I was born and raised in a place that killing people is an everyday activity. Violence and vices are everywhere. Death occurs to any one at any moment at any place. No hope, no help, no safety anywhere. Even inside our home, there’s the risk of death. Every time my father was drunk he would beat all of us in the family. Under the influence of the alcohol, he wanted to kill us all and burn our house. Because of that, I wanted to protect myself and my family but I did not have enough strength to do it. I searched for ways and the right time to end the life of my father. So I decided to enroll in a Taekwando club. But in that club, I met a different kind young man. I noticed that every time he talked, he would always thank the Lord.

He started to invite me to their church. Three times I escaped and made a lot of excuses. But he never gave up on me, he was consistent and was concerned for me. He came back to me again for the fourth time on a Sunday morning. He didn’t know but for that whole week I was planning to kill my father, specifically that day. God intervened with his divine plan over my wicked plan.

That was December 16, 1996, I visited a Baptist church for the first time. I was so shocked of their meeting place because it was a morgue previously. But it was there that I heard a clear presentation of the Gospel. My entire life always revolved around death but that morning I heard about life. Not only life, but everlasting life in Jesus. It was unusual for me to hear that somebody died for me. That moment the Holy Spirit started to convict me that I am a lost sinner who is bound for hell. The preacher said that the blood of Jesus brings FREE salvation, FULL salvation, FINAL salvation, and FOREVER salvation.

This Jesus can change my destination from hell to heaven. He is able to change my direction from darkness to His marvelous light. He changed my devotion from the world through His Word. At the end of his preaching I decided to accept Christ in my heart as my personal Lord and Savior.

Since that day, I never went back to my old and wicked life. My heart, my head, and my hands are totally different from before. The direction of my heart changed for the salvation of my family, but sad to say, they kicked me out of our house due to my new found faith in Christ. With nowhere to go, I stayed at the church until God called me to His ministry. I enrolled in a Bible college after that. Then one morning after several years, I heard bad news that my father was shot. That made me decide to go home. But that trial led me to lead my own mother and father to the saving knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. A year later, as I was starting to plant a church, I was able to baptize my family and they became the first members of the church. To God be the glory!

After I got saved, I wanted my life to be used by the Master and to serve Him with all my heart. I was persecuted for my new found faith. But those trials led me to live in the church and God called me to the ministry. At the age of 17, I surrendered my whole life to the Lord.

As a young Christian, my home church and pastor taught me how to witness, handle Bible studies, follow up on visitors, and disciple. As I grew in faith, I was trained how to preach, song lead, and teach children in the villages. I thank God for my pastor, Pastor Rolando Pacong, who taught me. Everything that I am today is because of the man of God that surrendered his life for the ministry.

In 1998, I enrolled in Solid Rock Bible Believing Baptist Seminary in Oroquieta City, Misamis Occidental under the leadership of Pastor Rameses Tangub. I was trained by and learned from many Pastors and Preachers. I am blessed to learn from great men of God who showed me how to be courageous in the ministry. I graduated after four years. In 2014, God gave me the opportunity for further training at Marietta Bible College in Marietta, Ohio under the leadership of Dr. Myron Guiler.

After I graduated from Bible college, the Lord led me to start a church at Maquilao, Tangub City, Misamis Occidental. I started my first church by walking and visiting people house to house. At first, it took one to two hours of walking just to get one adult to attend Sunday service, but God is good because He gave us many children to minister to.

From there, the Lord blessed the ministry. We started knocking on doors, winning souls for God, and the Lord added people in the church. We distributed Gospel tracts every week. Teaching children in the villages is also very important. We conducted weekly Bible studies at homes. God has given us the opportunity to preach through radio, in buses, hospitals, in a school campus and to inmates in jail.

God blessed our ministry and after twelve years of God’s faithfulness, God gave us land and a building so that we have place to worship. Four young people already graduated from Bible college and two are graduating this year. Even though our people are not wealthy, the church is faithful in taking part in Missions giving. The church currently supports 10 local missionaries. One of them is from our church, Pastor Julieto Galuta, my younger brother who surrendered to the ministry in 2012.