Father's Day Photostory

WIN - Al Ain Men’s Ministry 11^th Year Anniversary Message

Matthew 3:1-3 (NKJV)

In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, ² and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!" ³ For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying:

"The voice of one crying in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the LORD; Make His paths straight.' "

Mark 1:14-20 (NKJV)

Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, ¹⁵ and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel."

Four Fisherman Called as Disciples

¹⁶ And as He walked by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. ¹⁷ Then Jesus said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men." ¹⁸ They immediately left their nets and followed Him. ¹⁹ When He had gone a little farther from there, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the boat mending their nets. ²⁰ And immediately He called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went after Him.

Luke 5:1-11 (NKJV)

So it was, as the multitude pressed about Him to hear the word of God, that He stood by the Lake of Gennesaret, ² and saw two boats standing by the lake; but the fishermen had gone from them and were washing their nets. ³ Then He got into one of the boats, which was Simon's, and asked him to put out a little from the land. And He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat. ⁴ When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, "Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch." ⁵ But Simon answered and said to Him, "Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net." ⁶ And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking. ⁷ So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. ⁸ When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!" ⁹ For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken; ¹⁰ and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men." ¹¹ So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed Him.

My family and I would like to congratulate Bro. Teody Galit and the WIN Al Ain Men’s ministry on their 11^th year anniversary today. May the Lord bless your families and ministry members as you continue to build the Next Generation Church by laying down the foundation of God’s word in your hearts today.

We would also want to thank Bro. Ben Carpio of WIN – Dubai for coming over to speak to us today. He is our WIN UAE Men’s Ministry National Coordinator. At the same time we also extend our deep condolences to him for the death of his beloved wife Esperanza “Espie” Carpio last July 26, 2008. May the comfort and peace of the Holy Ghost be upon him and his family during this time of grief.

The theme for this month is “Evangelism.” The challenge I would like to set before the men of this church is to pass on the fire of the gospel to the next generation. In the verses I have mentioned above, John first came to preach repentance to all men. After he was put into prison, Jesus took over and continued what John has started. After which Jesus commissioned others to become “fishers of men.”

Jesus started with a “few good men.” Jesus handpicked his disciples and spent quality time with these few that would eventually change the world. It did not take Jesus much to change the world. These were humble fishermen trying to make a living. However, God had plans for them. They may not look like much at first; the difference was that Jesus was with them till the end.

Men need not fear becoming witnesses for God to this world. We need men to speak the truth to today’s generation. Their secret was not in their education or skill. They could not even at one time catch fish in spite of their experience in fishing. Jesus even had to tell them how to catch fish the right way. The disciples’ secret was Jesus Himself being with them.

Acts 4:13 (NKJV)

Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus.

Men of God! Be strong IN THE LORD! Don’t look upon yourself for strength. There isn’t any! Jesus is our strength. He will provide. Don’t look unto men. Look unto Jesus the author and perfecter of our faith. You can do great and mighty things for the Kingdom of God if you know Him personally as Lord and Saviour

Dan 11:32b (NKJV)

…but the people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits.

In spite of our weaknesses and limitations we can still change the history of the world. It is not WHAT you know but WHO you know! Get to know Jesus in your life and He will use you for His glory and for His kingdom here on earth. With the power of the Holy Spirit, God the Father will send you in the name of Jesus to the uttermost parts of the earth to share the love of Christ to all men!

What are we waiting for? GO! And become fishers of MEN!

From my family to yours,

Ptr. Edward Barcial

WIN – Al Ain

The WIN U.A.E. Today by Pastor Angel Cano

THE WIN U.A.E. TODAY
(The Direction We Have to Take as a National Body – by Pastor Angel Cano, Sub-Regional Director, Middle East)


The Filipino saying “ang hindi marunong lumingon sa pinanggalingan ay hindi makakarating sa paroroonan” (those who do not look back from where they started, will not reach their destination), is a truth that is essential to the journey of WIN U.A.E.

18 years since the church started (in 1997 we changed the name of our church to become Word International [WIN] Ministries), the church has grown from a single congregation into 17 churches we are today. Many members through the years have left for other countries and only a handful of the pioneers remain. It is prudent to remind us from time to time how the Lord took us to the journey as a body. Many of our people today would like to understand this journey to guide them in their direction towards the future.

