News & Stories

Philippine C&MA Celebrates Milestone

April 29, 2009

The Christian and Missionary Alliance Churches of the Philippines (CAMACOP) held its 50th General Assembly April 22-26, 2009, in Mactan Island, Cebu. The theme was “Living in God’s Holiness.” Dr. Gary Benedict, president of the U.S C&MA, was the devotional speaker. Other speakers included Dr. Ben De Jesus, former president of the Alliance World Fellowship; Dr. Rodrigo Tano; former president of CAMACOP and the Alliance Biblical Seminary; Dr. Joe Dalino, former president of CAMACOP, and Dr. Joy Tira, representing the Canada C&MA and Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization.

Slow Beginnings

The first Alliance missionaries arrived in the Philippines in 1902. Progress was slow; after 20 years, there were less than 500 baptized believers and three churches. Pioneer missionary Robert A. Jaffray was sent to the Philippines to determine if the field should be closed. When he arrived, Jaffray didn’t see struggling churches without growth; he saw what God could do.

“I believe that the Philippine field can be the largest field of The Alliance,” Jaffray said. He also said that the churches would never grow without a school to train pastors. To that end, the Ebenezer Bible Institute was started as a center for training Filipino Christian leaders.

A Vibrant Fellowship

Today, CAMACOP is a vibrant, autonomous, missionary-sending church. It is one of the largest evangelical groups in the country with more than 2,400 churches and 392,000-plus inclusive members. At the recent General Assembly, registered delegates totaled 1,154. Rev. Reniel Joel Nebab was reelected to a second term as president/bishop of CAMACOP. A ground-breaking moment included CAMACOP’s approval of the ordination of women.

What You Can Do

Praise God for the growth of CAMACOP. Pray that these churches will continue to be beacons of light to a world that needs Jesus.