Jinger Goma - Candidate for Associate Pastor
We are excited to introduce Jinger Goma as our candidate for Associate Pastor of Community Life. Jinger and his wife Rachel have two kids, Simeon and Safia. They will be candidating the weekend of March 3 - 6, but we wanted to introduce you to Jinger's story first.
Personal Testimony
By Jinger Goma
I was born and raised in Metro Manila, Philippines, a city of violence and poverty. When I was in grade 1 and grade 3, I had dreams about God the Father and about Jesus Christ, which became instrumental to my later faith in Christ. My life in Manila, however, was far from Christianity then. Like most boys from my city, I ended up on the streets, which included alcohol, violence, and unlawful acts, etc. By age 14, I had my own gang, was living in with my girlfriend, was an alcoholic, and was a complete mess. My decrepit life at such a young age forced my mom to send me to Canada to live with my dad. I thought of running away from home then but my life was so chaotic that a trip to Canada was an opportunity for a new beginning. I accepted my mom’s verdict and left the Philippines in hopes of a new life and of a better future.
At age 15, my life in Canada seemed promising. I re-established my life and immersed myself in school to pursue Medicine or Dentistry. In the midst of this new found life and goals, however, my history quietly found its way back into my life. I struggled against my “demons” but peer pressure and the party atmosphere bested my efforts to repel such strong temptations. Interestingly enough, it was also in high school that I met my first Christian friends who invited me to sports events in their church. This became my introduction to the Christian world but God’s plan in my life was yet to be unveiled at that point.
In College, I became even more exposed to Christianity. I attended a number of UCM (University Christian Ministry) gatherings simply because a lot of my friends and classmates were Christians. It was in also the UCM gatherings that I met Rachael Pauls (who is now my lovely and beautiful wife). It was then that I became deeply curious about the God of the Christian community. This curiosity led me to attend Sunday Church services and Bible studies. The most pivotal event of my genesis to Christianity was during a Bible study with some College friends. In that particular Bible study, I bombarded the attendees with hard questions about God. It was also then that I shared my dreams about God when I was in grade 1 and 3. After sharing my dreams, some of them were completely amazed and others were in tears. I began to feel uncomfortable so I proposed the question, “What’s the matter?” They responded by saying something like, “You should read the Bible and you will understand why we are overwhelmed by what you just shared.” This response propelled me to open up the pages of the Scripture.
After a few months of exploring the New Testament, particularly the Gospels, I was amazed by the “theological implications” of my dreams. After personally discovering that my dreams embodied strong and powerful Scriptural truths, I couldn’t help but accept Jesus into my life. In 1998, I was baptized and my journey with Christ flourished from that point onward. Since then, I committed myself to a yearly cover to cover reading of the Bible, surrendered all my addictions to Christ, and submitted all of my dreams and goals to His will. In the fall of 1999, I dropped out of College during my 3rd year of Bachelor of Science degree because I felt the Lord’s call in my life to full time ministry. In the year of 2000, I went to Prairie Bible College to pursue a Pastoral Ministry degree. In 2001, I married the most amazing woman in this world, Rachael Goma, who I am very much in love with. After graduating from PBC, I became the Associate Pastor at Grace Baptist Church in Kelowna from the summer of 2004 to the spring of 2010. I left Grace Baptist Church because of my burning desire to continue my education and pursue my passion in biblical studies. This journey led me to Regent College in the summer of 2010 to this very day. In spite of enjoying school, however, I am even more excited about the possibility of being called back into pastoral ministry at Kelowna Gospel Fellowship this coming Spring.
Read Jinger's Ministry Philosophy statement here:
Associate Pastor Candidating Weekend
Jinger Goma
KGF, March 3-6, 2011
Thursday March 3rd
7:30pm – Board meets with Rachel & Jinger
Friday March 4th
2:30pm - KGF Staff meet for lunch with Rachel & Jinger
Saturday March 5th
2pm – Seniors meet with Rachel & Jinger, Fireside Room
7:30pm – Youth / Young Adult Leaders & Life Group Leaders meet Rachel & Jinger, Fireside Room
Sunday March 6th
10am Service – Jinger shares 15 minute testimony & ministry vision
11:30am – Fireside Room meet & greet for Goma family & congregation