Philippines
Testimony
For as long as I can remember, my family has been devoted to being Catholic. We adhered so much to the traditions of the church that if a family member chose to become an evangelical believer in Jesus Christ, we would persecute them to the point of severe physical harm or even death. It was against this backdrop that in 1977 my older brother received the Lord Jesus Christ as his Savior. Immediately upon telling our parents that he was a Christian, they chased him out of our home, and he fled for his life. After two years, he returned and rented a house near our home. Unknown to my parents, I began spending time with my brother. On December 25, 1979, he invited me to attend the Christmas program at the Christian Church, where they were presenting a drama on the prodigal son. During the altar call at the end of the program, I felt drawn to come forward and receive the Lord Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. I know that day, I received God’s forgiveness of my sin and felt the freedom that only comes from Him. I praise the Lord for my brother, who prayed for my salvation during those two years he spent away from my family.
After my conversion, my brother encouraged me to tell my father that I was now a believer in Jesus. He opened the Bible and turned to Philippians 1:21 “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” So I went and told my parents of my faith in Jesus that day. When they heard the news, they beat me and chased me out of the house. I ran to my church, and they sent me away to Manila for my safety. It was a difficult time because it was my first time away from home. When I arrived at North Harbor (by container ship), I did not know how I would live. I had no friends or relatives and could not speak or understand the local Tagalong dialect. Not having any place to stay, I slept in Lunita Park under a bridge to get out of the rain. After three months, God made all things beautiful with His perfect timing. A Southern Baptist Pastor met me and, after hearing my story, took me in and allowed me to live with his family. They helped me learn the Tagalong dialect and encouraged me to study at the Luzon Baptist Bible School at Dagupan City. After graduating with a degree in pastoral ministry, I joined the Baptist Mission Philippines Evangelism (BAMPE) Association of Luzon. The Association assigned me as a church planter in Metro Manila. In 1992 I received a great blessing from the Lord when my parents accepted me back into the family. Thirteen years later, in November 2005, they received Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Trusting in Jesus was the best decision I have ever made. I believe in His perfect plan and am excited to see how He will grow the ministry of White Fields in the Philippines.
Churches Grow Through Prayer
Answers to prayers are vital to the successful start of a church. We won’t have any answers if we don’t bring our requests before the Lord. We have such a tremendous privilege to intercede for the pastors starting churches in their communities. Here are some highlights of the current prayer reports. We have updated the praises and requests on the prayer pages for each pastor. Thank you for your support in prayer.
Argentina, Pastor Matias:
We worked in four neighborhoods: Villa Palito, San Justo, Los Pinos, and Merlo. From Sunday through Thursday we spread out in these places and shared God’s word.
On Tuesday, we had the entire group gather in La Palito. This area, in particular, has been blessed by God because we have seen most of our fruit come from here over the last several years. There are two small group adult meetings, two youth meetings, and one children’s meeting. At least 30 people come to our church from this neighborhood. [Read more about the expanding ministry]
Your Donations Allow National Pastors to Minister Full-Time
Your Prayers Have an Impact
The prayers of God’s people have a huge impact on the ministry of churches around the world. God has given us a privilege to come before his very throne of grace to intercede for people in need. Our pastors always thank me and tell me to express their thanks to the prayer partners of White Fields and make sure they all know that God is answering their prayers. They give the credit for successful ministry to the answers to your prayers. The Apostle Paul asked the church in Colossae to pray for his ministry team: “Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison—that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak.” (Colossians 4:2-4 ESV)
We can join our pastor in prayer, asking God daily to give them clarity to speak truth with precision — and, to open the hearts of the people so the word of God will take root in their hearts and that their understanding will be opened as they hear the gospel. Ask God to unleash the transforming power of his word in the communities of the churches. [Read more…] about Your Prayers Have an Impact
Jason Magalona
I always thank God, every time I remember all of you. I praise God for all the blessings He has bestowed on me, my family and the ministry of Riverside Berean Gospel Church. I thank God for all your prayers and support. I praise the Lord for growing the church planting ministry; I started in Barangay Rizal, San Carlos City, Negros Occidental Philippines. I have seen the grace and power of God working in the lives of His children by transforming them and becoming faithful believers in our Lord Jesus Christ.
I praise God for the life of Erwin Dayanan whom I have witnessed transform from being a drug addicted, unfaithful husband to his wife Noeda, and an irresponsible father to his three children. He has become free from drug addiction and has been faithful and responsible to his wife and children.
