise (as in 2 Tim. 2:2) by leaving them as soon as possible, so s/he can make new disciples elsewhere.
Incarnational “church-planters” (or better, “movement catalysts”) do not mind being unrecognized in history, though they will be lovingly remembered by his/her disciples (if they don’t die or get killed prematurely), for his/her objective is to decrease so that only Jesus Christ will increase (cf. Jn. 3:30; Mk. 9:28). They are ordinary people who simply obey God’s call to be witnesses of Jesus. If properly trained, even if they may not have high academic credentials or social status, they can strategically win “a person of peace” (cf. Lk. 10:5-6) in each place, and disciple a core group around this person to disciple the rest.
New converts are encouraged to remain in their communities, follow local cultural and religious practices (unless they are clearly idolatrous, immoral or unjust), aim at family and communal conversions, and study the Scriptures themselves (1 Cor. 7:17-24; Acts 17:11). Almost all in the International Orality Network are already moving in this direction.
Other Approximate Models
Most Evangelical “para-church” movements and mission agencies in the past 50 years have struggled to thrive within the Christendom system, mainly because they depended on the giving and support of church people, especially their clergymen. So although their missiology leans toward the incarnational model, they often either compromised with or returned to the imperial/denominational model of ministry.
Among these are:
- Perhaps the closest are the new “church-planting movements (CPM)” or “church multiplication movements (CMM),” which plant as many house churches as possible, but have not made strict guidelines to keep the groups small and/or avoid uncontextualized forms of worship and lifestyle (cf. 1 Cor. 9:19-23).
- The second closest would be the communities that have been directly touched by Christian Development Organizations (CDOs), like World Vision, Compassion and Center for Community Transformation (CCT). By trial-and-error, they’ve discovered that to reach and transform communities effectively, they have to minimize denominational forms and use simple Bible study groups in their portfolio of community activities.
- Third closest may be the campus ministries, like Campus Crusade for Christ (CCC), Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship (IVCF), and especially Navigators, REACH, and Agape. They have trained students and graduates/professionals to lead disciple-making movements without the need for clergymen to lead them in chapel activities. Agape is now operating on the Jesus Movement (JM) mode, while Navigators and REACH are trying to move back to their original JM mode, too.
- Fourth may be the professional movements, like Tentmaker and/or Diaspora Ministries, Business as Mission (BAM), Marketplace or Workplace Ministries, Military and Police Outreaches, which have slowly relinquished their need for clergymen to lead churchy services in their life and ministry in the world. Instead of doing ministry in local churches, these “lay-people” focus on reaching out to their partners, colleagues and subordinates in their God-given vocation.
- Lastly, we can include also some denominations which have emphasized “lay pastors,” (like Vineyard, Grace Communion International), though most of them still lead denomination-type weekly worship services, which deflects much of their time from doing community services (cf. Matt. 5:13-16; 25:31-46; Lk. 10:27-37; 1 Jn.3:16-18).
Challenge
So, let’s join hands and do incarnational missions together! Let’s finish the Great Commission together in our generation! Yes, even in the next 10-15 years, God willing, by the power of the Holy Spirit (Ac. 1:8)! Our Lord has promised, “I will build My church and the gates of hades shall not prevail against it,” and has given us the authority “to loose and to bind” (Mt. 16:18-19). The harvest is still plentiful, but the workers remain few (Mt. 9:37-38). Let’s prayerfully mobilize the whole church to share the whole Gospel with the whole world – servantly, holistically, contextually — incarnationally!
"Raising generations of Filipino Youth for cross-cultural missions"
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Do we really know the real deal of what's going on in the world of the unreached today?
“How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?
And how can anyone preach unless they are sent?
As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”
Romans 10: 14-15
The verse is probably a clanging cymbal to some of us but like a cymbal,unless someone stops it (in our case, someone goes to the field for harvest) will remain a sound we will hear from time to time until something happens.
Again, unless something happens, this remains to be a "stirring" voice within us until the day the Lord Jesus Christ comes.
"Raising generations of Filipino Youth for cross-cultural missions"
Monday, April 2, 2012
Why do we go on summer missions trip? How does it differ from any other activity we do during summer time? Does it make us more "holier","mature" and a "believer"?
I know that the cultural context of the video below might not probably be true to some of us, but let's face it, we must ask these same questions and have the spiritual wisdom to know the perfect will of God when it comes on doing things, and that doesn't just include missions, it includes our entire perception in life as a believer.