What began as a Bible study group in 1990 developed into a church and in two years it received it first pastor in the person of Pastor Rene. Through the ministry of Pastor Rene and Sis. Rose Nepomuceno, the church began to have a vision of planting churches and this prodded the workers to go and develop church planting work in other places in the country. Later on, the workers of the Dubai church were deployed and commissioned to pastor these churches. All of the pastors of the local churches in U.A.E. today were either homegrown or have developed in the community relationship, either they were sent and commissioned from the Dubai church, or commissioned from within their local churches. Our pastors are duty-bound to carry on the vision of WIN U.A.E. steering their local churches to be bonded to the rest of the community according to the structure aligned by the WIN Leadership, from the International Board level, to the Region, Sub-Region, National and Local level.

As the local pastors were commissioned to shepherd the local churches, they not only acknowledge their God-given calling and accountability, but also the trust of the leaders who appointed them. Yet the challenge of herding our churches in the U.A.E. today into a single direction remains a colossal task to be carried by the National Leadership.

PRIORITY OF THE INTEREST OF THE NATIONAL BODY

If we are to remain united and moving as a single body the way it was intended from the beginning and the way the pastors were commissioned, our local pastors must prioritize the national interest and put it above their local concerns. The National Leaders can only be as effective in upholding the work when the local leaders have the fundamental resolve to take their place in the building of the national movement as they submit to the guidance of those who commissioned them. The national priority must be taught to our people, especially since majority of them were not there to capture how it all began.

To drive the national interest, the local pastors must take into account the two most important undertaking at the moment:

A. The Development of its own People

The local pastors must shepherd its own people by discipling them. The pastors of Word International Ministries share the common task of discipleship. All of our people are to be nurtured by the feeding of God’s Word and the experience of life building process through the small groups.

In the U.A.E. all the churches are meant to develop its own people through their involvement in the life of the church. As the beginners are being drawn through involvement in the ministries and through the small groups, they are growing spiritually and are developed into becoming workers. We do not raise workers from out of nothing but through the hard process of life experience in the community and in the mentoring and modeling of church leaders. As the workers are raised into the leadership, we develop them to become the pastors of the future.

These are supported with the tools available to us for the trainings and education program necessary for effective discipleship. We have 3-level-program in Education: 1st Level-new believers/small group program. 2nd Level-basic leadership/small group leadership program. 3rd Level-advance leadership program.

From among these leaders in the church we also develop our church councils. The local pastors must endeavor to have a council that is strong and wise in making decisions in behalf of the church. This is especially crucial as they are handling the finances of the church, in this way, we steer our pastors away from the questionable handling of finances that tarnished many of today churches and denominations.

Our people were honed to leadership through the small groups and the long history of our small-group-based discipleship produced pastors and missionaries that are now spread in many parts of the world. The local churches need to continue this process of discipleship at every level.


B. The Meeting together of our People

No one can fail to appreciate how our people talk about their fellowship whenever there are national activities, be it the Men’s National Assembly, a Y.A. National Gathering, Youth National Worship Service, Couples National Fellowship, etc. The beauty of how our people are blessed and the meeting of local members from different churches in the U.A.E. have helped unite our people through the years. The effort of our local pastors are by large, the greatest contributor to the success of this gatherings. The pastors who are most actively involved in campaigning, attending, enthusiastically participating in these events, are blessed with the members who have become vibrant contributors to the organizing of these gatherings as well as effective in serving God in their local churches.

Our local pastors’ support for the national ministries is called now more than ever before. And while the ministries coordinate with their pastors, the ministry head and leaders must have the freedom to coordinate directly their activities with the national ministries. The effectiveness and dynamism of our movement through the development of the national ministries can not be ignored and will only be enriched by the pastors fully supporting this. The national ministry activities must be clearly communicated to our congregations so that they are drawn into the nationwide fellowship of our body continuously.

In addition to these, our local pastors must invite our leaders and pastors from our other local churches to preach in their churches. Rather than have preachers from other groups preaching in our churches, we need to prioritize our own leaders as this supports our vision of bringing our people closer to each other.

