JIL THANKSGIVING & APPRECIATION GALA NIGHT

On October 6, 2008, the day after the JIL 30th Anniversary Celebration in Luneta Grandstand, the JIL Thanksgiving and Appreciation Gala Night was held at the Isla Ballroom of Shangri-la Edsa Plaza Hotel.

On this occasion the birthday of Bishop Bro. Eddie C. Villanueva, the Founder, Spiritual Director and International President of the JIL Church, was also celebrated. The whole Villanueva family was present to celebrate with him this momentous night.

It was a red-carpet event that was well-attended by close friends of the JIL Ministry as well as Pastors and Staff from the Central, National and International Operations of JIL.

A red carpet was rolled out to welcome the attendees to this glorious and historic event. The attire for the night was strictly formal. Ladies were asked to wear gowns and the men were asked to wear coat and tie.

Before the program started, a cutting of the ribbon was held to launch the JIL Exhibit featuring the 30 years of the JIL Church. Bro. Eddie & Sis. Dory led the cutting of the ribbon, followed by the members of the Executive Management Board (EMB).

The highlight of the evening was the appreciation done to all the Pastors, Staff and faithful workers of the JIL Church since it started in 1978. Awards were also given to outstanding Churches and Chapters of the JIL Church in different categories.

Those who reached 20 years of service as Full-Time Pastors and Staff of JIL were also appreciated and given an award. Included in those who received an award were the drivers, cameramen, office staff, pastors, etc. who have served the JIL Church faithfully through the years.

The JIL Canada Chapter received the "OUTSTANDING COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD" in appreciation of its continuous support to the I-CARE Ministry of the JIL Church and the unparalleled Christian service rendered above and beyond duties and expectations to the holistic development of the community and people served. CONGRATULATIONS JIL CANADA !!!


Sis. Herminigilda "Aida" Romero of JIL Edmonton also received the Outstanding International Church Pioneer Award for starting the first JIL Church in Canada in Edmonton, Alberta. CONGRATULATIONS SIS. AIDA ROMERO !!!

Pastor Aldrin Navo became a recipient of two awards. The first award was the "Dr. Adoracion J. Villanueva EXCELLENCE AWARD", in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the theological advancement of the Church through excellent academic undertakings and research initiatives to the continuing consistent furtherance of the work of the Lord in Jesus Is Lord Church Worldwide.

The second award he received was the "Bro. Eddie C. Villanueva OUTSTANDING LEADERSHIP AWARD", in recognition of his unparalleled and magnanimous Christian service rendered above and beyond duties and expectations epitomized by a life of integrity, influence, and accountability to the holistic development of the community and people served and the greatest glory of Jesus Christ, King and Lord forever! GLORY TO GOD !!!

The Appreciation Night was concluded by acknowledging five out of the fifteen students of Bishop Eddie Villanueva in PUP who pioneered the JIL Church in 1978. These 5 students were still faithfully serving in the JIL Church after 30 years. They were Sis. Menchie Tobias, Pastor Dino Tobias, Sis. Daisy Babiano and Sis. Amor Adela. CONGRATULATIONS FOR YOUR PERSEVERANCE AND FAITHFULNESS !!!

Bishop Eddie ended the event with a word of exhortation and encouragement and a prayer for all the JIL workers, leaders and Pastors.

I was personally encouraged by the life of those who have persevered and served the JIL Church through the years, through thick and thin, and though all circumstances, whether good or bad. Indeed FAITHFULNESS is a virtue that we should all possess to remain a strong and an unmovable servant of the Lord!

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL WHO RECEIVED AN AWARD!!! YOU TRULY DESERVED THEM !!! MAY THE LORD REWARD YOUR FAITHFULNESS !!!

After the event, of course the day won't be complete without picture taking. Here are some of the pictures I have taken from my camera. More will follow in the coming days. . . . ..


Pastor Aldrin and Monette Navo


With Bishop Bro. Eddie Villanueva


JIL Canada Pastors & Delegates with ECV & DJV


JIL Canada Pastors & Delegates with Congressman Joel Villanueva


JIL Canada Pastors & Delegates with Bro. Sherwin & Sis. Joni Villanueva-Tugna


With the JIL Europe Pastors & Delegates


With the JIL Northern Europe Pastors

JIL 30TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION - October 5, 2008 / Manila Philippines

Finally, we are back in Vancouver last October 14 after a two-week trip in Manila, Philippines to attend the celebration of JIL’s 30th Pearl Anniversary and the other activities related to it.

Pastor Aldrin and I left Vancouver last September 28th at 11:50 p.m. together with Pastor Malou Quilitis and Pastor Raymund Dagampat via Philippine Airlines flight 107. We also met the other Canada Pastors from JIL Alberta at Vancouver airport - Pastor Ana Anada with Bro. Andy and kids, Pastor Rene Tibay and Pastor Edith Catayong. We arrived in Manila on September 30th at 5:00 a.m.

