Even before he stepped foot on Maui for the Haggai Institute training, Josue Falla was deeply involved in Christian ministry and was also editor of a publication. His father was a church elder and his mother a deaconess. He himself planted and pioneered a church called the “Church Of Christ” close to where he lived in San Jose City in the Philippines. He says, “It was to complement my church planting endeavor and also to reach out for more souls for Christ that I began to publish the Christian magazine called Sunbeam which has an online counterpart (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sunbeam).” He also got involved in running the International Christian (Bible) College in Metro Manila.
One would imagine that he knew it all but he says that the Haggai Institute training was like a “taste of heaven” where the teaching and the accompanying solitude made him clear-minded and focused on the ministerial road before him.
He continues, “Having been raised in a Christian family, I would previously do a lot of things just because I felt compelled to do them (being a ‘good Christian’ and all that). However after the training, I got my joy by doing what I did without outside pressure. I then understood what St. Paul meant when in II Corinthians 9:7 he said, “Each one must do as he has made up his mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”
He felt “humbled and inspired” by the teaching and testimonies of Haggai Institute faculty who played a major part in transforming him into a person of “greater integrity, called to persevere and endure while living in moderation and simplicity”. He says he now tries to be balanced even in expressing too much joy as “this may cause envy in others”. It could also make people around him think he is boasting or setting himself above them.
He has returned home to the same ministries he was involved in before, but believes that his application is now greatly enhanced. His final thoughts: “I learnt that evangelism is not a monopoly of the church to which I belong; not even my own particular ministry. Evangelism is the mutual energy of the overall Body of Christ. Seeking the lost can be done better through cooperation rather than competition between churches and ministry groups. Synergy in evangelism can be best attained if we set aside, if not forget, denominational differences. Today, I can easily relate to Christian leaders outside my immediate ministry circle, and this was something I could not do before."
