Alliance of Bible Christian Communities of the Philippines, inc.

STATEMENTS OF PURPOSE & DISTINCTIVE MEMBER CHURCHES CHURCH PLANTING OVERSEAS MISSIONS LEADERSHIP TRAINING PROJECT PROPOSAL COUNCIL OF ELDERS Statements of Purpose and Distinctive TP ABCCOP supports the Lausanne Covenant and identifies itself with the movement, resulting from such covenant provided it is evaluated and accepted by the Community. 1. The emphasis on the biblical theme of the rule of God over all creation and the church as the basic agent of such rule. 2. The commitment to the evangelization of the world through the establishment of dynamic and interdependent churches. 3. The development and practice of creative indigenous and effective missions, liturgy and biblical theology. 4. The emphasis on the priesthood of all believers and Christian community life in the understanding and practice of the church’s ministry, polity and charism. 5. The recovery and enhancement of evangelical, social responsibility especially to the poor based on sound biblical principles and adequate understanding of public issues. 6. The recovery of the rich evangelical tradition of spirituality and piety. 7. The emphasis on the theological and Christian education and development and to equip the members for different types of ministry and levels of leadership.” Member Churches As of Dec. 31, 2005, ABCCOP has a total membership of 470 Churches excluding the many unregistered daughter Churches of its member Churches. A big percentage of these are ethnic Churches especially the minority people of Mangyans in Mindoro Island. As of date, ABCCOP has more than 150 Churches of the Mangyan tribes, some 10 Igorot Churches in the highlands and some pioneering works in other ethnicities like the Muslims in Sama, Tawi-tawi and the Badjaos in Davao, both in Mindanao. Church Planting One of the main focus of ABCCOP is Church planting. ABCCOP has many ways of fulfilling this Great Commission of proclaiming the Gospel and pioneering Churches such as: 1) Sending its own missionaries to targeted locations through its arm, the ACPLAN (ABCCOP Church Planting – ABCCOP supported missionaries); 2) Partnering with International partner missions like SEND, International, Overseas Missionary Fellowship, Team Philippines and World Team; 3) Partnering with member Churches; or 4) Through its local Churches. So far, we have . . . even years ago, ABCCOP has started the work in Mindanao by sending missionaries to plant Churches in Davao City and Cagayan de Oro City. As of date, we now have an established church in both these cities. Two years ago, ABCCOP has sent a couple missionaries to another part of Davao City to plant a Church among the Manobo tribes. And in partnership with TEAM Philippines, ABCCOP has sent a team to Southern Sama in Tawitawi, Mindanao to work among the Muslims in that area. As of date, ABCCOP has about 200 missionaries, both local and overseas; 51 missionaries under ACPLAN and the rest, sent by the different ABCCOP member Churches. Overseas Missions Part of ABCCOP’s vision is to multiply Churches not only locally but globally and to have an impact throughout the world. Many years ago, ABCCOP has sent some missionaries to Spain and to Poland in partnership with SEND’s Global Alliance Philippines (GAP, Philippines). As of date, ABCCOP has ten overseas missionaries assigned in the different parts of the world. Although ABCCOP faces a big problem of small valued currency which makes international missions very costly, ABCCOP is committed to actively participate in global missions. Leadership Training Because of the number of Churches that ABCCOP has and its scope of missions, one of the biggest challenges ABCCOP is facing is the training of leaders to cope with the growing demand of ministry. In as much as there are many Bible schools available in the country, including our very own Bible school located in the Island of Mindoro, most of these schools are situated in the key cities of the country which makes it extremely difficult for our members in the rural areas and provinces to access. Not only is the cost extremely high in terms of tuition fees, board and lodging also cost a lot. In this regard, ABCCOP came up with a mobile school called ACTS (ABCCOP Christian Theological School) which holds classes in the many different ACTS centers in the different parts of the country. Students in the rural areas do not have to come to Manila to get theological training anymore; instead, our teachers go to where the students are to give them training. Classes are usually held within one week per module which is designed for lay people and tailored fit for their need. As the benefits of this school became more and more visible, Metro Manila churches, which numbers about 70, also started to clamor for in-house training. Many ABCCOP people, particularly the lay people are opting for ACTS training rather than attending Bible Schools and seminaries which almost always require them to study full-time. As the ministry demands increase, the need for a training center in Manila also increases. A training center capable of housing students for a period of one week will not only answer the need of our Metro Manila churches but will also help our rural churches. For one thing, it will allow rural and provincial pastors and lay people to get more modules as they can come to Manila once in a while and not worry about board and lodging. Far Eastern Gospel Crusade, or FEBC (now SEND Int’l) started church planting in the Philippines WWII, birthing several churches in the Quezon Province (South Luzon), Marinduque Islands (of the southern coasts of Luzon), Cagayan Valley (North Luzon). OMF started thereafter, primarily in the Batangas province, and the Mindoro Island Sensing the need for “fellowship in the ministry” these churches, along with several independent, indigenous evangelical churches, decided to form an association whose primary purposes are “fellowship in the ministry” “continuance of the mission.” On November 1972, the group formally registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of the Philippine Government as the Association of Bible Churches of the Philippines (ABCCOP). Through the years the need for stronger “community-ness” was felt, and along with major amendments in the By-laws, the name was change to Alliance of Bible Christian Community of the Philippines (ABCCOP). This was registered with the SEC on July 31, 1989, with Registration Number 53919. Home Back ALLIANCE OF BIBLE CHRISTIAN COMMUNITIES OF THE PHILIPPINES, INC.