Erwin Dayanan has been a great burden to his wife Noeda due to his vices. When I opened a Bible Study in their home every Monday evening, Erwin was hesitant in attending the Bible Study at first, but with the persistent prayers of his wife and the church, he is now faithfully attending the Bible’s study. In fact, He involves himself in the many activities of the church and has invited many of his neighbors and friends to the Bible study. Thank God for the growing numbers of attendance in the church during our Sunday worship.
The church leaders are doing a great job sharing the Gospel with their neighbors, friends, and family. I am blessed to see these children and workers of the Lord growing in His grace and mercy. I thank God for using my life and choosing me to serve Him in the church planting ministry. I am grateful to God for the support of my family and the work He has entrusted to us.
The joy of serving the Lord is incomprehensible. Serving God is a great honor and blessing, only God can give and satisfy.
I am very thankful that the Lord has blessed me with church brethren and leaders who are very supportive of their pastor. The members and church leaders respect and pray for their pastor. I was touched to see the messages given to me by some members of the church during our Pastor’s Appreciation Sunday. It was heartwarming, and I am thankful to the Lord for making me and choosing me to be His servant.
I thank God for healing my self, my children, Jazz 5 and Isaac four months old, from a cough and fever last month. It was heartbreaking to see my children getting sick. But God’s grace and healing are powerful. I also thank the Lord for providing all our needs financially through the support of the Whitefield’s Ministry.
PRAYER REQUESTS:
- Pray for good health for my family and me.
- Pray for Erwin Dayanan and Noeda Dayanan would continue to be faithful in serving the Lord especially the Bible study in their home every Monday evening.
- Pray for growth in the lives of the members and leaders of Riverside Berean Gospel Church.
- Pray for wisdom for all the decisions my wife and I will face in our lives.
- Pray that God will bless the church with a church lot and building.
Pastor Jason
Rolando Tomarong
Last month, there was a development meeting at Bonbon, Pinamungajan. The purpose of this meeting was to gather the people in the community to help develop gardening in their homes. The Department of Agriculture provides the community with seeds for their garden. We connected with the Department of Agriculture (DA) for the resources to provide the people with in the community. Our goal is for every family to have a garden. Gelyn (my wife) and I work with this program voluntarily. The meeting provides a bridge for the gospel, because we also teach them biblical values. The meeting was very successful because we were able to develop relationships with the people in the community of Bonbon. It was also successful because there were three families (who’s livelihood is farming and gardening) who were interested in having a Bible study in this area. It’s my privilege to meet with the people because it is also an opportunity for them to be recipients of my livelihood program that gives to people in need. My program to the farmers is livestock dispersal. In the Bonbon area, I give native chickens, goats, and cows. The recent beneficiaries of this program were Gequilan, Nenita, and Benigay. I’m glad to share in this ministry because we help build people’s character and help them through this livelihood program. The people I mentioned above are now attending a Bible study in their homes. The seed distribution project has a great impact in building people lives, especially for the farmers. I hope and pray that the project will prosper! Please help us pray that we can continue to build relationships with the farmers and that the gospel will be shared with them. Glory to God!
- Please pray for us, to continue to help the farmers, and also pray for our livelihood dispersal.
- Please pray for our family development meeting and the seeds distributed.
The church of Tajao Christian Fellowship mission will have a thanksgiving celebration in December. It is a celebration of God’s victory of the 9th anniversary of the church. The church will also celebrate five house churches that have been planted. The house churches are considered as daughter churches of Tajao Christian Fellowship mission, and these outreach ministries were assigned by the appointed leaders. The church has been busy preparing for the upcoming event that will be held at the IHO beach resort. All will unite together during this time for vision casting and reporting of accomplishments of the church this past year. Specifically, this year, there were 1,263 that the gospel was shared with, and out of this number, 700 received Jesus Christ. There were 332 that were interested in a Bible study. We have a goal of baptizing 50 this year, and have already baptized 33. I’m hoping that with God’s help, we will be able to accomplish our goal. The church has 30 leaders trained at present and 5 of them were assigned to the house churches planted. Please pray for us that God will continue to enable us to plant churches in the town of Pinamungajan.
- Please pray for the five house churches planted, that they will flourish.
- Please pray that the gospel will be preached to the barangays of Pinamungajan.
