Report On Preaching In The Philippines (II)
by Keith Greer
This is a continuation of a report from brother Keith Greer’s trip to the Philippines to preach the gospel there. The first part of the report is in last week’s bulletin.
Our Tuesday, May 7 travel brought us to Cebu City where Jonathan Carino preaches. In Brother Carino’s home, with Ron and I both speaking, we studied with many of the preachers around Cebu City. They questioned us until 4:30 p.m. We left Jonathan in Cebu City, and Brother Carpentero went with Ron and me to catch the flight back to Manila, for our Wednesday morning flight back to the United States. Brother Ben Cruz and his family picked us up at the airport, and we visited in the hotel until 11 p.m. At 4:30 a.m. the next morning, we left for the airport and began our trip home.
Concluding Remarks:
In all, during the seven-week trip, we visited 23 cities, and 180 were baptized (120 during the four-weeks I was there). (Ron visited seven on the islands of Luzon before my arrival, and the two of us visited 15). During my one-month stay in the Philippines, I preached a total of 64 times.
I believe there remains a great harvest of Philippine souls yet to be reached. One problem that must be addressed is the growing number of young preachers who are badly in need of training. Many of them have been converted out of other religions, and they need Bible instruction. I know that, subsequent to our departure, the Filipino preachers are doing follow-up visits. Brothers Carpentero and Carino do numerous lectures that focus on training preachers. But, more needs to be done.
The Philippine poverty, and the lack of support for many of the preachers, is overwhelming. Among all the churches in this country, there isn’t sufficient wealth to fill the void that these areas present. What can we do? One thing we must not do is promise these preachers and brethren that we are their way out of poverty. We go there to preach the gospel to the lost and to edify the Christians. Our work must focus on these needs. Yes, we can, as we have opportunity, help to ease some of the benevolence needs, but we cannot fulfill them all! We can support some of the preachers, but each church must examine each man carefully and be sure he is worthy of support.
We can send teaching materials for the classes, especially young people’s classes. The brethren there have no access to such materials. Most can use the materials in English. Bibles and songbooks are also very scarce. Some are needed in the Filipino dialect, and some use our English songbooks. The best way to help is through good, sound men, through whom we can work to get the materials where they are most needed. Also, preachers need help with building their personal libraries. I intend to help both Jonathan and Cipriano build good libraries. This is something we can all do. If you would like to help in this area, please let me know.
Finally, many have asked whether I’ll go back. The answer is “yes,” if the Lord wills it to be so. This trip renewed my faith in the power of God’s word. The gospel does touch honest hearts, even the hearts of men who are teaching error and false doctrine. Sometimes I wonder, because of the lack of response from those outside the church, if there’s something wrong with my preaching. In the Philippines, I preached the same gospel, in the same manner, but the results were quite different. The audiences were more willing to listen. Poverty tends to foster open-mindedness regarding spiritual matters. May God continue to bless our efforts, not only in the Philippines, but everywhere in the world where the gospel can be preached. Thank you again for your support, prayers, love for the lost, and willingness to help. May God grant us opportunity to work together, for His cause, again in the future.
Brotherly,
Keith M. Greer