NORTHWEST
FILIPINO BAPTIST CHURCH
Manzano
ARSENIO MANZANO
REACHING THE ASIANS THROUGH THE NATIONALS
| Testimony: My Conversion
and My Call in the Ministry
My name is Arsenio Manzano, you can call me Arsie and I'm 41 years old, I'm married having two kids, my oldest name is Charisel she is 15 years old and my youngest name is Ishael she is 12 years old. My wife name is Josie the Lord provided me a good partner in the ministry. I dedicated my life in the full time service since 1979 and that was the year I enrolled at Baptist Bible Institute and graduated 1983 with the degree of Bachelor Theology, major in Greek Bible. My planned before is to be a teacher at Bible College, but God has a better plan for me, He called me to plant churches. Before God called me in the ministry, let me share to you how I came to know Christ as my personal Savior. When I was in grade school my Aunt always brought me to Sunday School and tell me a stories about the Bible especially the second coming of Jesus Christ. But then 1973, when our family moved out to another place, my grandmother's province, she taught me a lot of things about the religious rites of Catholicism like kissing and bowing to the images and reciting the rosary where I thought it will give me more merits to go to heaven, and I kept doing all these things. But during my high school days my life became worst and I had no peace of mind, my parents thought that I was their good son, outside the home my friends had influenced me a lot of worldly things and ungodly things which does not honor the Lord. And the worst thing I remembered is when I got involved in witchcraft games. But I really thanked God, the Lord sent a missionary for our family and invited us to attend a Gospel Presentation, and I was touched and reminded me what my Aunt shared to me. The Bible says, "My word shall not return void" and "If any man be in Christ he is a new creature..." In 1977 when I was 15 years old I repented my sins and accepted Christ into my life as my Lord and Savior. As a youth in my Church, I was actively involved in every Church activity. I loved to be with my Pastor, assisting him in all his endeavors. One time he challenged me if I could become a Pastor or Missionary someday, noticing the zeal of my service to God, I said no". The reason that I gave was "there's no money m the ministry", he responded "yes, there is no money but there are treasures, the treasures of winning the lost for Christ. As we continued the ministry of soul winning in a certain barangay, I was challenged with the responses that the people made for Christ. It was then that I felt the burden of becoming a Pastor. Until 1979 I entered Bible College and finished it with joy in my heart. In 1983 after I graduated, I thought the Lord would grant my request to teach at Bible College, but then a Church who supported me to finished my Bible College, challenged me to assist them to launched a Church Planting program and they decided to extend the call for me to supervised the work and I accepted it and this is my first mission. 1987 with God's help I organized the Church and still growing, after that I prayed to God to give me another ministry, the Lord granted my request that is to Pastor an organized Church running of an attendance 130 but after six years of serving this Church, my wife and I prayed to plant another Church,1995 the Lord answered my prayer, He brought me back to my home province and also the year were we started to launched my second mission and last April 2001 the Church turns to six years now and running of 70 people not included the Children, we are praying with God's direction we will organize it and for God nothing is impossible, I'm " praying and my goal is to plant 5 Churches more and to train 30 workers. And I am praying for Churches or Individual that win help me faithfully for my monthly support, as of now the Philippines were experiencing different crisis especially the economy. Although 83% percent are Catholic,10% percent are muslims still the gospel were open, the Bible says "The Harvest truly is plenteous but the laborers are few". I am appealing to your kind heart please help me to reach my country men with your prayers and financial support The Bible says in Zech.4:6, " ... not by might nor by power but my Spirit saith the Lord." Yes, we can serve God through the power of His Spirit and we can do great things to Glorify His name. God bless you!
|
