PLATFORM Issue No. 2 (FCC WeTeaCh Ministry)

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