May the Lord stir your heart and check your purposes as you listen to this witty video about missions and your perspective of it.
"Raising generations of Filipino Youth for cross-cultural missions"
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
The Lord of the harvest is calling
For the laborers to go
A call to claim the nations
A decree to redeem the world
Listen to the nations
They are crying out for hope
Too desperate for His coming
Restless for redemption
Listen, oh God's people
May you arise and proclaim
His glory for all to hear
Our Beginning and our End
Come, from every people and every land
Arise, from the east to the west
To the sound of heaven's call!
Come, from every tribes and every tongue
Arise, from the north to the south
Witness Christ's glorious victory!
For the peace of God NOW reigns
And darkness has no place
When God is KING for all
Where Christ is LORD of all
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
“How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15 And how can anyone preach unless they are sent?
As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”
– Romans 10: 14-15
Background of the Book of Romans
- Biblical scholars agree that it was composed by the Apostle Paul to explain that salvation is offered through the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
- It is by far the longest of the Pauline epistles, and is considered his "most important theological legacy".[1][2]
- Apostle Paul, wrote the letter before even traveling to Rome, this, is an advance letter announcing his visit and the purpose of his travel before going to Spain
- In context, the verses were part of Paul’s argument on the current situation of Jews and Gentile believers of his time
- It was also a reminder for believers in Rome to the hope that they have, which should be shared to everyone who has an ear
So, in context, the epistles to the Romans was written by Paul for believers, encouraging and instructing them on what they can do with the very message they have received from the Lord through Paul’s ministry.
Paul strengthened their faith by challenging them to hold on to the very teachings God has given them. In these particular two verses, Paul openly shared his thoughts about his ministry and God’s call for his life.
If you notice, in the early verses, He made it clear that he was called to the gentiles with the very message from Christ:
“Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God— 2 the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures 3 regarding his Son, who as to his earthly life[a] was a descendant of David, 4 and who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power[b] by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. 5 Through him we received grace and apostleship to call all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from[c] faith for his name’s sake. 6 And you also are among those Gentiles who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.”
Matthew 28:16-20 gives a clear command to “go and make disciples to all nations…” This command was not given to a few but to everyone who believes and is a disciple of Jesus Christ.
“Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
- Matthew 28:16-18
Are you a disciple of Jesus Christ?
According to The Joshua Project, the great commission is at 60% completion stage with more than 4.43B people hearing the gospel of Jesus Christ. This is an achievement after 2,000 years!
In God’s goodness and timing, many have come to know Jesus Christ including us. We are part of that almost 5 billion people who have heard of the gospel message.
Although we have completed 60% of the task, the fact remains that it’s still incomplete with nearly 2.84 billion people in darkness. Kindly see global statistics below:
Global Statistics | ||
Peoples-by-Country | Individuals | |
16,829 | 6.83 billion | |
6,997 | 2.84 billion | |
41.6 % | 41.6 % | |
8,758 | 4.49 billion | |
5,913 | 2.76 billion | |
67.5 % | 61.3 % | |
It’s a sad fact that many doesn’t know the Lord or have heard of his message.
Why am I sharing these things to you?
Because you and I need to be involved in fulfilling the task. We all play an important role. Like in a puzzle, you have something that can complete such a task.
Isn’t it amazing when God uses, young people to rise into the occasion and bring glory to God’s awesome name?
Just take for example, Abraham, who was called out of Ur, Chaldea to fulfill promise he, received from the Lord. And the Lord blessed him with everything he has.
Joseph, his great-great-great grandson, was beaten by his brothers, beaten and sold out to slavery. He was imprisoned and became the savior of the ancient times when he became governor of Egypt, the second highest authority in the land. Even Pharaoh declared that there was no God like whom Joseph served.
Daniel, who likes all the princes, was exiled to Babylon to serve the King. He served three big empires of his time and recognized as the leader among all the wise men in the court of the Kings. God used him in such a difficult time to read the times, gave wise counsel to the King. Later on, his faith was challenged and was fed to the lions to become an example. But God spared his life, giving the opportunity of God’s glory to be known throughout all the land.
How about Esther, who became the queen of Persia to save her people for such a time when everyone wanted her people killed.
I need not mention David, Solomon, Joshua, Jehu, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Timothy, Stephen and Paul?
