QPU2-Q3-2021

Since the beginning of the pandemic, church activity has been highly unpredictable, as the rules have changed from month to month. Church gatherings were banned early on, and that presented serious challenges to us. In heart and mind, “staying on mission” has remained a constant; but in practical ways, it’s not as simple. Gatherings had been a main thing for a long time!

But challenges like these force us to reconsider the way we have been doing things, and lead us (if we are open and willing) to see “new things” (Isaiah 43:19) and adjust. One of the new things we have explored is utilizing social media for evangelism, worship services, leadership training, and even our “Be One Make One” discipleship. On occasion even our house churches have been able to “gather” online.

And speaking of house churches: the growth of these has become organic and spontaneous! Our home-based churches are giving birth to new churches rapidly. Even before the more recent phase of lockdowns, we had watched the growth of our home-based churches grow from 50 to 114, and we recently baptized 71 new believers! Praise God!

One of these new believers is Marielle. Her family was devoutly Mormon, and she was a Sunday school teacher in her church. Her profession as a marketing specialist led her to Frontline, as she was hired to coordinate a fundraising concert in 2019. During that time she formed several enduring friendships with people at Frontline, and in her own words, she “sensed something genuinely different about the spirit of love within this community of believers.” This touched her so much, and it led her into prayer, and seeking God more personally. This eventually led her to a life-changing decision to go “all-in” as a Christ follower. One day she came and asked to be baptized as a Christian! So at a nearby resort Pastor Max and some friends baptized her as a disciple of Jesus. Tears streamed down her face as she shared the joy she felt in her soul. Of course, she faced much persecution from family members and former friends, but she knows she is now where she belongs.

Max Beloso Director of Church Planting

In March of 2020, my wife and I exited the Philippines upon the Canadian government's advice to its citizens abroad. The day is still vivid in my mind – it felt like we were fleeing a war. We have since been “at a distance”, longing for the day when the border reopens. We have watched as society appears to fracture. Friends and family turn on each other as we grope to understand what is happening.

Yet, in spite of all this, and our being “at a distance”, the Compassion ministry of Frontline continues to minister to the abused, abandoned, hungry, and sick.

Within Face the Children (FTC) we have faced numerous challenges, and have had to double our efforts to cope with the continuing crisis. Our children and staff have received much-needed counselling from a professional Christian counselor.

Our staff have also attended more training specific to our current needs.

In the past few months, we have taken in 3 new children. Cornelito, 9, and Keren, 6, are siblings.

Their mother is a street dweller whose health had rapidly deteriorated, leaving the children to fend for themselves. Cornelito had been working on the streets since he was 6, carrying goods and fish for market vendors, in order to earn a living. Today, they are happily with us at FTC, and have enrolled in Frontline Christian Academy; their first time ever in school.

Jonah is the newest member of our FTC family. Born prematurely at 4.4 lbs, he was abandoned in the hospital at birth.

Babies need constant time and attention, but God has given Jonah to us, and a family with the Frontline community has taken him in to nurture him.

As part of our community outreach, House Parent Ruth continues to lead 2 feeding programs. These programs, along with the others we conduct around the city, are welcome blessings to many families who have lost jobs due to quarantine restrictions and are living in extreme poverty. Unfortunately, these programs will soon run out of funds; but we are praying for provision.

Our hospital ministry has continued to provide medical and financial assistance to those who need it most. A kind benefactor has sponsored much of this budget– this year alone we have donated approx. P920,000 pesos ($US 18,500) to the health needs of the poor.

As for Connie and I, we remain “at a distance.” We are thankful for the ability to video chat, but it doesn’t replace face-to-face. Personally, I feel somewhat out of sync.

My day begins at 4 AM to connect with my team in the Philippines. At 7 AM, my Canadian work day begins. Currently, we live and work on the grounds of a Bible camp. Once the work day ends, I’m back online to connect with FTC. We ask that you help us pray for the door to open for us to return to the Philippines. It is our heart's desire.

I want to take this opportunity to thank you for your continued support to children, the hungry and the sick. Much of our success is a direct result of you. Thank you.

Michael Gordon
Director of Compassion Ministries

One of my mom’s favorite Scriptures is, “make the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.” (Eph. 5:16). Evil is real. But if we focus too much on what’s wrong in our world, we might miss out on seeing and acting on opportunities.

