Church of God Missionary Tommy Smith, who also serves as regional superintendent of the Southern Pacific, recently sent the following report to World Missions:
Xaris Villa is a single, female Filipino exhorter who pastors the Cornerstone Church of God in Hong Kong and is also an elementary school teacher at a prestigious school in the city. She desires to take the ordained minister exam soon.
Pastor Villa is excited that finally the Cornerstone church is debt-free and the congregation should be able to remain in their small rented location for worship for two more years.
Although they still face some challenges, she related with joy and exuberance of the Pentecostal outpouring recently in both the English and the Chinese language congregations of Cornerstone.
Five years ago, former pastor and founder, Daniel Villa (Xaris’s father now retired in the Philippines), began an outreach to poor, elderly Chinese. Their first convert of this outreach received the Holy Spirit baptism on Pentecost Sunday earlier this year. Lam Kam Wing, who experienced the infilling, is a great example that one is never too old to receive the Holy Spirit baptism, as she is 86 years young!
Smith summed up his correspondence by stating, “The Gospel cannot be stopped by barriers of culture or language.”
To support the Church of God in Hong Kong, please contact cogwm.org/give and refer to project #060-0089.
(Source: Church of God World Missions)