THE NATIONAL BOARD

WIN UAE recently handled the election of the new National Board. Those who were selected by the credentialed ministers were interestingly pastors of local churches, namely: Pastor Nick Esguerra (WIN Sharjah); Pastor Moises Antolin (WIN Jebel Ali); Pastor Arnel Ines (WIN Ajman); Pastor Bing Jimenez (WIN Dubai at Trinity); Pastor Figy John (WIN Abu Dhabi), have committed themselves to serve God at the disposal of the National Body. Although each one of them is handling a local church, they understand fully that the needs on the national level are on top of their priorities.

At the moment we do not have a National Director, therefore the National Board will handle the National Leadership. Pastor Angel, being the Sub-Regional Director will take some of the responsibilities of the National Director.

The National Board agreed to have a rotating chairmanship to preside their meetings. The first to chair for five months is Pastor Nick followed by the second highest vote-getter, and so on.

First in the list of priorities of the National Board is to build their relationship with each other. The strong relationship among them is required to carry on an effective national leadership. Everything else will fail if they do not give their attention to this concern.

Secondly, the members of the National Board have been called by God to be national leaders, they must put the national interest above their local interest and they must be in the forefront to rally our churches for the cause of WIN UAE as they work closely with Pastor Angel being the Sub-Regional Director who is going to lead them with the forward vision for the sake of the National Body.

The National Board will be the example for the rest of the pastors in bringing together our people to be united in moving in the same direction. They will ensure that our people meet each other through the National Ministry activities. And we pray that our National Board will be a strong and wise team of leaders to carry on the plans that God had planted in the hearts of our leaders in this region and beyond.

Faithful is the God by whom you were called into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord. 1 Cor. 1:9

Pastor Edward's Radio Interview with Ate Merlyn on Heartline

Here are some snapshots of Pastor Edward's interview with Ate Merlyn on Heartline last June 13, 2008. Big thanks to everyone who tune in to the radio and internet broadcast.

Listen to Pastor Edward's radio interview on Heartline with Ate Merlyn

Kuya Clem Guillermo, Pator Edward, and Ate Merlyn

The Canas Family with Pastor Edward and Venice during the 60th Anniversary of FEBC

Proud People vs Broken People by: Dr. Roy Versoza

What kind of attitude do you display when you are with people? Do you manifest humility and willingness to learn?

Are people encouraged when you are around or would they rather wish that you get lost?

Are you humble in your walk or are you the "windy" type? Are you bossy and unapproachable?

Are you always dogmatic and always right? Do people respond to you more out of fear than out of love and respect?

Is your attitude towards people scarred by personal grudges, feelings of resentment, and envious thoughts?

PROUD PEOPLE:
- Always focus on the failures of others. They look at everyone's fault with a microscope while they overlook their own.

- Are self-righteous, they look down on others and find it hard to forgive others who have failed their expectations.

-Have an independent, self-sufficient spirit, finds it hard to ask help from others.

- Claim their right and has a demanding spirit.

- Want to be recognized, to be appreciated for their contribution and they demand respect from others because of this. They are wounded when others are promoted and they're overlooked.

- Keep others at arms length and they won't associate with people of lower status.

- Have a hard time saying, "I was wrong. Will you please forgive me?"

- Are quick to blame others and quick to judge the motives of others focusing on how bad they might be.

- Are defensive when criticized (like when they read this list) and not open about their mistakes and to be vulnerable.

BROKEN PEOPLE:

- Are conscious of their own failures, weaknesses and spiritual needs.

- Are compassionate. They can forgive much because they know how much they've been forgiven. They think the best of others and they esteem all others better than themselves.

- Recognize their need for others and are humble enough to ask and receive help from others.

- Yield their rights and have a meek spirit.

- Are thrilled that God would use them at all in any ministry. They're eager for others to get the credit and they rejoice when others are lifted up. They have a sense of their own unworthiness.

- Are quick to admit their failures and to seek forgiveness when necessary.

-Accept personal accountability and are willing to admit their own failures. They try to focus on what is best in people.

- Receive criticism with a humble spirit and willing to be open and transparent about their mistakes as God directs.