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MISSIONS "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I will be with you always, to the very end of the age." Matthew 28: 19-20 Discipleship continues in homes and classrooms throughout the world, resulting in believers being obediant to the Gospel. Would you like to support our Philppine Mission? If so, please contact one of the Elders or Evangelists listed on our homepage. Romans 10:17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ   Mark 16:16 " He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; UPDATES FROM SAMAR- The following are from Margarito Gerez Jr in Samar: March 3, 2008 "I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all, making request with joy, for your fellow worship in the gospel from the first day until now" (Phil 1: 3-5). Yes, we always give thanks to God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ for being our partner in reaching the lost souls here in Samar, Thank God. It is my great joy to share the gospel of Christ to the lost and to help the weak breathern to be strong and remain failthful till the end. Therefore, we continue in our ministry by preaching and teaching, visitation and follow-up, radio minstry, home unit Bible study and house to house evangelism. All these things are done becasue of our partnership. Please extend my greatings to the minister, elders, deacons and to all the saints of the church. I and my family extend our heartful gratitude. Your brother in Christ, Margarito Gerez Jr. January 1, 2008. First of all, Happy New Year. It is my great joy to continue to share to you the success of my work here in Samar for the year 2007. God blessed my ministry and 41 souls were added to His church, here in Samar in different towns and places. We are so happy that you are partners in God's work in saving the lost people through sharing the gospel of Christ. Again, thank you so much for the financial help you have given to us. As you know, we have 3 provinces here in Samar and we are planing, if God is willing, to extend our ministry in Western Samar this year 2008. You know, almost 2 million people living in that provinces and yet we have no congragation. I am praying that God may plant a church to be the light of that province. Your brother in Christ, Margarito Gerez Jr.
History of the Harrisonburg Church of Christ and the Philppine Ministry in Samara | Photos from the Philippine Church | In 1987 Wayne Martin, former minister at the Harrisonburg Church, made this first trip to the Philipines. While there, he met and spent a lot of time with Epie Gerez, a young preacher on the Island of Samar. All preachers and missionaries had been chased off the island or killed in the mid 1980's by the New People's Army and the island had just recently be reopended for ministry. Wayne was scheduled to spend a week with Epie but due to travel problems, was unable to do so. However, upon his return, Brother Wayne held a missions weekend and introduced the work of Christ to the Nations Ministry overall and the specific work of Epie in Samar. The Church at that time decided to commit financially with the work. In 1989 Dan Turner made a trip with Wayne and CTN and spent a week with Epie. He was very impressed by the work. Epie had started eight (8) churches in the area but had difficulty visiting and teaching in all of them. To help meet this need, the church bought a motorcycle so Epie could effectively evangelize in the surrounding villages. In 1992 Epie has started a few more congregations and the work was progressing. Tragically, a few years later, while on their way to a meeting, Epie and his wife were killed in an automoble accident, leaving behind six (6) children. Epie's brother Margarito, who was preaching about 60 miles from Epie, came and assumed the ministry and care of three (3) of Epie's children. The remaining three (3) children were cared for by members of Epie's wife's family. Over the years the work has grown. There are now more congreations and many of the small village congregations have grown as well. The Harrisonburg Church continues to support this work and receives regular updates on the church's progress. Just recently, Margarito reported eight (8) decisions for the Lord from the congregations there. Brother Wayne recently returned from the Phillipines and reports one of the highlights of his latest trip was meeting Kathy Gerez, the oldest daughter of Epie and his wife. She is a senior at Cebu Bible Seminary and will be graduating in April of 2008. She is planning to enter the field of Christian service, probably through music and teaching. |
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