Doing Mission In Your School: A Framework for Mission

Acts 1:8, Titus 2:7-8, John 15:1-2, 8

Good morning. Two weeks ago Pastor June opened our mission month and challenged us to have

new eyes for mission. Last week, Ate Mimi Ortega continued this and shared with us how to do

mission in our home. Today, as I fulfill the challenge, I will try to share with you new

perspectives in doing mission in school. Then, next week, Kuya James Mante will go on to meet

our goal and talk about doing mission in your workplace.

Manalangin po tayo. Panginoon gamitin po ninyo ang inyong lingkod at nawa’y ang aking

paghahayag ng inyong salita ay maging kalugod-lugod sa inyo. Amen.

This sermon proposes a framework for mission that might help us become effective witnesses

and produce more fruit. I will discuss the basis for the framework and how it was formed, then

share my own experiences on doing mission in school.

Let us now look at this proposed Framework for Mission; we can also call this “A Framework

for Glorifying Jesus Christ through Witnessing.”

Framework for Mission/ Framework for Glorifying Jesus Christ through Witnessing

One of the most important tasks of Christians is to please and give glory to God. John 15:8 says,

This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

Among several acts to please and give glory to Him, this verse is about producing more fruit, the

meaning of which is not limited to only one. According to NLT Life Application Study Bible,

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producing fruit can be winning a soul, an answered prayer, joy, and love. One of the ways to do

this is witnessing for the Lord. Jesus says in Acts 1:8b, “...you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem,

and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Does this mean that everyone here

today can go out and start doing mission? Or should we assess ourselves first to see if we are

already qualified and ready to go to the mission field?

When Jesus told his disciples to be His witnesses in Acts 1:8, the disciples had already

undergone intensive training, studying, and working with Jesus. Moreover, they also witnessed a

lot of miracles while with Him. Thus, the disciples were not inexperienced but can be considered

as trained missionaries. Witnesses should also undergo training or education before going out to

the field. Moreover, their mission is very powerful because it is spirit-led. Jesus says in Acts

1:8a, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you...”

Allow me now to present the four stages that we will use in the framework: Stage 1 - eye

opener/support, Stage 2 - preparation, Stage 3 - application, Stage 4 - result. Let me discuss

them one by one. Please take note that I will be using the term ‘recipient’ when referring to the

one who is ministered or trained, and the word ‘witness’ if I am referring to the missionary or the

one who is conducting the work or training.

Stage 1 is where a witness witnesses for the Lord (see Figure I). The venue of this stage can be

anywhere: at home, in school, in the workplace, within the community, in church, or wherever a

witness is placed. Encouragement, showing of love and concern, and introducing someone to

Christianity and convincing the recipient to accept Jesus as his/her Lord and Savior are among

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Figure 1. A witness witnessing for the Lord

Witness

Stage 1
Eye Opener/
Support

Recipient/
Non-believer
Anywhere

the primary tasks of the witness at this stage. It is important to take note that the witness must be

credible. According to our longtime member here in NCUC, Justice Wenceslao Agnir, in our

conversation last Sunday: “A witness must have integrity, honesty in order to be credible. A

witness who is not credible will not be believed by the court/by the judge. He must have

credibility. Aside from that, what he must say must also be credible.” Justice also adds,

“Witnessing in court is comparable to witnessing for Christ in a sense because they should both

be telling the truth.” We cannot work in Stage 1 if we are not a credible witness for Christ. Para

ka ring isang sales agent dito. Halimbawa: Bebentahan ko kayo ng breath freshener at sasabihin

kong “napaka epektibo nito mga kapatid at madalas ko itong ginagamit,” pero wala pang isang

minuto na kayo ay kinukumbinsi ko ay halos mahimatay na kayo sa baho ng hininga ko. Bibili ba

kayo sa akin? Maniniwala ba kayo na effective ang testimonya ko sa aking produkto?

Witnessing needs credible witnesses. Titus 2:7-8 says, In everything set them an example by

doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness and soundness of speech that

cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing

bad to say about us. Hence, credibility is a very important qualification to become an effective

missionary.

