Applause and thanksgiving to God once again abounded at the sanctuary as Novaliches Christian Fellowship welcomes the third quarter with a long-awaited blessing: a new batch of graduates have completed their discipleship – the first such batch since the pandemic began.

Four sisters in Christ – Jem Marie Alabado, Arian Chloe Figeroa, Althea Marie Mansueto and Lovely Joy Villanueva – finished their discipleship lessons under the tutelage of Sis. Rica Ponce as their assigned discipler.

Disciplers are assigned at least one disciple for a 12-week program where each are obliged to hold the other accountable – the disciples for all the assignments and the disciplers for the time and effort.

While the program was ideally set to be completed through regular meetings within a few months at the earliest, the difficulties brought by the COVID-19 pandemic has posed some problems for the disciples.

“In our case, this discipleship has been four years in the making,” said Sis. Rica. But with the disciples’ earnest desire to grow deeper in God’s Word and in His service, as well as the discipler’s commitment to help the younger believers, the Lord willed that the program find a way to keep going, until they finally reached the finish line this October 2022.

“Even with the pandemic on our heels, we were finally able to push it to completion, especially for the sake of the disciples,” she said.

Each disciple were also given the opportunity to share to the congregation which lessons made the biggest impact in their Christian living. .

Sisters Jem and Althea found the lesson on the Importance of Small Groups very helpful in their continued growth as believers.

“It helped me realize that our groups are not just mere gatherings, but it also involves teamwork which is essential in nurturing each other in God’s Word,” according to Sis. Jem. “My groupmates were very helpful in coping up as we continue to grow in the Lord, and they also help me understand the Word of God better,” said Sis. Althea, who found an important support group as she faces challenges outside the Church community.

Sister Lovely, whose favorite lesson is on Everybody Works, is walking the talk as she is already serving with the recently-formed Broadcast Ministry, in addition to taking a more active role in NCF’s Clayhouse Youth Ministry.

“I learned that God anoints everybody in His Church for certain ministries, and that each of us is given talents which we can use to serve the Lord,” said Sis. Lovely.

Meanwhile, Sister Chloe took the lesson on No Gossip, No Unkind Words and No Comparison to heart, as it is especially relevant among teens their age to avoid developing these bad habits as they build up proper values of believers.

“I learned that we often forget ourselves in our daily life when we engage in gossiping; it is important for us to realize that it is a sin that is displeasing in the eyes of the Lord, and that we must avoid in engaging in such behavior,” said Sis. Chloe.

NCF’s Senior Pastor, Rev. Mark Dantes, presented their certificates during the worship service, commending them for a job well done as a sign of the revival of the discipleship program even during the pandemic.