Joel Rosenberg

As a congregation, CCF was encouraged to heed a prayer battle cry at the start of the year: “Oh that You would bless me indeed and enlarge my border, and that your hand might be with me, and that you would keep me from harm that it may not pain me!” (1 Chronicles 4:10, NASB)

After the annual weeklong prayer and fasting week, an “expansion of borders” took place indeed as the church welcomed New York Times’ best-selling author, Joel Rosenberg, and his team for a full week of activities – the first ever Epicenter (Asian) Conference.

Upon his arrival, Joel wrote in his blog how devastated he felt for the major quake in Haiti, while recognizing, at the same time that we, Filipinos, have recently been shaken by similar catastrophes (typhoons, impending Mayon eruption) – and then segued into, what all these meant in light of what the Bible says about the end of days. This was, in fact, the general theme of the entire conference itself.

First off, Joel Rosenberg with his team and CCF’s went to Malacañang for a luncheon with Her Excellency, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and the palace officials. Pastor Ray Bentley from the Maranatha Chapel in San Diego, California, thanked the president for the Philippines’ ties with the US and its battle against radical Islam. Israeli Pastor David Ortiz thanked the president for the historic friendship between the Philippines, the Jewish people and the state of Israel. Joel, during the meeting, explained that the Philippines helped fulfill Bible prophecy after voting for the creation of the modern state of Israel during the Partition Plan in the United Nations in November 29, 1947. The team had an opportunity to share the gospel to the President and the people in Malacañang, and furthermore, prayed for the president and her family and her final days in office.

Israeli Pastor David Ortiz

The following day, the team had a courtesy meeting with Israeli Ambassador Zvi Vapni. The ambassador, as Joel described, is very intrigued and supportive of building strong ties between Israel and evangelical Christians; and is thankful for the mobilization of Christians in supporting Israel. Later during the day, Joel and his team were interviewed by CBN Asia about their personal faith journey, the end times prophecies and how the church in Asia can and should live these days. These interviews will soon be broadcasted throughout the Philippines, Asia, Europe and the Middle East.

Another luncheon took place the following day, this time, with the American Chamber of Commerce. The event was attended by several hundred business leaders, which also included presidents of several major U.S. and Filipino companies. Here, Joel spoke about

“Israel, the Iranian Nuclear Threat, and the Next War in the Middle East,” and presented it in the context of Bible prophecy.

The Epicenter Conference officially began with the Leadership Dinner at the Crowne Plaza Hotel last January 21, 2010. The event was attended by at least a thousand business, government and military leaders, which included some of the presidential and vice-presidential candidates. Here, Joel had the opportunity to explain the “signs of the times,” the Biblical mandate we have to love and bless Israel, and most importantly, he had the opportunity to share the Gospel to the attendees.

The whole day Christian Conference happened on Friday, January 22, 2010, which had an overwhelming attendance of 4,500 people within CCF St. Francis itself, plus probably thousands more, who watched the live streaming via satellite TV and the Internet. Joel presented his message, “Are We Living In the Last Days”, as described in Matthew 24 and Luke 21; and, “What Is the Future of Russia, Iran and Israel?”, as described in Ezekiel 38-39. Israeli Pastor David Ortiz shared about God’s extending love for the Jewish people and explained that the persecution of the believers will intensify in the last days. Iranian Pastor Hormoz Shariat described his journey from being a radical Shia Muslim to becoming the “Billy Graham of Iran” and how God has been touching the lives of Iranians. Pastor Rey Bentley shared a message from Joel 2.

Saturday, January 23, 2010, was another packed day, this time, with at least 3,000 young people for the Youth Conference. Here, Joel had the opportunity to share the Gospel, taught about end times prophecies as based in the Word, and his love story with wife Lynn – which became a good connector with the young people.

The conference ended on a high note having Joel in all five services at CCF St. Francis last Sunday, January 24, 2010. The auditorium and overflow rooms were packed with a total of between 20,000 to 25,000 attendees plus thousands more watched via satellite TV and the Internet. It was an opportunity once again for Joel to share the end times prophecies as presented in the Bible and most importantly, to share the Gospel to the people.

In light of everything that happened, the real question boils down to, “are we really ready?” Are we really ready to face our Master? Are we really ready to live holy lives and to make an impact to the people around us? Many lives were touched by God’s love during the conference proper – either as a new believer or as a recommitted follower standing for God’s glory. The next step is to take action. Following all these will be a six-week Bible study series on the End Times, designed to be evangelical nature. It is through this that each person’s borders will be expanded; and most importantly, God’s kingdom will be expanded.

by Sherry Magno