Philippine Pastors Institute Class of 2025
An update from Jeffrey Jo, Lead Pastor of Cross of Christ Salvation Gospel Ministries in Manila, Philippines, and National Leader of Sovereign Grace Churches, Philippines…
The late JC Ryle once said, “What is the best safeguard against false doctrine? The Bible regularly read, regularly prayed over, regularly studied.” This has always been our hope with the PPI or Philippine Pastors Institute in Mindanao. With no bible school or seminary that is faithful to reformed theology, false teachings and twisted, corrupted ministry philosophies are rampant in the southeastern region of Mindanao. And with most of our pastors already in their prime years, God has used PPI to face these challenges for the future of the gospel and churches in the southern, muslim-dominated part of the Philippines. Without intentional and ‘sacrificial’ efforts, inspirationally born out of our gospel fidelity, Mindanao remains a catch basin for the overflow of false teachings from wolves in sheep’s clothing, enemies of the cross of Christ! Facing all the dangers of travels both in land and in the air, it is the love of Christ that compels us to always go back and serve our churches in this region, leaving our families and local churches for a while to spend quality time in training our church leaders in the ways of the scriptures.
June 8th was the graduation of the second batch for level 1 of PPI. Level 1 deals with foundational theology, our 7-shared values and 7-shaping virtues. It is a 9-month study where students gather every Saturday from 9AM until 4PM. The goal of level 1 is to make sure that our young pastors and children’s ministry teachers (mostly ladies) know and teach the right doctrines both to adults and to our children. Proverbs 22:6 highlights the lasting impact of early training. While not a guarantee, it suggests that the foundation laid in childhood will likely grow with a person, making it part of his journey of life.
There were 19 enrollees but only 11 made it. Four men serve as local elders in our three churches, while the remaining two men are lead pastors of their own churches that do not belong to SGC but have shown interest in partnering with us. The five ladies are either pastor’s wives, serving their women’s ministry or are children’s ministry teachers.
One of the graduates by the name of CJ, a youth leader from Cross of Christ Salvation Gospel Ministries, Tandag City said, “I thank the Lord for helping me finish the PPI course. PPI taught me the significance that every belief and doctrine should be based on the Bible.” Pastor Arnel of CFF Adlay said, “I have humbly learned that our salvation is all of God’s doing by Christ and in Christ, and that apart from His kindness, we will never be saved.” Pastor Jun of CFF Paniquian said, “I am grateful for PPI and Sovereign Grace Churches for allowing us this much needed training for pastors in Mindanao. I have learned not to take biblical interpretations lightly and that it should only be taught in its’ proper context.”
We are blessed to have Rey Lacbayo, one our ordained SG pastors, faithfully teach these students for 9 months and to serve them with humility and friendship. I am also grateful for Francis Mariano, an ordained SG pastor as well, who visits PPI every 3 months to serve alongside Rey in teaching and training our students. I also would like to acknowledge all the prayers and support of our local church elders for allowing us to serve our church leaders down south of the Philippines. And with never-ending gratitude to our SGC Leadership Team, thank you for all the trust, partnership and friendship that is so heartfelt, inspiring us to serve the gospel of Christ even more in these last days. I hope to see the next generation of SGC pastors in the Philippines who will continue to keep the gospel aflame, plant more Christocentric churches and be filled with humility, love and joyous commitment.
