Photos above were taken during the live online OMWF Singing Competition. Photo Courtesy of Sis Roxanne Asio and OMWF Secretariate
ME Regional Conference - After nearly four months since 24 brethren from different sectors auditioned for the OPIF Men and Women of Faith (OMWF) Inter-affiliate Singing Competition, Sis. Juliet Gibas of OPIF ME Regional Conference - Sector 9 proved time and again that experience has the edge after she outshone 2 other finalists and grabbed the Championship during the OMWF Grand Finals held on September 24, 2021. She later donated her cash prize to Sector 5 Cuenca Church to support the current construction of the new church building.
Tailing the scores were Sis. Yvonne Biongan of Sector 11 ME Conference and Sis. Ann Janette Juntilla of Sector 4 Leyte Philippines as first and second runners up respectively. All took home cash prizes plus an instrument package.
The first monthly elimination round happened last July 2, 2021 in which the top ten qualifiers namely Bro. Renato Celestial of PH S2, Sis. Ann Janette Juntilla of PH S4, Bro. Marcelino Cuevas Jr. of PH S5, Bro. Arman Ramos of ME S3, Sis. Juliet Gibas of ME S9, Sis. Margie Tugas of ME S9, Bro. Lester Cano and Sis. Yvonne Biongan of ME S11, Bro. Pepito Naz of ME S4, and Sis. Michelle Aquino of AD S1 competed for the top 5 spots. The last two qualifiers aforementioned joined in as substitutions to Sis. Tita Mamaling of PH S8 and Bro. Ruel Llano of ME S14 who withdrew from the competition for personal reasons. Out of the ten, Bro. Renato Celestial, Sis. Ann Janette Juntilla, Bro. Arman Ramos, Sis. Juliet Gibas, and Sis. Yvonne Biongan were the only ones to advance to the next round.
The Semi-Finals was postponed thrice due to a series of mishaps— the sudden passing of a loved pastor in the Philippines, Pastor Noel Balanay and one of the top contenders of the competition, Bro. Renato Celestial, a week after. “My victory is the victory of the church. This is all for the glory of God”, Bro. Renato said in his social media account which he managed to post before his demise. Two spots were left vacant after Bro. Arman Ramos also withdrew from the competition due to personal matters. Open spots were then filled by Sis. Margie Tugas and Sis. Michelle Aquino.
During the Semi-Final round of the competition held last August 27, the program started with a special tribute to Pastor Noel Balanay and Bro. Renato Celestial. It then proceeded to the competition proper in which the top 5 qualifiers were scored based on their mellow and upbeat song performances. And the three top scorers were Sis. Ann Janette Juntilla from the SEA Regional Conference and both from ME Regional Conference, Sis. Juliet Gibas and Sis. Yvonne Biongan. Before the announcement of winners, Ministry of Home Missions Director, Pastor Michael Sanchez, and newly appointed NC Home Missions Director of ME Regional Conference, Bro. Alfred Pamaqued, took the time to reward one of the 24 who auditioned, Bro. Mark Jonathan Perez of Pangasinan Cell Group a cellphone for the eagerness and willingness he had shown in the competition despite lacking resources to join.
For the Grand Finals held last September 24, the most awaited moment, it started with a 30-minute Worship Concert by OPIF Desert Psalms and some of the OMWF Singing Competition participants. “Hearing them singing for the Lord made me miss seeing our OPIF brethren worshipping the Lord altogether in big events. This made me get more excited for the upcoming Holy Ghost Explosion,” said Sis. Rachele Alvarez, OPIF PH NC Education Directress, when asked how she felt about the program. The ‘Final 3’ then gave out their most outstanding performances in the last round giving Sis. Ann Janette Juntilla of OPIF PH S4 a final score of 81% making her the second runner up in the competition, next is Sis. Yvonne Biongan of ME S11, the first runner up with 85%, and Sis. Juliet Gibas of ME S9, the Grand Champion of the competition with a highest score of 91%. “This event has been victorious because of the support of everyone. We have met our objective and that is to unite all OPIF Congregations and to give glory to God through our God-given talents. Indeed, our Grand Champion here is no other than our Lord JESUS CHRIST”, said Pastor Fernan Planas, Director of the Ministry of OMWF, as he gave his Closing Remarks and he continued by thanking the ones who have helped to make the event a remarkable one.
“I have never expected that our Grand Champion, Sis. Juliet, and the Worship Team of ME S9 will donate their winnings to us. I am very grateful to them. Their act of kindness is a huge help in the church building construction,” said Pastor Herminigilda Aguila, Resident Pastor of OPIF PH - Sector 5, when asked about her reaction in regards with the church she’s pastoring being referred as the true winner in the competition. “Not only that, the Lord has used the OMWF Singing Competition as an instrument for one soul to come to know Christ and be baptized in water in JESUS’ Name,” added Pastor Mel in the interview.
“Sis. Merlinda C. Cuevas, who is Bro. Marcelino’s mother, our entry for the singing competition, has been very supportive of her son since the audition until he finished top ten in the program. We only knew her because of the competition. Until such time, we got the chance to invite her to church and little by little, shared to her God’s word which she openly accepted leading her to the point of her decision to be baptized,” Pastor Mel narrated.
“Although we haven’t reached the final round, we considered ourselves more than victorious. First, the blessing we have received for the church building construction and most especially, for the soul who has been won for Christ. It’s winning a soul that really made this event a great victory. Again, congratulations and thank you to Sis. Juliet and the Worship Team of OPIF ME - S9 for their generosity and to the whole team of OMWF being led by Pastor Fernan Planas and with the support of Pastor Michael Sanchez. Indeed, everything we do for the glory of God will never be put to waste. All will produce good fruits”, said Pastor Mel when asked what’s her message to the people she’s grateful for in the competition.