God has been using young individuals to expand his kingdom territory and eradicate the works of the enemy bringing hope to those who are in darkness.
Abram was a business man, Joseph was a manager after 40 years of being imprisoned and slaved, Daniel was the leader of all the wise men in Babylon. Paul, was a teacher of the Law, Esther was the queen of Persia.
In missions, God has been using younger generations for the past 40 years to bring the message of hope to the 10/40 windows.
Is it really possible to reach the 2.84B people before Christ’s second coming?
Yes, it’s possible. He cannot deny his word and his word clearly says that unless all the people of the earth will hear the good news, the end will not come. The bible clearly says that this gospel will be preached and then the end will come.
But what does it have to do with me?
God’s commission is for his people, set apart for such a task. Our race is unique, we can learn languages easily, we can settle anywhere, and we have a skin that can blend in with other Asians.
As a believer, God’s command is for everyone who has received the same gospel as the Romans. Like Paul, we have been given a task to help fulfill the great commission. Regardless of educational attainment, status in life or working background, He has called us for such a time as this.
“When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38 Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” – Matthew 9:36-38
God is looking for co-laborers in the field. Real believers are co-laborers; they don’t sit in pews and just listen to the pastors. They do a lot of things out of love for their master. We labor out of love and not of selfish ambitions.
We become doers of the word!
If our desire is to serve and please the Lord, we must learn to march with his drumbeat and listen to his heartbeat, which is for the nations.
How can we help?
Start by praying to God and let him show you how you can help.
When I first heard that my auntie was going to Indonesia for a mission’s trip, I started praying how I can help. I was a high school student at that time and I didn’t have enough money to spare. So, I started praying for her and her endeavors. I remember getting excited every time she sends her prayer letter.
In 2003, when I became the missions’ coordinator for our school chapter, I started including the missions support of aiding the missions department of the organization. We gave, as a chapter, a monthly support to a specific missionary who is from the Visayas.
Learn more about missions and people groups
My interest in missions started when I first joined our leadership camp in InterVarsity. It was a video presentation in China. During the missions night, I was challenged by one of our staffworker’s short message of becoming “a light to the nations” which at that time, was focused in the campuses.
Later on, I started reading books about missions, autobiographies of great and small veterans of the Lord like Billy Graham, Bill Bright, Amy Carmichael, Brother Yun, Open Doors Ministry and many more. My love for the Lord and the passion to serve him opened my eyes to what’s going on around the world and what He is doing through different initiatives.
Support missionaries and mission groups
First off, support doesn’t just mean supporting them financially. Of course, money is needed when we go to missions. But first and foremost, I believe that supporting missionaries starts by becoming their helping hand, being there when they need encouragement and help them fulfill God’s calling on their lives.
We can always support them by sending them encouragement from time to time, be part of their prayer teams or start a missionary care group for them.
There are a lot of ways to support missions, we just have to be open and sometimes be creative about it.
Go and make disciples
Perhaps God is calling you to serve him as a full-time missionary in a remote place, an urban city or even inMindanao. It’s all the more that you start praying and listening to God’s voice and direction for your life.
Our endeavors might not be written in books like Joshua’s or David’s feat but it will indeed bring us to the very feet of our savior and lord, with his very words “well done, good and faithful servant…” that we always pray for. Indeed, that’s good news!
"Raising generations of Filipino Youth for cross-cultural missions"
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
For over 65 years, SEND International has been ministering in the
We are currently actively engaged in training up and mobilizing both short-term and long-term missionaries for missions to the unreached. The goal of our short-term teams is not only to minister to those who don't know Christ, but also give Filipino Christians an opportunity to have a hands-on role in global missions helping them to identify what their future role will be in the great commission.
In 2012, we are very excited to present a number of opportunities for short-term missions to the unreached. We have just launched our latest promotional campaign to recruit members for our short-term teams. I am attaching our poster with this e-mail. It would be a great help to us if you would post it on your blog.
We currently have opportunities for short-term teams in May 2012 to
Each team will be made up of about 5-10 members made up of individuals from youth age (around 16 years old) and up. You will find the ministry description of the teams in the poster I am attaching.
You can also find more information and apply to be a part of a team at www.pscsend.org.
For more details, please contact:
Trent Rollings
Mobilizer, Trainer (Short Term Ministries)
Philippine Sending Council of SEND International
0917-557-4404
The Logo
