In retrospect… Before Pastor Boy joined our Creator, he would always tell his son, Pastor Godwyn, that he was praying for him to someday have the calling from the Lord to be a Pastor. But Pastor Godwyn would often avoid or change the topic whenever it is brought up. He would rather tell Pastor Boy, “Kayo ang Pastor diyan, dad. Matagal pa ‘yan.” One can definitely understand the response of Pastor Godwyn, for being a Pastor is a hefty task. It is only according to one’s faith to show how much he or she is willing to give and take for the Lord. Exactly twenty days before his dad, Pastor Boy, passed, Pastor Godwyn posted a verse on facebook, saying: Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the LORD. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the LORD. Jeremiah 23:24 KJV According to his wife, Sister Pearl Aguinaldo, she had a feeling that Pastor Godwyn was already hearing the calling of God, but he wanted to hide himself and escape. Who can blame him? Even we, as Christians, sometimes tend to escape from the will of God because as much as we know that His will is what’s best for us, we are also aware that following the will of God will definitely change the course of our lives. Can we say that, maybe, like us, Pastor Godwyn was afraid to leave the comfort of his life, seeing all the sacrifices that a Pastor makes through his father? Maybe or maybe not. But this only shows that our Pastor is also human like us, he is not perfect, but he let God perfect his ways. Trust and obey… After Pastor Boy’s passing on February 27, 2017, they prayed as a family and asked God for His will in their lives. Eventually, Pastor Godwyn accepted God’s calling and followed his dad’s footsteps in being a Pastor. This was one of the most important events in the history of Gospel Bible Baptist Church for who knows what could’ve happened to our church if Pastor Godwyn did not respond to God’s call accordingly? When Pastor Godwyn entered his ministry as a Pastor, he and his wife decided to give up their business and work for the Lord full time. Surrendering to God all that they have at that time and trusting God’s will for their family was everything they had. Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. Matthew 16:24 KJV In March 2017, Pastor Godwyn started preaching and was officially ordained as the Pastor of Gospel Bible Baptist Church the month after. God’s faithfulness to His faithful servant… Our church’s history has been known to many. All the challenges, trials, and persecutions that we went through has been a testimony of God’s faithfulness and grace to His servants. Just when Pastor Godwyn started to be a Pastor, we were already tested by God. When we were evicted from our church in Congressional Avenue, Pastor Godwyn fervently prayed to God and asked Him for wisdom on where we will go from there. At an early age as a Pastor, he learned to lean on God and depend on His strength and wisdom. All these challenges became a blessing when we, as a church, sacrificed according to our faith and ended up buying a lot and building a new church. God did not leave us nor forsake us. If it weren’t for our Pastor stepping up, we wouldn’t have been where we are now as a church. Being a Pastor for four years, a lot has changed in their family, especially in Pastor Godwyn, personally. Everytime he takes a stand at the pulpit and preaches the Word of God, we are not the only ones who learn from the lessons, he also grows from studying the message, making him stronger and wiser as he is equipped by God. An appreciation and thanks… Pastor Godwyn never stopped thinking of ways to help each brethren’s spiritual growth. Our church was blessed with a very loving and compassionate Pastor. He would always encourage everyone to put God first and to really surrender everything to God. It is his happiness to see everyone growing in God’s love and grace. Through the leadership of Pastor Godwyn, God allowed our church to continue enlarging our coast by blessing us with a lot of ministries and even building a satellite church in Tala, Caloocan. Other work for the Lord such as the GBBC Seminary, and new ministries like the Higher Praise, 6 o’clock devotion, the Gospel Chronicles, and many more to come will not be possible without the help of our dear Pastor. As a servant of God, and a member of our church, I am personally grateful for our Pastor for his dedication and determination. Many times, I have called for his help and advice for I know that I can trust his wisdom which is from God. In my one year as a member of our church, I have learned a lot from Pastor Godwyn’s preachings. One of these, that is closest to my heart, is doing everything for God’s glory. Although I am not perfect, and far from being a worthy Christian, I thank God that Pastor Godwyn taught me to always check my heart before doing anything for God. I thank my Pastor for when he preaches about his imperfections, I become grateful to God more because I realize that we are all the same, and all we have is God’s grace. I hope that Pastor Godwyn knows that I will never leave him, and our church. This is where God put me, and I will serve Him here with a grateful and humble heart, always reaching for the best things for God’s glory as my Pastor has taught me.