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The next stage is preparation and training of the recipients (see Figure II). The usual venue for

Stage 2 is the church as most recipients here have already accepted Christ. The recipients must

be trained by spirit-led and credible witnesses (this includes pastors and elders). Witnesses,

especially witnessing in Stage 2, should regularly check the standard or qualification mentioned

in the Bible to maintain his/her credibility as a witness. For instance, an elder should follow the

qualification mentioned by Paul in Titus 1:5-9 and 1 Timothy 3:1-7, and other workers must be

reminded of the qualities of the missionaries in the church in Antioch mentioned in Acts 13.

Joining activities such as Bible studies, Sunday schools, camps, mentoring programs, trainings,

mission trips, among others, are some of the useful preparations of the recipients to become

qualified witnesses. With the leading of the Holy Spirit, a trained and credible witness can enter

his/her Stage 3 (see Figure III) and start witnessing to a new recipient in Stage 1 (see Figure IV).

A person’s Stage 2 as a recipient and Stage 3 as a witness can happen at the same time. While a

person is undergoing advanced studies and training, he/she may start witnessing. In church, this

is ideal, as qualified witnesses must continually learn from their pastors, elders and mentors

while witnessing in Stage 1 and Stage 2 (see Figure V). The best example is our youth Sunday

school teachers; they are starting to be witnesses to their students (or to the kids) while still

improving their skills in teaching and ministering.

The last stage or Stage 4 is where the witness starts to produce fruit (see Figure VI). What do you

think? Is there a possibility that a witness in Stage 3 won’t be able to proceed to Stage 4 (see

Figure VII)? I remember a sermon by Pastor Ed Lapiz where he said: “Bakit may mga missions

na para bang nilalangaw at di nagkiclick at kinalaunan ay sinasara?” Yes, it is possible that a

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witness’ mission won’t produce any fruit and he/she may not arrive in Stage 4. The main reason

is: the mission is not spirit-led.

Figure II. Recipient’s Stage 2 Figure III. Recipient’s Stage 3

Trained and Trained and

Spirit-lead Spirit-lead
Witness Witness

Stage 1 Stage 1 Stage 2

Stage 2 Eye Opener/ Stage 3
Eye Opener/
Preparation Preparation
Support Support Application
Recipient/ Recipient/
Recipient/ Recipient/ Witnessing
Believer Believer
Non-believer Non-believer

Anywhere Church Anywhere Church

Figure IV. Recipient enters witnessing/Stage 3 Figure V. A witness is learning (witness’ Stage 2)
while witnessing in a new recipient’s Stage 1 and 2
Witness Witness

Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 1 Stage 2

Eye Opener/ Stage 3 Eye Opener/ Stage 3
Preparation Preparation
Support Application Support Application
Recipient/ Recipient/
Recipient/ Witnessing Recipient/ Witnessing
Believer Believer
Non-believer Non-believer

Stage 1 Stage 1 Stage 2

Eye Opener/ Eye Opener/ Preparation
Support Support
Recipient/
Recipient/ Recipient/ Believer
Non-believer Non-believer

Even with trainings, education, credibility building, and others, this proposed framework for

mission is powerless or will not work without the Holy Spirit. “Not by might nor by power, but

by my Spirit,’ says the LORD Almighty” in Zachariah 4:6. Thus, to be able to succeed and

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Figure VI. Witness enters Stage 4 Figure VII. Witnessing without fruit?

Witness Witness

Stage 1 Stage 1
Stage 2 Stage 4 Stage 2
Stage 3 Eye Opener/ Stage 3

?
Eye Opener/ Preparation
Preparation Result Support Application
Support Application
Recipient/ Producing Recipient/
Recipient/ Witnessing Recipient/ Witnessing
Believer Fruit Believer
Non-believer Non-believer

Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 1 Stage 2

Eye Opener/ Preparation Eye Opener/ Preparation
Support Support
Recipient/ Recipient/
Recipient/ Believer Recipient/ Believer
Non-believer Non-believer

Figure VIII. Witnessing without the Holy Spirit Figure IX. Ideal Framework for Mission

