Philippine Challenge’s 70^th founding Anniversary celebration centered on “PC’s Growing Impact” as its theme. We celebrated and honored God for the partnerships forged throughout PC’s long history of assisting the body of Christ in multiplying churches in the Philippines and beyond.

We looked back to the late 1950s, when PC, Philippine Crusades, then partnered with the Billy Graham Crusades in hosting their first evangelistic rally in the Philippines, where over sixty thousand people heard the Gospel on a night to remember at the Rizal Memorial Football stadium. Our evangelism through sports via the Ventures for Victory basketball teams, now Sports Ambassadors, started in the early years of PC. It continued to become an effective way of sharing the Gospel through sports until the birth of the DAWN Movement in the mid-70s, where PC catalyzed a gathering of Filipino church leaders and denominational heads in setting the goal of planting 50,000 churches by the year 2000. Consequently, PCI has partnered with the Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches and other major groups to rally the whole body of Christ towards its fulfillment.

This goal has become the battle cry for PC’s continued partnership with the Body of Christ in the Philippines. Research has become a major ministry in helping the church see where movements are happening and locate those unchurched areas. In seeking to enhance our Research, PC has recently launched a web-based mapping tool that would help pastors and leaders strategically plan their church planting efforts.

PC’s Church Planting training has been another major contribution in equipping and assisting the whole body of Christ, resulting in the establishment of many thousands of new churches in the country. We are indeed grateful for the impact of PC’s ministry through these partnerships that God has brought through the years.

Another highlight of the celebration was to honor three couples who have served and still continue to serve Philippine Challenge in different capacities up to the present.   They have spent forty to fifty years of their life with PC.  Manny and Norie Movido began with PC while still young people serving in finance and administration.  Norie still serves as our business Manager.  Rey and Vicky Quilaton started in the early eighties as our ethnic awareness coordinators and still serve with the Indigenous peoples of Mindanao.  Dave and Sandy White came under the Short Term Evangelistic Program (STEP) in 1983, returned in 1985, and eventually served as our Church Planting strategist, wrote several books, and developed contextualized tools for church planting, not only in the Philippines but also in Myanmar and Thailand.

During the event, Jojo Manzano, our board chairman, challenged us from John 21 to remain faithful and never lose sight of god's calling for PC in the discipling of  nations and multiplying churches.  We can fulfill the calling, not on our own strength, but through our continuous partnership with God, where a great catch of fish is possible.  We can form fruitful partnerships with God and with others that we can accomplish and that will have a growing impact on our nation and beyond.

Submitted by James Cantoria (PC Executive Director)