Pastor Aldrin had to attend a series of meetings from October 1 – 3. He also had the opportunity to become one of the panellists for “Diyos At Bayan” TV show at QTV 11 hosted by Bishop Eddie Villanueva and Ms. Kata Inocencio. His co-panellists were Pastor Edgar Valdoria (Director for Asia & Micronesia Operations), Pastor Arnel Aquino (JIL San Diego, USA) and Sis. Amor Adela (one of the JIL pioneers in PUP). They discussed about the 30 years of the JIL Church, how it grew from 15 students to more than 10,000 churches all over the world as of this time.

A General Rehearsal was set on Luneta Grandstand on October 4, Saturday,at 5:00 p.m., a day before the 30th Anniversary Celebration. But even before the rehearsal started, strong winds came and rain started pouring out at around 4:00 p.m. that broke the initial set-up done by the Physical Preparation and Technical Committees. But after two hours or so, the winds and rain stopped, and everything was put back in order. The rehearsal pushed through at around 7 p.m. Most of the International Pastors coming from different countries were able to attend and fellowship with one another. Bishop Eddie & Sis. Dory Villanueva were also present and greeted everyone with a warm welcome.

I was not able to take pictures during the Anniversary because we were seated at the backstage. But I found some posts in YouTube posted by JIL members that will give you a glimpse of what happened during the 30th Anniversary celebration. Please allow me to share them to you . . . .





JIL 30TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION

Even though it was raining in other parts of Metro Manila on the day of October 5, the Lord gave us a very good and perfect weather at Luneta Grandstand, it was cloudy but no rain. It was really a grand, glorious and victorious event attended by JIL Pastors and members from all over the Philippines (Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao) and all over the world. Presently, the JIL Church exists in 42 countries around the globe with a total of 10,000 Churches.

The celebration started at 4:30 p.m. with the Praise & Worship led by the Musikatha Team headed by Sis. Edith Mendoza. If you want to view the full coverage of this celebration, just log on to www.jilworldwide.org and watch the archived video streaming on-line. At the beginning of the program, a parade was held showcasing the JIL Chapters all over Metro Manila, in the provinces and all over the world. While the parade was being held, the song “Lord, You Are Good” was sung by the Musikatha Team in different dialects and languages. It was very encouraging to see all the JIL Pastors representing their own Churches, Areas and Regions and the flags of the different countries raised, waved and paraded to declare that JESUS IS LORD ALL OVER THE PHILIPPINES AND ALL OVER WORLD!!!

It was also a touching moment when Congressman Joel Villanueva asked all the JIL Pastors to stand up and acknowledged all their labours and sacrifices for the ministry of the Lord. Many Pastors were teary-eyed as the congregation clapped their hands in praise to God in honor to the mighty servants of the Lord.

An AVP featuring the song “Ilaan Mo”, sung by Gary Valenciano, was shown to present the Compassion Ministry of the JIL Church through its I-CARE Ministry. Dr. Dory Villanueva, the Executive Director of JIL Church, now heads the I-CARE Ministry. The AVP showed the different activities and outreach programs done by our I-CARE Ministry in the past and at present. The I-CARE Ministry is the humanitarian arm of the JIL Church for social responsibility and to minister to the needs of the Filipino people.

The JIL Church also honoured and gave tribute to two great evangelists of our times, Dr. Greg Tingson, known as the ``Billy Graham of Asia``, and Dr. Pat Robertson, founder of Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) for their evangelistic efforts and achievements in the proliferation of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ around the world.

Bishop Eddie Villanueva stressed out the significance of 30 years in the lives of some Biblical characters. Jesus started his earthly ministry when he was 30 years old. David was crowned as king of Israel when he was 30 years old. Joseph became the governor of Egypt when he was 30 years old. Now that the JIL Church reached its 30 years, it has come up to its full maturity and is now ready to take on greater challenges and do greater things in order to hasten the evangelization of the whole world before the Lord Jesus Christ comes.

In relation to our theme, ``ALL PEOPLES WORSHIP HIS MAJESTY``, a parade of nations was done at the culmination of the program with the students of the JIL Christian School paraded wearing the national costumes of the different nations of the world with their national flags while the song "We Speak to Nations" is being sung by the Musikatha Team. After this, Bishop Eddie prayed a prophetic prayer for all the nations of the world and declared "Arise shine, for thy light has come and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you."




A prayer for all the nations of the world was uttered as each one stretched forth their hands to pray for the globe. In this prophetic prayer, Bishop Eddie mandated the JIL Church to reach ALL the nations of the world with the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and to establish a JIL Church in all these nations. This prayer has really made an impact in my heart when I heard it because, right now, the JIL Church is present in only 42 countries and according to the United Nations, there are 192 nations in the world, so this means that we still need to reach the 150 nations in the next years to come. There is still so much work to be done. . . We are just beginning . . . . . . .




The celebration ended with a Victory Praise Celebration as magnificent fireworks lit the skies in front of Luneta Grandstand. The people who graced the event remained until the end of the celebration even though it ended around 11 p.m. Everybody was excited and renewed in their spirits to continue the next years of the JIL Church until the Lord Jesus Christ comes. It was indeed a glorious celebration!



Congratulations to the JIL Leadership for the success of our 30th Anniversary Celebration! ALL GLORY, HONOR, THANKSGIVING AND PRAISE BELONGS TO OUR GOD!!! HAPPY 30TH ANNIVERSARY JIL CHURCH !!!