Genesis Elechicon, 2019, Philippines
As a pastor’s son, I was raised in a Christian community. I grew up seeing my whole family serving the Lord. At the age of 7, I, too, started serving in the church’s music team. My father started the church after graduating from Bible school in 1985 under the management of the Assemblies of God. Being the pioneering pastor in a town in Sarangani province was challenging since there was not much financial support. Not only that, my father also faced a lot of ups and downs in the ministry. Despite the circumstances, he chose to trust God to take care of the ministry and especially the needs of our family. God is truly good; both my brother and I have finished college and graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Nursing.
After witnessing how hard it is to pastor a church, it was never my desire to become a pastor like my father. I was afraid to go through the same difficulties he had been through. So, after I have graduated, I decided to pursue my profession overseas. My focus was to earn more money and to save up for the future. So in 2015, I came to Singapore to work as a nurse. However, after 10 months, I had to resign and head back to the Philippines as my home church was faced with an emergency. 34 church members and their parents were heading to the beach for a water baptism ceremony when they encountered a huge accident. 1 died and 33 were severely injured. With the nursing skill and knowledge that I possessed, I knew I was able to contribute and provide further medical assistance to the injured members and their parents. After this episode, I felt convicted in my heart to stay and help my aging father in the church. However, I was too terrified and chose to ignore what God had placed in my heart.
Once the situation stabilised, I went ahead to apply for a nursing job in Germany since the renumeration package was attractive. I got accepted and started to process the paper work required by the agency. I even took a course to study the German language. However, God’s ways are always higher than man’s ways. During an encounter with God, I had a revelation about the life of Jonah. I knew that no matter how hard I strived, I wouldn’t prosper if I chose not to answer the call of God. This time, I surrendered all of my pride, fears and doubts to Him and believed that God had a better plan for me (Jeremiah 29:11-12). My parents were so happy when I decided to stay and help them in church.
Seeking and fellowshipping with God must always come before the ministry. I realised when I sought His Kingdom first (Matthew 6:33), supernatural manifestations happened in the church. There were healings, deliverances and people falling under the power of the Holy Spirit. In order to be trained and equipped to serve the Kingdom of God, I was given the opportunity to study at City Harvest School of Theology (SOT) in 2019. It was an amazing experience. Not only were the lecturers passionate in teaching the Word of God, they also taught us how to develop a strong spiritual foundation in our walk with Christ. I made many good friends and supportive classmates. During the graduation ceremony, I also awarded the “Best Attendance Award” and the “Best Team Award”.
Best Attendance Award, SOT Graduation 2019
After my graduation, I went back to my church and applied all that I had learnt from SOT. I also felt blessed beyond words when my classmates from Singapore came to visit me in Gensan to support my ministry. After I took over the role as the head pastor in the church, my father and my family were able to focus on other churches that my father had planted over the years.
During the initial COVID-19 outbreak, I also felt the urgency to serve the country and my countrymen for such a time as this. So, when I was offered a position as head nurse in the operating room, I accepted the offer. It was the best opportunity for me to minister and help others through my profession and to pray for the sick and needy at my workplace. Very often, I would grab the opportunity to share the love of Jesus with my patients. Many accepted Jesus as their personal Lord and Saviour. I want to thank God for giving me favour with the hospital management. Not only were they able to schedule my duties in such a way that it didn’t coincide with my ministry, I was also given a higher salary package than most of the other hospitals in the Philippines. In 2021, I got married to a beautiful wife named Christine Marie. We welcomed our son earlier on this January, and we are looking forward to a new adventure as parents!
I have learnt that in all things, we need to seek God first. You may be afraid and want to run away from His call; but if you choose Him, He will lead you through—and everything that you need shall be added unto you.