Witness Witness

Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 1

Eye Opener/ Stage 3 Stage 2 Stage 3 Stage 4

?
Preparation Eye Opener/
Support Application Preparation Result
Support Application
Recipient/ Recipient/ Producing
Recipient/ Witnessing Recipient/ Witnessing
Believer Believer Fruit
Non-believer Non-believer

Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 4

Eye Opener/ Preparation Eye Opener/ Stage 3
Preparation Result
Support Support Application
Recipient/ Recipient/ Producing
Recipient/ Recipient/ Witnessing
Believer Believer Fruit
Non-believer Non-believer

produce fruit, we, the church, must pray for the Holy Spirit to be with us always as we do our

mission wherever we are placed (see Figure IX).

Doing Mission in your School

At this moment, allow me to share my mission experience in school. To better explain my points,

I’ll be using the framework for mission I discussed earlier.

Today, I am still in Stage 2 as a recipient and, at the same time, in Stage 3 as a witness. I am

doing my very best, through the help of the Holy Spirit, to arrive at Stage 4 and produce more

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fruit. Before I arrived in Stage 2 as a recipient, my Christians parents, together with my two older

sisters, were my witnesses in my Stage 1. They were the ones who introduced Christ to me and

taught me what is right or wrong. Our house in Laguna is more than 10 kms away from our

church in UCCP Disciples, San Pablo. During that time, you need to ride a jeepney and pass a

three-kilometer dirt road before you can reach our church. My parents made sure that every

Sunday we were always in church. Naalala ko pa po na palaging may dala kaming malalaking

panyo sa jeep tuwing Linggo na itinataklob namin sa aming mga mukha o buong ulo tuwing

dumadaan sa tatlong kilometrong maalikabok na kalsada kasi kung wala ay parang espasol na

ang aming mga ulo pagdating sa simbahan. Moreover, my memories when I was a small kid in

Sunday school, Christmas programs, VCS, and my mother’s brown ‘tithes wallet’ are all still

fresh in my mind until now. I am very blessed to have spirit-led witnesses who trained me in

Stage 1 and prepared me for the next stage.

Our local church in San Pablo, through its ministries and programs, became very significant in

preparing me to become a witness and enter my Stage 3. When Lani and I got married in 2005,

we started to attend worship services here in NCUC. We are so blessed to have friends in CYAF

and became part of the young couples cell group, which was then led by Kuya Ivan and Ate Jaja

Gubuan, who supported and trained us to become G-group leaders. In 2009, I had to leave

NCUC for my graduate school studies abroad while Lani and six-month old Isys went back to

Laguna to live there while I was away for two years. My first year in the US did not go

smoothly. Homesickness, and emotional and financial problems were among the hardships I

experienced while studying there. I already shared this here in NCUC in detail during my sermon

in our baccalaureate Sunday last April 2013. As I mentioned then, this is the time when the Lord

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pruned me to produce more fruit later on. In John 15:1-2, the Lord says, “I am the true

grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce

fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more.

During my second year in the US, I became part of a school-based Christian ministry that caters

to the need of international students in our school. They help provide a lot of things such as

fetching students at the airport, looking for host families, giving rides especially during winter

time, helping students move in and move out to and from their dorms and apartments, providing

furniture and other needs, helping to edit papers, and conducting bible studies, among others. I

was first a beneficiary of their mission and was later on invited to become part of their leadership

team and do mission. During that time, all the members of the leadership team were all

Americans (some were church workers, professionals, and students) and I was the only foreign

student in the team. I learned a lot from this group as this was my first experience in doing

mission in a school. More importantly, because I was dealing with different people (locals and

foreigners from different parts of the world), the experience opened my eyes to see different

views and understand how to do effective mission with cultural considerations. The leadership

team members became the witnesses in my Stage 2 who taught, nurtured, trained, and prayed for

me while joining them in Stage 3 as witnesses.

