T'Boli Believers

T’boli Believers

Greetings!

Last month, I had the opportunity to attend a CCI graduation in South Cotabato wherein ten T’boli Christian pastors finished their training.

The T’boli are an indigenous people group living in the highlands of Mindanao, particularly in the province of South Cotabato. They have a highly-developed culture with their own laws and way of living. Their traditional belief system is intimately associated with nature and the spirit world. They believe in the god of creation, the gods of the sun, moon and stars, and the spirits of the forest, river, water, and many other things. They ask permission from and make offerings to the spirits before cutting down a tree or taking anything from nature. They perform rituals to ask for a good harvest, to ward off evil spirits, and to heal the sick. Through CCI training some people have come to recognize the Lord Jesus Christ as deity and have put their trust in Him for salvation.

Please pray that the Lord will use these men to bring the Good News of salvation to their tribe so that their people, too, may learn to serve the living and true God.

We appreciate your prayers and support.

Henry Ventura

CCI Philippines National Director

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Staff Update

Pastor Val Abellanosa held a Teacher Training Workshop (TTW) at Impasug-ong, Bukidnon with 10 participants. This resulted in six ministry partners that will hopefully start new classes in the province.

Pastor Repaso, Pastor Reggie, Pastor Art and I held a God’s Financial Principles Seminar (GFP) in Surallah, South Cotabato with 54 attendees. Here are some of the comments from the participants:

“I learned that we as leaders must exhibit honesty and integrity.”
“As Christians, we should be wise and do everything with integrity.”
“We should not only give; we should also save. My mind was opened about saving.”

During the seminar, we gave away some Bibles and books to the participants to help them in their Christian walk. These books were donated by our generous friends in the USA.

Fourteen pastors graduated in Cagayan de Oro City. They are the first batch of graduates at this church. Two other batches of students are still in training. Less than a month after this graduation, Pastor Gabe started training the fourth batch of students. All of the teachers at Gusa are CCI graduates. The church sponsored the training of mountain pastors from Malitbog, Bukidnon who don’t have the money to pay for the books.

Four students graduated at a church in Iligan City. These students are now able to assist their pastor in leading and ministering to their church members.

32 students from 4 training centers held their joint graduation ceremony at the campus of Philippine Baptist Theological Institute, Surallah, South Cotabato. All seven teachers who trained these students are CCI graduates.

57 other students also finished the first level of training offered by the Southern Philippines Baptist Theological Seminary. We pray that they will go on to take CCI classes.

Testimonies From CCI Students

Pastor Malory Flang is a tribal leader and a pastor in the T’boli community. Without any theological training, he used to be vulnerable to false teachings. He joined a CCI class two years ago but could not go to the Bible school consistently because of the pandemic. When he could not attend the training, his teacher would go out and meet with him and train him one-on-one. He continued to share the Word of God even during the pandemic. With the help of his mentor Pastor Frank Chavez and other people, he was able to put some resources together to construct a church building. We visited him at his church to see the work in the mountains. I was surprised to find out that about twenty people came that day from the surrounding mountains on motorcycles and on foot and they have been waiting for two hours in order to hear the Word of God! I spoke to them briefly on the importance and priority of maintaining our relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.

Neil Rejaba used to be a deacon at a church in Davao. He used to lead the youth group at his church. But he did not want to be a pastor. The pastor at the Philippine Baptist Theological Institute invited him to come to Surallah to work as the house parent at the orphanage. He had no income but decided to trust the Lord to provide for his needs. While in Surallah, he was encouraged to join the CCI class at PBTI. After a few months of training, the Lord touched his heart and he felt called to serve as a pastor. He started ministering at a church in Surallah and continues to do so until now. He learned that a pastor must do everything and sacrifice everything for the sake of the Lord. He loves to take care of the flock. He wants to lead his family in ministering to people. And he plans to train other church leaders using our curriculum.

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Prayer Requests & Praises

Please pray for the success of our current US tour.
Please pray for the continuous growth and effectiveness of the ministry in the Philippines.
Pastor Manny’s weight has plateaued at around 122 lb. Please continue to pray for his health.
Pray for healing for the son of Brother Jimmy, Melvin Caindoy’s friend.
Pray for Pastor Melvin’s two struggling classes (Anda and Cebu) which are both having a hard time finding consistent teachers.
Pastor Melvin visited the Christ Bible Church in Jagna, Bohol. Pray that they will start a class soon. He also trained two associate trainers in Maribojoc, Bohol who will help with the administration of the class that they are planning to start in September. Please pray for this class.
Pastor Nonie Riconalla is still looking for a translator who can finish the Ilonggo translation. Pray that the Lord will provide a translator.

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