As a person who grew up in a Christian family, since I was born, it has been a blessing. My dad is a missionary in a small town called Clarin, Misamis Occidental in the Philippines and my mother is a simple housewife. Among seven siblings, I am the eldest of Bro. Celso V. Cordero Jr. and Mrs. Lila Cordero.

I remember when I was young, my dad and my mom would tell us stories from the Bible almost everyday. And almost every night, my dad would share with us the plan of salvation. I think it is a great desire of a father that his children will not be put into damnation. They would tell us different stories, but as a young child, the only thing that really stuck in my mind was when my dad shared to me about hell. It is the place where people end up if they don’t have Jesus in their heart. As I grew up, I got used to hearing about hell that it seemed like a fairytale to me. The things of God also wasn’t interesting to me. As a kid, the only things that interested me were playing, hanging with friends, and going to school. Going to church every Sunday and Wednesday was like a tradition to me and listening to preaching was boring to me. I needed to go to church because my dad was the pastor, and if I don’t, my dad will punish me. That was the routine of my life before God saved me. But I thank God because He found me.

I believe each one of us has a turning point in our lives that God takes us to for us to realize the lost situation of our soul. It was during a junior camp at Ozamis City, Philippines that God saved me. I remember that time I was listening to the Word of God being preach by Pastor Bobby Tago. It was the night of November 2, 1998. He was preaching about how awful hell is. Before that night, I imagined that hell is only like the fire that we can see in a lamp. But the preacher that night said there are different kinds of fire with different colors; there’s the yellow like what we see in lamps and candles, the red, blue and the a fire that is colorless which is also the hottest fire there is. He explained that hell’s fire is colorless that’s why nothing can be seen there– just darkness. When I heard that explanation about hell, I was in fear. I didn’t want to go to that dark and hot place. But I thank God for reaching me and giving me the free gift of salvation. As the pastor was giving the invitation that night for people who were unsaved to come to Christ, when I heard it, I cannot explain the feeling that I felt. I walked down the aisle of that room crying, going towards the front at the stage, I knelt and accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Lord and Savior. It was that night that God found me and wrote my name in the book of life. And until this moment I am still saved and will be forever saved.

Being a preacher’s kid is not easy. There are a lot of expectations. People are constantly watching and because of that, preachers’ kids are often very pressured and burdened. So my friends who were also pastor's kids and I organized a camp for preachers’ kids, not knowing that in that camp God will touch my heart to surrender in the ministry. In God’s timing, an American pastor was visiting Mindanao that time, so we asked him to be the speaker of that camp. He was also a pastor’s kid. His name is Pastor Jack Backman. He challenged us that being a pastor’s kid is not burden but a blessing, it’s not of necessity but of opportunity– opportunity to be used by God. That night, I surrendered my life to God and serve Him in full time service.

After I surrendered to be in full time ministry, I knew I had to be trained and to learn more about the Bible. In 2006, I enrolled at the Fundamental Baptist College for Asians in Tarlac, Philippines. It’s a thousand miles away from my home place. The following year, I transferred to Bible Baptist College in Cebu City where my dad also graduated. This college was started by American missionary Bob Hughes. I was trained in that college for three years and graduated in 2010. I learned so many things that equipped me for the ministry that I got involved in after I graduated.

In 2016, I was given the opportunity to study and further my training in Marietta Bible College in Marietta, Ohio as a scholar.

After graduating from Bible College, I went back to my home church in Molave, Zamboanga del Sur in the Philippines to help my dad in the ministries of the church. There, I had the privilege of being involved in soulwinning, conducting Bible studies, and teaching children. I was also able to lead the young people of our church and disciple them as they grew in faith.

In 2013, God led me to different kind of opportunity in the ministry. I was able to go to Saudi Arabia and help another Filipino reach other Filipinos who are working there. Saudi Arabia is a strict Muslim country and the Gospel is not allowed there. But by the grace of God, I helped reach those Filipino who are lost. We gathered Filipinos regularly in a sound-proof room and preached to them the Word of God in secret. It was not easy, but God is still in the business of saving souls. For two years, God sustained and protected me in that country.

In 2015, when I returned to the Philippines, God gave me an opportunity to handle the pastorate of our church in the Philippines for a few months while my dad was on furlough in United States. Those experiences helped me grow more in faith and taught me many things in the ministry.