Ptr. JP with his wife Roochie

Name
JP Masakayan

Department / Pastoral Area
Singles Ministry

Other Occupation
VP, Rockwell Land

Interests
Bible studies (private and teaching)

Hobbies
Golf, movies, and going to the beach.

Tell us about something God has taught you while you have been one of CCF’s community leaders.
You must be vigilant in ensuring that your walk matches your talk, and that there is integrity in both public and private life.

Pride is always a problem, at times glaring, more often insidious and subtle:

• When you do something well
• When you are attacked or criticized
• When you are challenged

God won’t let pride go unaddressed. He’ll do it with either rod or staff, but he’ll deal with it.

Name two or three things you love about working with CCF.

1. Working with people who love the Lord is energizing.
2. Working for, and seeing people come to know the Lord is deeply gratifying.
3. Following and learning from leaders who model holiness and natural zaniness is highly inspiring.

Grace

Name
Grace

Occupation
Student

Interests
Collecting, accounting

Hobbies
Watching TV, listening to music, reading Christian books

How and when did you join CCF?
I joined CCF through a summer camp in 2005. I was invited by my aunt, and there — praise God, I was able to understand the Gospel for the first time — by His grace.

Did you have any prior misconceptions about church/faith?
I thought that all of us are God’s children from birth. But when I read and understood John 1:12, it was clear to me that only those who receive and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ have the right to be called children of God.

How has God worked in your life since you joined CCF?
Before I met Christ, my life had no direction. I’d just go with the flow — cheating, lying, stealing — you name it. And, I used to blame my parents for not providing the kind of life I dreamed of.

But since Christ came into my life (praise and thanks to God for using CCF), there is unexplainable joy and peace inside amidst a chaotic environment. My life now has direction. I am still a work of progress and continuously learning to trust God in every area of my life.

Are you active in a ministry or outreach group? Please tell us a little bit of your experiences with that group.
Yes — JZONE Project SCHOOL at PUP (Polytechnic University of the Philippines).  Through this ministry, I am able to serve God where he planted me by discipling groups of young men and women, practicing kindness, love, giving, and knowing and meeting different kinds of people. It is an honor to be used by Him in this ministry.

Name two or three things about CCF that make you stay.
First, God himself. And I can see that CCF really worships the true God. Second, my friends and my D-Group.

By Sherryll S. de Luna

Working in CCF is considered a joy by Leticia P. Alves, chief accountant of CCF St. Francis Square (SFS). “Ate Letty,” as she is fondly called by the people around her, started working January 2004 in CCF Alabang, as accounting staff. She transferred to CCF St. Francis in November 2006 as general accountant and was promoted to chief accountant last June.

“I enjoy working as an accountant in CCF. Iba ‘yung joy ng serving the Lord (The joy of serving the Lord is different). At the end of the day, the Lord is your boss,” says Ate Letty.

Ate Letty considers the accounting department as one of the tools to help further God’s kingdom. She says that all of them in the department are service-oriented, foremost to God, then to the pastors, elders, and the whole congregation.

“It was really the Lord who impressed it in my heart to serve in a Christian organization. When I learned that CCF Alabang would have an accounting team, I prayed and fasted for it before I filed my
application,” narrates Ate Letty.

Ate Letty first heard the need to have a personal relationship with God at a retreat in college. Back then, even though she knew that she was a good person, she was not sure if she will go to heaven. She found herself searching. She soon accepted Christ when her officemate, whose sister attends the Bible studies, invited her to join CCF, which was then located at the AIM building in Makati. That was in October 1986. And the rest is history.

By Mae Young

Pastor Jim and Louie

Q: How did you and your wife get started with doing God’s work? Where are you involved now apart from CCF?

A: We met as staff members of Campus Crusade for Christ (CCC). Louie was involved in the professional ministry of CCC while she was a mathematics faculty member at UP and FEATI. God led her to join CCC full-time at the same time I joined CCC in the US. I had been involved in CCC as a college student and while working as an engineer. My first assignment after joining CCC full-time was here in Manila, where Louie and I went through a nine-month new staff training together.

God has given both of us a burden to equip leaders. Nearly 20 years ago, the Lord led us to work with ISOT-Asia, part of CCC, which is committed to building Asian leaders to help fulfill the Great Commission of Christ. When the school was moving to Manila from Baguio in 1990, I spent time with Pastor Peter and saw what God was doing at CCF. So, when we moved, we committed to be involved in CCF.

Since then, we have led a pastoral area, headed up the training department — Louie was at one time the head of CCF’s Sunday School — and now we are part of the elders and in charge of CCF Missions. But our full-time work is still with the school. I am the executive director of the Global Leadership Group-International Graduate School of Leadership (GLG-IGSL) and Louie is a full-time faculty member there.

Q: What keeps you and your wife persevering in ministry?

A: God’s grace and seeing the lives that are being impacted through those we train.

Q: How many years have you served in ministry, and which ministries have you been involved with?

A: 28 years with CCC, 18 with CCF, 10 years as an elder, and one year as missions pastor.

Q: Did you and your wife always have a heart for missions? How did God confirm this assignment for you both?

A: When we first met, we were attracted to each other because we both had a burden for China. We continue to train and equip students from a variety of strategic Asian countries. Both of us share a desire to see the Great Commission fulfilled by raising up leaders who can reach their own people with the gospel. It is really in our blood — God’s call is not something we want to escape.

A leap of faith. Pastor Jim takes a bungee jump.

Q: What would be the most trying time you and your wife had to face while in ministry and how were you able to overcome it?

A: Being in ministry is no guarantee that you will not have problems. We have had losses of family members, illness, and stress from ministry overload. Maybe the hardest time was a stretch of two months: our youngest, Sharon, was a newborn and had to go back to the hospital due to complications, then Louie’s mother passed away, and Louie was found to have cancer. We just had to learn to trust God in very trying circumstances, and God honored our faith. Sharon is strong and healthy, Louie has been cancer free for many years, and we continue the ministry He has called us to.

Q: How has your missions work enhanced the growth of your own family’s love for God?

A: No family or kids are perfect, but both of our kids have been on mission trips, and continue to be interested in missions. Sharon recently went on a mission trip to Mexico last summer where coaching other missionary kids was part of the project. Both our kids love the Lord and have seen His faithfulness in our family. We have no regrets that He has called us as a family to be missionaries.

Q: What is that one dream that you and your wife have that has yet to be fulfilled by God? What would you like CCFers to pray for you and for Mrs. Whelchel?

A: Of course, as parents, our greatest prayer is for the future of our children. Please pray for Michael and Sharon as they discover God’s plan for their future, for their future spouses, and for God’s protection and covering. Often in the spiritual battle of ministry, Satan targets our children. Please pray for their protection and victory in their own walks with God.