Gearing up for Passion Manila. This morning, one of our youth pastors was requested by Becca Music (the company sponsoring the Passion Manila event on August 1) to give them a hand in welcoming the Passion Ministry leaders from Atlanta- Louie Giglio, Chris Tomlin and forty others. Now, I have an appointment act as host together with a number of others for the Passion Team! I'm so stoked!
This exciting university student-focused event is expected to gather 10,000 college kids and pack the PSC Ultra Stadium for a night of worship, teaching and challenge! Our university students at Church are most passionate about this event, and as a worship pastor who spends a whole lot of time with them, the excitement has rubbed off on me.
My college life story. I just wish that such a movement existed when I was in college! My friends and I were movers in the Campus Crusade for Christ in my university, but due to the CCC's lack of staff/workers, the whole ministry was run by just us-- the kids.
But it wasn't that way when I first walked the halls of the Arts and Sciences Building of Trinity. As a freshman, I explored every bulletin board in campus, wondering which group I could best join! I saw the CCC bulletin on the first floor of the AS Building, and it did not send out a good impression! The tattered colored paper, the dusty cork board, the smudged signage gave away an impression that the bulletin board acted as a gravestone on the tomb of a once vibrant college ministry!
I posted a message on the board, wrote there my cellphone number. A girl named Imelda contacted me-- she was an inactive remnant of the long dead group, and an over-staying junior. With the help of a friend named Gilbert, I met with Imelda and soon after, we were meeting for Bible study. In a month, we had 20 active members. We contacted Jason, a CCC Staff who came to visit us to witness the resurrection of the campus ministry! Excited, he invited us to a monthly gathering of leaders at the CCC Training Center in Quezon City. Not long after, our group was a strong voice in the gatherings. We were able to send people to a mission trip, raised funds for the Leadership Training Institute, hosted a Christian concert attended by 700 people all in a semester's span! I remember having coffee with Gilbert at the newly-opened Starbucks on Morato Avenue, telling him, "Bro, the Spirit is impressing upon me that this is going to work!" And it did. A whole new movement was born and with our members being people of influence- leaders of campus organizations, student council officers, editors of the school paper, dean's listers- it was astounding to see the Spirit breathing life into the ministry.
My involvement in the movement affected even my ministry in the local church. I assisted my dad in leading the youth and college ministries at the church he was pastoring, in addition to my worship ministry leadership.
I was gone for a couple of season in an exchange program, but people kept in touch. It was at that point when the Lord has placed worship in my heart to be my main focus.
Soon after college, I went on to pursue a theology degree and my fervor for college ministries somewhat took a back seat. There is something about theological and seminary studies that make people feel old!
At any rate, now is a great time to be alive-- the Lord's renown is rising from among the peoples of the earth!
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