Nothing better in The UMC than the Revive celebration

*A reflection by Albert Longe

A recent national gathering at Revive United Methodist Church, Manila, Philippines, drew thousands of attendees.
Photo by Albert Longe.

MANILA, Philippines – The Revive United Methodist celebration in Manila was an awesome day I will never forget. It represented a revival that the church as whole needs now. I believe there is nothing better in The United Methodist Church than worship and spiritual reflection on our journey to heaven and the welfare of society.

Seeing the thousands of people gathered for worship was an amazing way to learn that the Spirit is still working and can transform the circumstances of our church. God is still at work within The United Methodist Church, and the Philippines presence reminds our church globally to focus on the spiritual welfare of its members.

I was glad to see that people made a commitment to attend. Some traveled long distances to worship and revive the church. “At first,” commented Chief Justice Reynato Puno, the people called Methodists could be easily identified, but now it is proving to be difficult.” Strengthening the Methodist identity should be our passion and commitment. We must restore the concern on social holiness and not be as concerned about being politically correct.

I was happy to be at the Revive United Methodist Church and regret that other people from the United Methodist community could not attend. This was just a start, and I look forward to seeing the same done in other regions. We really need this, and nobody can deny that we must go back to our roots and revive the church. When the church is not revived, our ability to revive the world is limited. Everything is possible, and we must work hard to revive the spirituality of the church.

*Longe is a mission intern initially serving with the Kapatiran-Kaunlaran Foundation Inc., a community-development agency in Manila, Philippines.

Traveling Five Hours by Bicycle to Seminary

Revs. Jay and Grace Choi, missionaries with the General Board of Global Ministries, are with their sons. What follows is a story from Jay about his work at the Union Theological Seminary in the Philippines. Grace works with the Harris Memorial College with the Community Health Program. (photo courtesy of Grace Choi)

Knowing how local pastors do their ministries and study under hard circumstances challenges me more.

Pastor Honeylet Limos is serving in a small congregation in a mountainous area. One time, he came all the way to attend class riding his bicycle. It meant that he had to ride the bicycle for five hours from the mountain to the school. The reason was simply because he had no money to pay for the public transportation which was 300 pesos (six dollars) for the round trip bus. What he receives from his church assignment monthly is 500 pesos (ten dollars).

The members of the church are poor farmers who cannot afford give their pastors more than that. As many other rural churches do, the members share in kinds like rice and other food with the pastors. But when there is no more money, the workers fall into trouble like traveling with bicycle.

By God’s grace, a Korean missionary provided Pastor Limos a scholarship for the study. The life of a seminary student serving God’s people in such a condition echoes like a prophetic message to the churches that tend to depend on money and power in doing God’s mission.

Missionary Grace Choi distributes deworming medicine. Because the children had difficulty swallowing pills, a group sent chewable tablets so the medicine was far easier for the children to take. (Photo courtesy of Grace Choi)

Read the missionary bio of Grace Choi or Jay Choi to learn more about their mission and ministry.