From March 31 to April 6, 2024, a joint effort in global discipleship and evangelism was carried out in Butuan City, Philippines. Adventist care groups from 22 districts organized simultaneous evangelistic campaigns at 88 locations throughout the area. These campaigns resulted in a preliminary count of over 700 baptisms. The event was aligned with the General Conference's Global Disciple-Making and Evangelism initiative, with the objective of winning and nurturing souls for Christ until His return.
During the event, 16 administrators from various Adventist organizations participated in the initiative, including several union directors and North Eastern Mindanao Mission (NEMM) directors. Pastor Jerry Patalinghug, the president of the Southwestern Philippine Union Conference (SwPUC), was assigned to Butuan City Seventh-day Adventist Church, where he delivered a message on health and family life. He emphasized the importance of practicing biblical principles to maintain successful health and family relationships.
Pastor Jeramil Pamunag, the SwPUC vice president for NDR-IEL (Integrated Evangelism Lifestyle), expressed hope for improving future campaign programs and thanked all administrators for their support, especially financially. Moreover, Pastor Patalinghug hopes that the church members in Butuan City will continue to nurture the newly baptized members and remain steadfast in their faith journey within the church.
During the week-long event, the union administrators and directors shared personal stories and expressed gratitude for its success. They attributed the event's positive impact to divine intervention and praised the local church members for their unwavering commitment. The churches' care groups played a vital role in inviting attendees and ensuring their comfort by providing complimentary meals. Each church followed up after each session. This collaboration is the church's response to the Total Member Involvement (TMI) in Southwestern Philippines.
An individual who was recently baptized at Bangonay Adventist Church shared that she had attended three different local evangelistic events before but had struggled to make the decision to be baptized. However, the power of the message during the fourth evangelistic meeting overwhelmed her, and she decided to be baptized. This collaborative effort is set to extend to other regions within the Southwestern Philippines territory and is expected to reach out to the entire region this year.
The article was published on the Southern Asia-Pacific Division website.