At Frontline Christian Academy we’ve had no shortage of negative things to focus on these past couple years. Operating in a third world country full of poverty, corruption, and many who refuse to question systemic evil has been especially difficult for me personally. To this day government regulations prohibit those under 16 from leaving their homes, and of course that means schools are still closed. And while it seems much of the world has been re-opening and waking up, here it feels we are left groping around in darkness and uncertainty.

As you know we’ve lost students because of Covid. Our construction projects have been terribly disrupted. And though we’ve worked hard at transitioning and serving our students through online learning, doing so with such an unreliable internet system makes it all the more challenging.

But by God’s grace we see things to be thankful for. We are thankful for God’s faithfulness; because of caring partners, we’ve been able to keep paying our mortgage payments.

And we’re blessed that our teachers are still employed, and that at least they (and all our staff) can use our new school facility. Recently a donor bought all the computer units our teachers needed to do online classes more effectively. And since our online classes are usually half-day, our school staff have been able to spend more time together studying God’s Word, growing spiritually and emotionally. As a result, our team is stronger and more united than ever. Praise God!

And we are also discovering new opportunities. God has been working in my life personally, in our staff, and throughout Frontline, helping us see new ways of meeting needs in these confusing times. People are struggling, scared, confused, and searching for stability and truth; all of which can be found in our unchanging Rock and Savior Jesus Christ. So the opportunity to share the truth and hope of Christ has actually increased.

In the midst of all this we have also seen an opportunity for growth in terms of reach, effectiveness, and impact. For example, we’ve seen a need to go beyond the academics and spiritual development of students, to include ministry to our student’s families as well. So recently we launched our Parenting Peer Groups, bi-monthly meetings with the parents for spiritual encouragement, friendship, prayer, and to learn more about Godly parenting.

And we will now make this a permanent part of our Christian educational offer.

This also led us to partner with a Christian counsellor who has committed to provide counseling sessions for our students, and the parents as well. (Parental counseling depends on our financial capacity. So we are praying for financial capacity/provision).

And then, there’s the government’s plan of a gradual return to “hybrid” classes, where face-to-face classes are limited, and online classes remain always available. So, we see this also as an opportunity, and look forward to expanding FCA’s reach, meeting the needs of more students and their families with a holistic, caring, Christian education even beyond our city.

So we are grateful and thankful that “in these evil days” God is showing us that we are here “for such a time as this.” And that, although He has never promised we can avoid hardships and trials, He HAS promised to never leave or forsake us. We know that if we keep our eyes on Jesus, we will see amazing opportunities to meet needs and help people find their way back to God, and for that we are thankful.

And we thank you for walking with us on this journey. Thank you for your support in prayer and in finances. We pray in return that the Lord will bless you abundantly!

Rhoda Lynn Pessina-Dayo
Director of Education

It has been another difficult and interesting year, and trying to get our social enterprise work back to normal operations continues to be a challenge.

Our aim remains the same: to generate revenues to sustain and grow the mission of Frontline, which is reaching and helping people find their way back to God. We are helping people, and many of our employees have become Christ-followers. Providing jobs to people in need is in itself meeting the mission of Frontline. It’s a win and a great joy.

At Frontline Business Solutions (FBS), it has been easier to function since the work is primarily internet-based. Our office has remained mostly open, but government restrictions are ever-changing, requiring us to shuffle between working from home or from the office.

Despite the craziness of this, the employees have continued to perform exceptionally well, and we are very proud of our team.

At Frontline Threadworks (FTW), operations have been far more unstable. Our main source of business has always been school uniforms. But since all schools were closed (and still are) we have had to look for other kinds of work.

We are grateful that throughout 2021 we have been mostly “up and running.” And though the new work orders we have secured have been largely “break-even” jobs, providing very little profit, we are keeping our heads above water and ––more importantly–– keeping 50 workers employed. But we do need to see improvements. As you know, we’ve been blessed with a brand new building.

And while we are grateful that it has a much larger capacity (for 180 workers), we had to acquire a loan for the construction. So, meeting the loan payments is a serious financial challenge we face.

We would appreciate prayers in three areas:
1) For wisdom in continuing to run FBS and FTW the way God wants us to.
2) For new partners and clients that are caring, fair and generous.
3) Finances to cover the loan payments due this coming December.

We are looking to God, the owner of all things (including our businesses). And we’re hopeful things will turn around soon so we can continue blessing more people in need through Christian business.

Jeff Pessina
Founding Director