2012 Volume I

July to August

TRANSIENT
The newsletter of Heroes Church: a Christ-centered community of imperfect people for the city. Issue 3

Important Dates
Jul 2-6 Jul 5 Jul 8 Pastor Zuriel attends 2012 Hillsong Conference FPD-Global President Joel Perez guest-speaks at Heroes Compassion International Director of Advocacy for Asia Region Toyditz Cosico guest- speaks at Heroes Heroes Church Relief Drive for Monsoon Rain Victims 2012 Heroes Conference Pastor Zuriel shares the Gospel to Makati Med EENT doctors Start of Heroes Alpha Course Pastor Zuriel talks to Fort Bonifacio Admin Jorge Bocobo about partnering to serve and be relevant to the community

Save the City. Save the World.

Planting a church in global cities around the world is a key strategy for the building of Gods Kingdom on earth. With each global city getting more homogenous in culture and language around the world, the influence one has within one global city could extend beyond natural national borders. This is one vital reason why Heroes Church sought to be planted in Bonifacio Global City. Also known as the home of passionate minds, we believe that by being relevant here, we can make a difference in our country, and in the world. This has proven true early in our ministry, as we have become part of the journey of the lives of very upward mobile young professionals. We thank God for the doors He has opened for us to serve and love internationally competent Filipino professionals. Were glad for the chance to get to know them, share the Gospel with them, and build community with them. Wherever God sends our people, we trust that the light of Christ in each of us will make its mark.

Aug 9 Aug 27 Sep 20 Sep 25 Sep 28

LDR Works for Me and Heroes Church: by Isha Garcia

Isha Garcia is part of our Heroes Family, a key member of the i-Touch Professionals Network. She is a global nurse currently working in Doha, Qatar. She shares about the hope and support her church family provides.

Full article on p. 3

A Spirit-Filled 2012 Heroes Conference

Seeing the need to present the Gospel that makes a difference in everything, Heroes Church held its 2012 Heroes Conference at Chowking, Global City. Partnering with Breadcom Young Adults and Worship Team, we talked about discovering, nourishing, and applying the Gospel to an audience of about 50 people.
With the Gospel as the focus, Heroes Conference was divided into 3 blocks. Heres a summary. Block 1: Discover the Gospel We love heroes, but there was a time when heroes ruled the world, and God regretted creating it. Pastor Zuriel talked about what happened, introduced the Ultimate Hero, and what this means to all of us. Block 2: Nourish the Gospel Every new perspective needs fostering for it to take root. Pastor Zuriel shared Gospel-life boosters, which we should emulate, and Gospel-life suppressors, which we must be cautious of and try to avoid. He compared and contrasted humility vs. pride, convenience vs. cooperation, and selfishness vs. selflessness. Block 3: Apply the Gospel With a renewed understanding of the Gospel and a set of tools to nourish it, Pastor Zuriel gave practical applications to engage society with it. He said we have a role to play in the physical world (our body and the environment), the metaphysical (character), and the real (suffering and death).

Thank you for being part of this!

LDR Works for Me and Heroes Church by Isha Garcia

Isha Garcia is part of our Heroes Family, a key member of the iTouch Professionals Network. She is a global nurse currently working in Doha, Qatar. She shares about the hope and support her church family provides.
It is essential for a believer to have someone to walk with in his/her journey towards a thriving spiritual life. The Bible tells us in Ecclesiastes 4 (CEV) that:
9

You are better off to have a friend than to be all alone, because then you will get more enjoyment out of what you earn. 10 If you fall, your friend can help you up. But if you fall without having a friend nearby, you are really in trouble. 11If you sleep alone, you wont have anyone to keep you warm on a cold night. 12Someone might be able to beat up one of you, but not both of you. As the saying goes, A rope made from three strands of cord is hard to break. In my case, I am blessed with not just one person, but an entire family to accompany me in this journey. Being a part of Heroes Church, especially our i-Touch network, has helped nourish my relationship with Jesus. Even now that I am halfway around the world, I can still feel the same love and the sense of belongingness that I felt when I was still with them. But why is crucial for me to have these people in my life?

They give me hope to know that somebody is there for me. That despite the distance, they still would ask for the progress of my walk, encourage me especially when homesickness strikes, and just continually pray for me. Nobodys life is perfect. We all have problems, whether you have God in your life or not. The difference lies in perception. Life becomes more bearable when you realize that you have a God who has defeated the world (John 16:33) and friends who will constantly remind you of Gods promises. Notice that I underlined verse 10 in the passage above? It is really important to have these people in your life especially in times of troubles, and I am glad that I have found them in my Heroes family. It is comforting to have someone tell you that they have been in your place and have come out to be victorious through Christ, and someone to tell you that its okay to be vulnerable sometimes. This makes every burden more bearable, no matter how heavy it may seem.

