Joseph's Multiply Site

I'm moving to the VCF church in Alabang. This last weekend was my "send-off" from the youth services at VCF-Ortigas. I've been going to this church, particularly the youth services, for more than 6 years now. It's been an awesome time and I'm so thankful for my spiritual family here. I don't wanna talk too much about memories at Galleria coz I'll get senti. Hahahaha!!!

Last May 26, Saturday, Pastor LA Mumar called and asked if I'd pray about moving to the Alabang church, since they don't have as many campus ministers as Ortigas does. I decided to go two weeks later. It's been a pretty interesting process (pretty interesting = HARD!!!) and here are some lessons I learned on making major decisions.

1. Get advice from God-centered people.
I'm so thankful for people in my life who I can trust to give me reliable advice. They may not be the people I hang out with all the time, but the friendship and relationship is there. They don't just respond with "what makes sense" or "what's practical" or "what would be best for you." They try and see what God is doing first and go from there. Thanks to Joshua Harris, Pastor Jojo Henson, and Pastor Joel Magpantay for their input!

There are plenty of well-meaning people who may give good advice, based on folk wisdom, experience, etc. But honestly, in all my 24 years of existence (Hahaha! Kala mo ang tanda!) I've found that there isn't any formula for this kind of thing. How do you choose when both options are good? The only way is to ask God what He's doing and follow Him.

2. Listen to God for yourself.
One thing I really appreciate was how the guys I got advice from gave me their two-cents worth, but always let me decide on my own. Usually they would end with, "...but you pray about it and do what God tells you." From Pastor Ferdie to LA, I loved how they respected me enough to hear from God. I especially appreciated it from my parents also. They gave me advice and counsel, but let me make my own mind up. My dad agreed with my final decision, but he didn't short circuit the process.

To be honest, sometimes I wished they would just TELL ME what to do. That way I wouldn't have to make my own decision and go through all the thinking, praying, and debating. But looking back, I'm glad they let me go through the process. This way, I'm more sure of the decision, and there's peace knowing that God will meet me there.

I often face the temptation to dictate on people, to tell them what to do all the time. But I am continually learning that the best I can do is show what God's word (the Bible) says on the matter and to encourage people to follow Him. They must make the decision. It's best to allow God to be the one to move inside of people. In other words, it's best to let God be God.

3. Change is good, if we respond to it properly.
When I made my decision, Pastor Rico Ricafort talked with me and said, "Good decision! My general rule of thumb is go where you aren't comfortable. That way you'll need to have faith in God." I loved how the whole attitude of my sending church was one full of faith and positive expectation. Pastor Ferdie and Pastor Luther and Pastor Patrick all had very encouraging words to say.

I know it'll be a little different from what I'm used to. I mean, Galleria is like a home to me already. But this change is gonna force me to pray more and trust God more. And that's always a good thing. So now, I'm thankful for the past years at Victory-Ortigas and I'm excited to see what happens at Victory-Alabang. I love having a great spiritual family.