Thus far, I like what I hear every time I'm there and fill one of the many empty seats there. The guy in blue, whose back is seen in the picture (yeah, I don't have the latest smartphone and still a proud owner of a dumbphone. but trust me - it's blue) is the pastor who delivers the message every Sunday. While I continue to struggle waking up early and making it to the Sunday services over at the Marriott Hotel through CCF, I also do not regret missing the church there as I like hearing the pastor's message every Sunday at the J. Center. Apart from my laziness to wake up early so as not to miss CCF's 11 AM service, one of the reason's I'm drawn to the church at J Center is the passion of the pastor when delivering God's message. Imagine being on stage and talking to an almost empty (maybe less than 30 people) venue. For most of us, speaking in public with only a few audience might probably discourage us. We might not even have the energy to wake up and go to the mall and do 3 services with only a few people in attendance Sunday in and Sunday out. Yet, the pastor and the volunteers there untiringly and religiously set up the stage for the Sunday service and let the Word of God be known to people. I call this dedication a true devotion to the Lord Jesus Christ. I'm drawn to this kind of dedication because it's something that I do not have. I know now that I do not want to go back to being a non-practicing Catholic. By that I mean, someone who is born to the Catholic faith, but who never truly understood what it means to be truly Catholic. Sure, I'm not fully a born again either. I haven't gotten myself baptized yet. Well, be that as it may - I like hearing about and slowly learning about who Jesus is. I continue to struggle having a relationship with the big jokester. So, attending Sunday services is a big help to my fearful commitment-phobe self. Yeah, I call myself commitment-phobe in this regard, because a voice and my mind knows that I should commit by now to the Lord Jesus, and yet I remain 'unfocused' - and to put it bluntly, a coward - for not making the move. Lastly, one of the big reasons I continue to attend services at the J Center is because there was this particular Sunday that I actually didn't want to leave Mactan and go to church. Thankfully, the inner self-talk to get up and go to church prevailed. In that Sunday's service, the pastor repeatedly said something about being lost and encouraged the people there to 'stay on track'. I believe he said something about "staying the course and fixing one's eyes to Jesus. It truly felt that the message was meant for my ears only for at that time, a big part of me keeps insisting that all these Jesus talks are nothing but crap. That Sunday, was this year's Easter Sunday and that time couldn't have been more appropriate for me to hear Jesus' message of love - truly powerful.
So, if you ever might find yourself at a lost and want to hear and know more about our Living God, you might want to drop in at the 3rd Level of J. Center Mall on Sundays. Word at the Center holds an interfaith service every Sunday at 10 A.M., 2 P.M., and 5 P.M. They're near the office of the bpo Stream and the computer store, Octagon.
UPDATE as of July 17, 2016: WAC has moved to a new location at the 3rd Floor of J. Centre Mall. I haven't been to the new location just yet. But on the very last Sunday that I went there, it was announced that they'll be moving one floor up from the current location. If I'm not mistaken, it's that space above Octagon. I think somewhere near the new SSS Mandaue office (formerly Trick Art Museum)/ERSAO Restaurant. I'll take some pictures when I can attend service there again.
