Pedro R. Melendez Jr.
QUEZON CITY, Philippines--Fifteen Feast sites registered a combined attendance of 3,431 on the first day. This represents an increase of 2.5 percent over last year's nine sites.
Attendance on the Last Great Day (3,247) was down by 7.2 percent compared to last year. Holy Day offerings were also less in comparison to last year; however, offerings on the first day were only 1.7 percent short of our budgeted offering income, and those on the last day were 10.9 percent more than budgeted offering income.
Besides the additional six sites this year, the presence of invited guests at some sites, which conducted open house worship services, also helped boost attendance.
In Tagaytay City the brethren met in a facility run by the Philippine Council for Evangelical Churches (PCEC).
In Puerto Princesa City the brethren used the worship hall of the Life Renewal Christian Ministry as one of their Festival venues, and in Metro Manila, Word of Hope (the Assemblies of God worship hall) was one of the halls where the brethren met for services.
In Cagayan de Oro City, the brethren met in the worship hall of the Jesus Is Alive church. All three church organizations are members of the PCEC, with which we have had a friendly relationship since the council's officers learned about our doctrinal changes toward Christian orthodoxy.
The most outstanding outreach effort this Feast was Metro Manila's benefit show, Celebration of Life, in which adults and youths were the majority performers.
Part of the show's proceeds went to support the Mission Ministries-Philippines' project Early Childhood Enrichment Program at Payatas, a major garbage dumpsite in Quezon City. The program aims to provide a headstart for five preschools in this depressed village that are serving 200 disadvantaged youths (ages 4 to 61/2) in their critical years before they enter the first grade.
The show's proceeds also augmented the medicine donations (altogether worth about P50,000 or US$1,500) used on a free medical and dental mission that was conducted during the Feast, to treat Payatas residents.
The medical-dental team (three of whom are church members) consisted of 12 physicians, six nurses, four dentists and three midwives. Some 500 people (mostly children with ailments) received medical treatment, and 75 others received dental treatment.
Eugene Guzon, the show's coordinator, hopes that the project won't end with the Feast. He trusts that the project has opened the eyes of church members, the greater community outside, as well as government officials, to the crying needs (not just educational) of the Payatas community.
Charles Calahan, pastor of the Wichita, Kansas, church, conducted marriage enrichment seminars in addition to giving sermons in Davao City, Manila and Baguio City. Dr. Calahan has a doctorate in family studies.
While in Manila he met with Layne Turner, academic dean of the International School of Theology for Asia (ISOT-Asia), one of the leading evangelical theological institutions here.
George Escara, Bacolod City pastor, summed up what perhaps was the common feeling in other sites as well: "The services were so much more worshipful, with honor and praise truly given to Jesus Christ. The major factor that made this so, I believe, was that all the Festival activities (worship services, social activities and community outreach projects) were geared to giving glory to our Lord Jesus Christ, with him always at the center of everything."
Philippines: five largest sites
Manila 823
Baguio 510
Cagayan de Oro 504
Davao 262
Legaspi 219
Oct. 29, 1996, Worldwide News, page 11
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