A Decade of Faithfulness
This November 4th - 5th, 2023, Champion Life Centre (CLC) Guelph will be celebrating its 10-Year Anniversary with the theme, Faithful: Anything is Possible.
God has been faithful these past 10 years. Unchanging, ever-present, His word remains the same throughout every season and every age. In 1 Thessalonians 5:24 the apostle Paul says, “The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.” Just like that, God continues to do it for us. He continues to show Himself good, and continues to be faithful and true to His word. We thank God for everything that He has done for us in the last 10 years and we’re excited for what He has in store ahead of us.
Here at CLC, one of the strongest backbones God has built among us is the gift of family. Indeed, we can see over the years how our family has grown, not only in numbers, but in maturity and spiritual growth!
A Decade of Family
Let’s take a walk down memory lane and recall the milestones God has brought to pass in our church community.
Are you ready, family? Spoiler —- you’re probably in a picture or two!
First Sunday Worship Celebration
The first ever Worship Celebration of Champion Life Guelph was actually in Cambridge!
Joined by our ever-supportive Champion Life families from the GTA, we welcomed the presence of God in Cambridge. We would like to thank Pastor Mark Sneath and the Cornerstone Community Church for their kindness and generosity as they allowed us to use their facility free of charge.
Our first Worship Celebration at Cornerstone Community Church with Dr. Roy Versoza as our Guest Speaker.
Worship celebration continued every Sunday afternoon at Cornerstone (Cambridge) .
New families from Guelph started joining even as we continued meeting in Cambridge. To God be the Glory!
2015: Moving to Guelph
In 2015, we embraced the move to Guelph, and found our new home at where we are currently — Kortright Presbyterian Church. Gradually, we witnessed the growth among us, not just numerically but also in the raising up of sons and daughters. Indeed, God is faithful even unto the next generation.
As each year passed, God faithfully brought us through countless milestones, highlights, and celebrations that demonstrated how He was building us together as one strong family.
2018: Five Years of Harvest
In November 2018, we celebrated our 5th anniversary with the theme, “Pursuing God’s Call: Harvest”. With over 250 guests, we came together to commemorate 5 glorious years of God’s faithfulness, and believed in faith together for a harvest of souls in the next 5 years. Once again, many from our Champion Life campuses in Ontario came to cheer us on!
Celebrating our 5th Anniversary. Here are our amazing volunteers!
Life Fest
In April 2019, we had our first Life Fest, which began to define how we would celebrate Easter in the following years. This was a powerful time during Easter where many among us stepped up in their giftings and talents. We could not have done this without you, family!
2020: The New Decade
In February 2020, we saw the birth of two new next generation ministries — Momentum Youth and RISE Young Adults. God has a sure word for the next generation, and He once again raised up sons and daughters to lead His children.
Our first RISE YA and Momentum Youth Event, February 2020.
While 2020 started off with lots of exciting new changes (we finally got our own office spaces and one staff added), things took an unpredictable turn in March that year. The world shut down and it was as if time froze.
Yet though the world stopped moving, the church continued to move. And kept on growing. In the middle of a crisis, a new ministry — the stream team— was born. In the age of COVID and social distancing, our church family never failed to stay connected and support each other (online). Do you remember the seemingly endless Zoom days?
2022: Open Doors
In 2022, God gave us the opportunity to partner with Linamar in helping and welcoming newly arrived workers from the Philippines. We were able to provide them with basic essentials to help them transition to their new life in Canada.
Growth in Serving
Christmas celebrations gave many in our church family the opportunity to step up to the plate. Using their talents, our sons and daughters demonstrated God’s love through powerful songs, drama, and dance numbers. Spot yourself in the photos below.
First Youth & YA Encounter in Guelph
In September 2021, our church hosted our first Youth and YA Encounter. It was a powerful time where many of our young people felt the Holy Spirit come upon them. Two years later, in May 2023, we hosted our first Men’s and Women’s Encounter. We saw our men and women experience true freedom.
Charitable Status - Yes!
March 2022 — our church received its charitable status and officially became a recognized registered charity in Canada, yay!
First Missions Trip to UAE
We had our first missions trip to the UAE in 2023 to finally meet in-person our Online CLC UAE Family that was birthed during the pandemic. It was a time of strengthening our sons and daughters in the Middle East, strategic planning, and leadership development to expand God’s kingdom in that region. By God’s mighty hand, we were even able to hold a worship night in a cinema! No matter the limitations or whatever region we are in the world, God is always faithful!
And of course…
Did I mention that in August 2023, we finally brought home the gold at Sportsfest?!! A big shout-out to our men’s basketball and volleyball and our Pinoy Henyo champs!
Faithful In Every Age: Testimonies
Yes, God is faithful throughout every age and every season. And with the brief testimonies of our brother Cris, and our sister Cherry, let God remind you of that truth.
Cris Sto. Domingo
“Hi, I’m Cris and I was diagnosed with kidney failure on October 16th, 2020. I had been in dialysis for 2 and a half years. Though it was hard to believe, I accepted this reality and believed that God had a plan. Finally, I received the beautiful gift of a kidney transplant on May 31st, 2023. A week after the surgery, I felt intense pain inside my incision and they performed a second surgery to stop the bleeding. After that 2nd surgery, I went and stayed in a London guest home, 6 minutes away from the hospital. Even though there were complications, and I had to go back to the hospital countless times, I knew things were going in the right direction. Whatever I planned for myself, I knew that God has other plans, and they are always good. These trials ands obstacles in my life allowed me to grow stronger in the Lord but also find family in a home away from home. God has been so faithful to me, He has brought healing to my life, physically and spiritually!”
Cherry Calica
“Anyone can leave us in our darkest time but God always keeps His arms open to accept us. He remains faithful even when we doubt and blame Him. He will care for us and show his mercy. I remember my old self blaming Him for all the bad things that happened in our life. There were times I cried in the middle of the night asking Him questions. My depression consumed me. God rescued me during the times I wanted to do bad things for myself and showed me that He was in control of everything. We just need to surrender everything to Him. Now who would imagine that we would be here in Canada? We were just dreaming about it before and now it happened. And He led us to the people who would help us strengthen our faith. God may not always give us the things we want but He is working behind the scenes to give us the best — more than we can expect. That’s how great He is.”
There have been so many milestones these past 10 years, we could go on forever. God has been so faithful in expanding our ever-growing family here in Guelph that we know in the coming years, anything is possible.
We are so blessed to have a church family that carries Christ’s heart to serve, and together, passionately pursues God’s call. We praise God for our pastors Nap and Happy Lumasag, our Leadership Council, the Church Board, and all our life group leaders and volunteers, for their dedication and obedience to the Lord.
Knowing we could never have walked these paths of victory alone, we thank our CLC spiritual parents — Pastors Jerry and Elvie Berenguer — along with all our CLC families and affiliate churches across Canada and around the world. We would have not gotten this far without any of you walking with us, and encouraging all of us.
Friends, join us on November 4th and 5th as we celebrate 10 years of God’s faithfulness in our family.
Click here for all the exciting event details and register now.
