In 1983, God called me to be a pastor in
God in His wonderful ways, paved the way for us to be able to leave
At first, I was the only one to go to Cabuyao. I dropped by the house of Gasapos family. God gave me the opportunity to witness to sister Elong Gasapos. On that same day, she accepted the Lord as her Savior. The following day, I went to another house, that of sister. Dela Dena. I shared to her the Gospel and she also accepted Christ in her life. God showed me that I must continue bringing the gospel among these folks because their responses to the Word of God were really amazing! They were already ripe for harvest.
During the survey, I also learned that there was no Baptist church in the area yet so I decided to hold my first Bible study. That was on Oct. 5, 1986, during which, 14 persons who attended accepted the Lord as their Savior. Encouraged by the result of the first meeting, I decided to hold a regular Bible study every Sunday afternoon. Though only five people attended the following Sunday afternoon, the Lord encouraged me to do His work in Cabuyao faithfully. God has shown me the spiritual condition of the people and how hungry and thirsty they were for the Word of God.
The first several Sundays of having Bible study fell on a rainy season. There was even a very strong typhoon when the wind blew mightily, rains fell heavily and there was flood everywhere. The floods also affected our house in San Pedro. This went on for almost a month and I had to leave my wife and son behind, trusting God that He will protect them no matter what. Then I went through my first trial from the Lord. I knew that He was testing me, especially my determination and enthusiasm for the work that I knew He wanted me to do.
By January 28, 1987, our church decided to make the ministry in Cabuyao part of its mission. In addition to the Bible study, we started the children’s ministry. Sunday afternoon Bible studies were conducted beneath the shades of trees. Soon, I also began conducting prayer meetings every Thursday night because I saw the new believers’ need for prayers for their spiritual growth. I keenly observed their growth and as time went by, the need for spiritual nourishment also increased. The Lord impressed upon me that it was time for me to teach more and more about His Word.
With permission from the church that sent me, I decided to start leading Sunday Worship Services. With the help of concerned brethren from
On April 25, 1987,
Finally on May 1, 1988, came the most awaited event in the Church’s history-- the day of its organization. Like a child who needs to be separated from his mother’s womb then learn to live independently once he reaches maturity, we had to learn to be independent. Through continuous testimony and observation of the way God has been using the mission in the fulfillment of the Great Commission, our pastor decided to organize the mission as an indigenous, self-propagating and self-supporting independent church.
After all those trials, temptations and persecutions, by God’s grace the church has been organized. We knew fully well that there will be a lot more of trials to be faced in years to come. But we relied and continue to rely on God’s promises that He will never leave us nor forsake us and that even the gates of hell shall not prevail against His church. A total of 58 charter members signed the church covenant. On the same day, I was ordained as the pastor of this fledgling church, named after the mother church,
Being a God-ordained pastor surely is a difficult undertaking yet it is also great privilege. As I recall every moment and every detail in my life prior to my ordination, I can see the grace of God at work behind every single incident. Starting God’s work is not a joke but full of agony. I prayed hard, worked hard, and taught all that needed to be taught. Starting from the simplest things like how to sing, how to give for the Lord’s work, how to dress and a lot more, I painstakingly and prayerfully guided those I was charged to lead in every area of their Christian walk
I prayed to God that through me, the believers in my new church be nurtured spiritually and be used of Him in His vineyard. Every Sunday afternoon while I taught them about soul winning, my wife demonstrated how to do this very important task of believers. We wanted our members to see that we are teaching by what we are doing so that they, too, will be challenged to do the same. It took a long time before the members learned how to go for the Lord.
God has, from the very beginning, been using both me and my wife in nurturing and equipping the members of the church. While I taught the men about preaching, song leading and presiding, my wife was also training some ladies to be Sunday school teachers. Other areas of ministry have arisen, like the radio ministry and
