Part II
Our first team that visited the Island of Dinagat were burdened for the people who did not get to hear the Gospel while they were there. They prayed for the money to send another team there to saturate the island with the Gospel. God quickly provided the funds and a team, equipped with 5,000 copies of the Bible to distribute!
The team traveled to Dinagat just three months after the first team, with a goal to distribute Bibles, plant churches, and preach in every village of Dinagat. The people were ready to hear the Gospel and many professed faith in Jesus. The first time our team preached, almost 100 adults responded to the invitation and were invited to return the next day to learn more. Sixty-four former cult members and their teacher arrived for Biblical teaching! The cult teacher invited us to meet in their chapel, and that became the location of a new evangelistic church!
The Lord transformed the capital city of San Jose! The growth there began when one of the barangay captains started a Bible study out of her home. Over the next year, weekly church services were held in each of the 12 barangays of San Jose!
When our team visited Dinagat the next year to provide additional discipleship training, we were excited to hear about the vision that God had given the new Christians. They were praying for a plan to reach all the people on their island for Christ and for leaders and pastors to help them fulfill their vision. Various ministries were implemented, including women’s ministry, children’s ministry, TV/radio ministry, and a food ministry where the Gospel was shared door-to-door and again at gatherings when food was distributed. They also began an annual Christmas outreach called “Bundle of Joy.” The church sends carolers to sing and give gifts to the people in the barangays. The people were originally leery, refusing to open their doors, because they expected to be asked for money. When they realized this was not the case, the outreach became a great success.