In 2011, I came back home and resumed teaching in UP. The experience from my mission

abroad became very useful to continue my Stage 3 in UP. At this point, I want to share my Stage

4 and present to you the testimonies of the people whom the Lord assigned to me. In our home, it

is my daughter. Kuya Jonaf once shared with the choir: “Ako ay nabi-bless kapag sinasabi ni

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Isys na siya ang number 4 sa pamilya nila kasi si Lord ang no. 1, si daddy niya ang no. 2, at si

mommy niya ang no. 3. In our community, it is our neighbours in Laguna. In 2011, when we had

not transferred back to Quezon City yet, we started leading a G-group in the house of a non-

Christian couple, Erwin and Minie. Until now, they are still sharing testimonies with us and

asking for prayers. As a matter of fact, just recently, she asked Lani to pray for her father with

stage 3 cancer. Lani forwarded her concern to the NCUC prayer committee which prayed for her

father. After her father’s surgical treatment, she texted us again, thanked us for the prayers and

said that she is very grateful to God that her father is now cancer-free. In this church, pakitanong

na lang po sa choir at sa young couples G-group kung naka Stage 4 na kami sa kanila. Although

we are already practicing our Stage 3 here and outside the church, we are still learning and

benefiting from the mentorship program of our church, we are still Stage 2 recipients. Lani and I

are so blessed to be members of the NCUC Worship Committee and to be mentored by Tita

Loree Mante and Ma’am Lenette Mirano.

Lastly, my current mission in UP. I will let the recipients tell their testimonies as I read them to

you. Because I don’t have enough time to read all the details in their testimonies, I will only read

a few lines.

When I asked Jose, one of my guitar students who is a very nervous person, what he did to

perform very well so as to get a high grade in the panel exam. He said, “Sir ini-apply ko lang

yung sinabi nyo na ‘kapag tumugtog, si Lord lang dapat ang isiping ipi-please’ kaya hindi po

ako man lang kinabahan at natakot. Hindi ko na inisip yung grade na makukuha ko, at yung mga

panel. Basta ang inisip ko lang ay tugtugan si Lord.”

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Another guitar student of mine, Allyson, who experienced challenges in her life as a working

student and a parent, wrote: “Several months ago, I was at that point in my life when all the things I have been busy about were

already weighing me down and I felt I had to find myself and my purpose. I had a silent wish in my heart that I be given the opportunity to work

in UP as a full-time employee, not only for my career advancement, but also for my children's future. I never verbalized my wish but my

restlessness was manifested in my academic output for the subjects I was enrolled in. I couldn't find meaning in the nature o f my part-time job

and it had become a struggle to report for work as the days went by. Slowly, I began to drop everything I felt was unnecessar y in my life. I spent

more time with my kids and took care of the family more. Then one night in June, as I was doing my routine checking of my social media account

and email, I received the answer to my silent wish. I was being asked to report to the Department of Hotel, Restaurant and In stitution

Management for an interview and demo-lecture. The post was for a full-time UP Instructor. Was this serendipity or His answer to my silent

prayer? I believe it is the latter. As I reflected, I was reminded of what my mentor in Guitar, Sir Nathan,

once told me. He said that once we decide to leave the unnecessary baggage in our lives and

follow our Father, we will surely be led to our destiny (God’s will). With everything that has

unfolded in my life recently, I must say, it is He who knows what is best for His flock, and He

knows the perfect timing for everything.

Eman, a guitarist and a colleague in my department, and a friend since we were still students,

mentioned, “Isa sa natutunan ko pag nag iisa at malayo sa mga magulang ay pakikisama sa iba. Ang pagkaibigan ay isa sa paraan ko

para sandaling makalimutan ang lungkot na naramdaman tulad ng problema sa buhay at suliranin na dinadala sa araw-araw. Ang pagkaibigan

ay minsan ay nagdadala ng kasiyahan sa oras na ako’y nangingilangan ng kausap. Ngunit, sa isang banda, hindi lahat ng naging kaibigan ko ay

tinuturo ako sa tamang landas. Minsan, na walang kamalay-malay, ay hinahatak na ako sa mga bagay ng na walang patutunguhan, o sa

kasamaan. Mga bagay na minsan ay nararamdaman ko na nawala na ang tunay na kahulugan sa mga ginagawa ko. Ako ay isang guro;

gumagabay sa mga estudyante. Ngunit ang pagiging guro ay kailangan din may gumagabay minsan-Ika nga sa kasabihan “tao lang”. Sa dami

kong naging kaibigan, iilan lang ang pagkatiwalaan. At mabibilang lang sila sa daliri ko sa kanang kamay, at isa sa kanila ay si Nathan.