I am blessed that even before I have set off to start a new life in a new place, I have established a strong bond with them. If it wasnt for these beautiful people, I wouldnt have the strength that I have right now and my spiritual life would

probably be in chaos. But because of their never-ending support, I am able to push through and live the mission that God has given me in this place and that is to shed the light of Jesus on this part of the planet. And I thank God everyday that He purposefully put these amazing people in my life. All the glory goes back to Him!

Identifying with the OFWs in Hong Kong by Aldrin Teresa

Hi! Im Aldrin and Im thankful to God for giving me the opportunity to work with the Filipinos in Watermark These were some of the words that I was trying to memorize in case I will be asked to go up to the stage in order to introduce myself. It was two days since I arrived and I was very careful not to embarrass myself and look awkward in front of 400 people who come from different parts the world. Watermark is an international church reaching out to the English-speaking community in the Western District of Hong Kong Island. I was given the opportunity to lead a group who will specifically reach out to Filipinos. As Tobin (one of the pastors) called me in front during the worship service, my anxiety began to subside because of the warm welcome of the community. What is their plight? What are their challenges? Four months is not a very long time, but I was able to see the significant challenges of OFWs in Hong Kong. Most of them have broken families as a result of being away for many years. There are also cases of discrimination, physical and verbal abuse, and even poverty. Working in abroad is a symbol of hope for many Filipinos, but it can also cause tremendous damage to the OFW and his/her family. I was gripped by the broken world of our fellow Filipinos because I myself experienced some of their challenges. Being able to identify with them motivated me to seek God amidst all the brokenness. If Christians are called to participate in Gods mission, then my question is How would Gods redemption look like in the lives of OFWs? What is the Gospel to them? There are many things in Hong Kong that I havent seen, but I take comfort on the fact that God did not leave us on our own, and there is no broken situation that He can never fix. Until now, I continue to look to God to fix my life and I will continue to point people to the One who can heal and make everything new. As I go back to the Philippines, I have a renewed sense of what it means to be a hero not because I have the qualifications to be counted as one, but because I saw someone who took all the sacrifices so that thousands of OFWs need not carry their burden by themselves. God is working mightily in Hong Kong as He always does in all the cities in the world.

A message from Tobin Miller, Pastor of Watermark, where we sent Aldrin to partner with in growing a Filipino ministry: Thank you so much for allowing Aldrin to join our team in Hong Kong for these months. I feel like it has been a huge blessing to us and the ministry in our church and it is exciting to see him engage with the Watermark Community. Thank you for sharing him with us. I continue to pray you Thanks for the huge sacrifice and blessing on your part.

I never encountered people who were difficult to relate with. In fact, all of them were very friendly and accommodating. Despite this, I still experienced difficulties such as communication barriers, cultural differences, marginalization, and many more. I was also very careful not to be at the wrong side of anyone, working With Micah, Aldrins fiance, hard in order to fit-in in my new whom he is marrying on 12.12.12 environment. Being away from my Aldrin and Micah have played a friends and families including the very important role in Heroes sense of being an outsider add up Church. Being part of the first to all the emotional and core team of Heroes, Aldrin and psychological pressures that I was Micah have been influential in experiencing. But if I am crafting the values of the church. experiencing these pressures then They are models of Christ-like how much more the 135,000 love and commitment to the Filipinos who are mostly domestic Kingdom cause. We are very glad workers and were staying in Hong to have them as part of our Kong for more than five years?
family, and we will treasure them forever.

2012 Volume I

July to September

A special shout-out goes to the boys of Heroes Church.

Their tradition, which started last year when the first wedding in our church happened, transforms the usual best-man-organized-last-night-of-being-a-bachelors-party into an out of town mens excursion to strengthen the bond of friendship. Last year, it was white water rafting at CDO. This year, it was the white sand activities of Boracay.

We are planning for monthly issues next year. Join our publications team! Shoot an e-mail to:

transient@heroes.org.ph Heroes Church

A Satellite of Breadcom in Global City

Join our worship services:

Sundays 10:30 am Thursdays 6:30 pm

Visit us online at:

www.heroes.org.ph www.facebook.com/heroeschurch

For questions, comments, and concerns, e-mail Pastor Z at:

zuriel@heroes.org.ph