Starting a church in St. Joseph, Missouri is quite a distance from IS Phillik’s home town of Chuuk State, one of four states located in the Federated States of Micronesia. As a matter of fact, Chuuk Christian Church is located approximately 7,103 miles from this western Pacific nation.
Phillik, who lived in Hawaii, visited a few Chuukese friends living in St. Joseph, Missouri. According to Phillik, approximately 300 Chuukese people live in St. Joseph and many of them work at a local food company in the city.
While visiting St. Joseph, Phillik saw the need for the Chuukese people to have a place to worship and be in fellowship together.
“They were a people seeking spiritual help,” says Phillik. “I realized that there was a call for me in St. Joseph. I heard the call and felt in my heart that this is what God wants me to do.”
With urgency and sheer determination, in 2012 Phillik packed up his family in Hawaii and moved to St. Joseph to plant a new church.
Phillik met with members of First Christian Church in St. Joseph about using their facility and was introduced to the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).
“The way they do church really touched my heart,” he says. “Disciples are an open people.”
Currently, Chuuk Christian Church has 60 members and meets weekly at First Christian Church in St. Joseph.
In February 2014, Phillik attended Leadership Academy, hosted by Hope Partnership for Missional Transformation, where he and other leaders of new and transforming congregations participated in a week-long learning experience designed to inspire, teach and encourage people as they lead courageously in their local setting.
“The Leadership Academy is a great thing,” he says. “It was an opportunity for me to learn about Disciples mission, values and vision.”
Phillik looks forward to sharing the information that he learned at the Leadership Academy with his Chuuk Christian Church congregation and the people of Micronesia.
“It is helping me to continue what God has called me to do,” he says.
Each year funds collected from the Pentecost Offering support the ministries and leadership training of new church pastors like IS Phillik of Chuuk Christian Church in St. Joseph, Missouri. This year’s Pentecost Offering will be taken on Sundays, June 1 and June 8.
“Your church was new once” is the theme for the 2014 Pentecost Offering. Each year, this offering supports the New Church movement and makes it possible for the Church to recruit, assess, train and coach new church planters. One half of the Pentecost Offering collected stays in the Region where it is collected, and the other half goes to Hope Partnership to support its new church ministry.
For more information about the Pentecost Offering, please visit www.hopepmt.org or contact Charlie Wallace at 800.274.1883. To make a gift to the Offering or to access resources that can be used in your church on Offering Sundays, visit www.disciplesmissionfund.org
Since the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) launched the 2020 vision to start 1,000 new churches by the year 2020, Disciples have started 830 new faith communities throughout the United States and Canada. Disciples new churches worship in at least 19 different languages and have reached more than 50,000 individuals who may not have had a relationship with God.