Nakilala ko si Nathan nung unang pagpasok ko sa kolehiyo nung 1998. Ngayon kasamahan ko sya sa pagtuturo sa kolehiyo. Sya ay naging

kaibigan ko na hinahangaan ko palagi- sa paggamit ng tamang pananalita, sa pakikipag-usap sa mga tao, sa pag-aayos ng gamit, pagtuturo sa

estudyante, sa pagtugtog ng gitara, at sa pakikipag-ugnayan nya sa Simbahan at lalo sa Diyos Ama. Magkwento man sya sayo o hindi,

mapapansin mo sa mga kilos pa lang nya ay itinutulak ka na sa tamang direksyon. At minsan nagugulat ako sa sarili ko na nakayanan ko mga

bagay na akala ko hindi ko malampasan, at ito ay dahil sa mga payo at tulong ni Nathan. Ang isang sa mga payo nya na hindi ko makalimutan

“kung ang tugtog mo ay para magpa-impress sa tao, kahit anong galing mo pa ay laging may kritiko. Pero ang pagtugtog mo ay para sa Dyos,

may mga biyaya kang pang matatanggap”. Sa madaling salita, si Nathan ay isang kaibigan na ginagabayan ako sa

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tamang daan at nagbibigay ng inspirasyon hindi lang sa salita, kundi sa gawa din; at lalo

naging instrumento sya sa aking pagkapit sa pananampalataya sa Diyos sa kahit anong

hadlang man ang naranasan at mararanasan.

Ashleigh, a violinist who graduated recently and became a mother unexpectedly during the

course of her studies, said, “I'm Ashleigh Cristobal, presently taking up my second degree in the UP College of Human Kinetics. I

was a student in the College of Music from 2008 up to 2014. In 2009, I received an unexpected gift from God, a daughter. Beca use of this added

responsibility, my studies were very much affected. On my last year in UP College of Music, Sir Nathan was

then appointed to become the new Strings department chairperson. For me, he was a blessing

in disguise. Because of his passion as an educator and his care for us, his students, he was

able to guide and help me through my auditions and, finally, my recital. He was an instrument

of God's grace for me to finally finish my program in the college. The guidance and advice he

gave me during the time I was deciding whether to continue or venture into another course

really means a lot to me. I think his mission in helping the students of our department is really

special and I believe he has not only helped me, through God's love, but also my peers and

other young musicians as well. To God be the glory!

Let us pray. Lord, thank you for guiding us while doing our mission in our school: as teachers, as

students, as classmates, as administrators, and as co-workers, among other roles. We are praying

that after this mission month, our church, NCUC will have new eyes for mission and become

witnesses in Stage 1: in our home, school, workplace, community, church, or wherever we are

placed. We are also asking for the Holy Spirit to lead this church in planning and executing

mission projects: or doing our Stage 2 and 3. I personally pray that everyone in this church will

target to arrive in Stage 4: producing more fruit to give glory to Your name. And lastly, if anyone

here who has not yet received Jesus Christ as his or her personal savior, please join me in this

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prayer and repeat after me. Jesus, I am inviting you to come inside my heart and I am accepting

you to be my Lord and Savior starting today.

Thank you, Jesus. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Location: National City United Church UCCP, Times St., West Triangle Homes, Quezon City
Event: Mission Month
Date and Time: August 16, 2015, 7:30 A.M., 10:30 A.M., and 6:00 P.M.
Theme: “New Eyes for Mission: Doing Mission Wherever You Are Placed”
Speaker: Nathan Neil V. Manimtim
Title of Message: “Doing Mission In Your School: A Framework for Mission”
Scripture Reference: Acts 1:8, Titus 2:7-8, John 15:1-2, 8

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