INTERNATIONAL CHRISTIAN

~  MISSION  ~

THE CHURCH IN NAVOTAS,

 METRO MANILA, PHILIPPINES

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FAITH, HOPE AND LOVE CHRISTIAN CHURCH,

NAVOTAS, METRO MANILA

Before 1989 I lived and traveled various parts of the Philippines, only hearing and reading extreme stories about a place called NAVOTAS in the northwest corner of Metro Manila, next to Manila Bay.  Navotas was (and still is) famous for:

 

1. Flooding.  Most of Navotas is at most a few feet above sea level.  Seasonal high tides, storm surges, and heavy rain ALWAYS  flood the streets.
2. Dense Population. Navotas is a place with narrow streets and 229,039 PER SQ. MILE (1995 estimate of the Philippine National Statistics Office), making it one of the most densely populated areas of the world.
3. Poverty.  Navotas is a common destination of people coming to Manila looking for work, which most do not find.  So, they settle in squatter areas, where the basic necessities of life are difficult to come by.  The streets are famous for piles of garbage and large rats.
4. Corruption and Violence.  Although somewhat improved since 1989, Navotas is still a place where disputes are settled with guns and honest officials are massacred in the street. 
5. Drugs.  Desperate people without hope are easily hooked into drug dealing and drug addiction.  The area around our church building is one of the worse.
6.  Spiritual Darkness.  Practices of witchcraft, sorcery, divination, fortune telling and the like thrive in this area.  The work of the church must face this head on in prayer.
7.  A Place of Avoid.  The reputation of Navotas in Metro Manila is "a place to avoid."  Many taxi drivers refuse to take passengers to Navotas, especially at night.  It has also been avoided by missionaries.  As far as I know, I am the the only missionary living here.

 

HOW DID I END UP IN NAVOTAS?  WHY NAVOTAS?
In 1988 and 1989 some events in my life left me doubting my effectiveness as a missionary.  The end result of the doubting was good, as I was challenged to open my eyes to places long forgotten - to see that there were places "where no missionary would go," places where my efforts would make a difference.  That become my banner of hope.  I delight in taking God's light to dark places.  We started in Navotas with a small Bible Study in a local high school.  This grew and evolved into our current church in Navotas called FAITH, HOPE, AND LOVE CHRISTIAN CHURCH (FHL).  From the beginning, we developed a mission program in this church that delighted in going to other forgotten areas.  God has gradually focused our attention an area the country called BICOL, a region southeast of Manila.   Because of communist insurgency and difficult conditions, most early mission efforts in these areas were abandoned.  We, and many others, are now re-opening this area.  Many places we go have not seen a missionary or heard the gospel since pre-World War II days.  You may check the special pages on BICOL MISSIONS. Our church in Navotas started out as a Bible Study among High School Students in 1989.  We had Worship Services  at the school for many years and in 1995 moved into our current building (a renovated parking garage).  We have developed a unique ministry for the Navotas area which has now outgrown our building.  We will solve this temporarily with multiple services, but ultimately we will be seeking a bigger building.  We are unique in this area in our devotion the ideals of the Christian church, strong children's ministry that serves as our bridge to the community, home Bible Study and prayer meetings,  our strong mission outreach program, our strong emphasis of "Purpose Driven Church principles," our vision for projects like our Student Resource Center to provide valuable opportunities of youth from poverty stricken families, and our compassionate reaction to frequent hardships encountered by the people in this place.