“Well, God used Pastor Godwyn as an instrument in my life, specifically an eye opener of the things that I can’t learn in any school that I can think of. He used him as a teacher to me for what to do and what not to do. There are a lot of things that he had said in the pulpit that made an impact in my life and helped me change to be a person God wants me to be, by guiding me through his preachings. He also instilled in me the value of bond and fellowship with our brethren.” -Althea Lardizabal “Humility,integrity,and generosity: mga katangian na naglarawan kay Pastor Godwyn Aguinaldo. Inspiring me in my walk of faith, your messages are always full of insight and truth encouraging me to grow more in faith,too! Napakaraming challenges na hinaharap natin (maging ako man sa pansarili) pero batid ng Diyos sa Jeremiah 3:15 ang patnubay. A simple “thank you” can't cover for all that you've done (and still continue to do) please, let me at least express my gratitude and appreciation for such an inspiration and blessing as you are, PASTOR GODWYN AGUINALDO!! GOD bless you mightily as He pleases!” -Ely Taala-Saquilayan “Ginamit ng Panginoon ang ating pastor, Pastor Godwyn Aguinaldo sa aking buhay upang mas lalo akong maging matatag sa anumang trials sa buhay.nagbibigay sya ng kalakasan sa akin spiritually sa kanyang mga preaching na pakiramdam ko laging patama sa akin.natutunan kong baguhin ang aking pag uugali unti unti naipapamuhay ko ung mga preaching nya tuwing sunday at wednesday nandyan siya para magbigay ng comfort at advise pag may problema sa aming pamilya. Nagbibigay sya ng kalakasan sa akin sa mga preaching nya. I'm very blessed na siya ang aking naging pastor.” -Grace Sanchez “Ginamit ng Panginoon ang ating pastor, Pastor Godwyn Aguinaldo sa aking buhay for my spiritual growth at pra mamuhay ng tama sa harapan ng Diyos at tinuruan nya akong maging matatag sa anumang trials sa buhay lagi siyang nandyan upang magbigay sa akin ng advise at encouragement at nagpapalakas sa akin spiritually at higit sa lahat kung paano mahalin ang Panginoong Diyos ng higit pa sa aking buhay.” -Jenny Sanchez “Ginamit Ng Panginoon si Pastor Godwyn sa buhay ko sa maraming ways. Una, para lalo akong magtiwala sa kaniya, iyong buong tiwala.Pastor Godwyn always said in his preaching “Bakit Hindi mo kasi subukan ang Panginoon? May nagtiwala na ba dito Na pinabayaan Niya?” Madalas kasi dati half-hearted ako maraming alinlangan sa puso Lalo na sa mga desisyon. God used Pastor Godwyn In my life in the way I think. Lagi niyang sinasabi always thank God kung ano ang meron ka maliit man o malaki. Always put the credit to God. Lagi niyang sinasabi na wag natin limitahan ang magagawa natin para sa Panginoon.Use what you have now. I thank God na ginamit Niya si Pastor Godwyn para lalo akong maggrow at magtiwala sa Kaniya. Ginamit niya si Pastor Godwyn para lalo kong ma-appreciate ang mga blessing Niya sa buhay ng pamilya ko. He is a blessing to my family.” -Arlene Callo “Pastor G. taught me how to change my perspective in life - for me to accept the things that happenings in my life as an opportunity to have a better/closer personal relationship to GOD and not as punishment because I'm not righteous. He encourages me to share my pains to others so they can see how merciful our God is. He encourages me to have a ministry even in my situation - though my daily devotion. He encourages me to be thirsty for God's words. Thank you Pastor G. for your selflessness, sacrificing your time, effort, strength for us and for the church.” -Net Carlos “Ginamit sakin si pastor Godwyn ng Panginoon upang mas makilala ko Pa ang Panginoon at patuloy ko pang matutunan ang salita ng Diyos.At patuloy akong tinutulungan na baguhin ang aking sarili.” -Sabel Ramirez “I am very thankful to the Lord for the life of Pastor Godwyn. While I may not be able to list down all the things and personal matters where Pastor has touched my life, I can say with utmost certainty that our Pastor has continued to keep my focus on the Lord. And I know that all of us can attest that this has been his character as well. Every single time that I talk to our Pastor, he would always bring me back to what is most important and what should be first. It may come in various iterations but the message remains the same: looking upon Jesus. "Have you prayed for this already?" "Do you believe that this is God's will in your life?" "How will this affect your service to the Lord?" These are just some of the statements I've heard personally from our Pastor and I am sure that some of us did too. We are truly blessed that we have a Pastor who would pray and cheer for us. Pastor Godwyn has always kept me grounded by reminding me of the single basic thing to remember. Whether in blessings or in problems, he would always pull me back from going low in problems or going high in blessings; telling me never to forget that we have the Lord in our highs or in lows. He will always remind me to be thankful for all things and to keep on serving the Lord. I guess to summarize how God uses our Pastor, I would have to say that God gave us a Pastor that does what he says. He is someone that walks the talk. And in his faithfulness, the people follow and the members' lives have changed for the better. We thank You, Lord, for giving us our Pastor.” -Kevin Sanchez /written by: Em Gacad
/photos from: Tin Pervera special thanks Sis Pot Aguinaldo for helping us with the necessary information.
1 Comment
Ce
10/31/2021 01:53:43 pm
Grateful too and thank you Pastor Godwyn. 🙏🙏🙏
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