AFWIS Joins Operation World in Prayer for the Republic of the Philippines in Asia

Published on Operation World (http://www.operationworld.org)

Home > Oct 04: Philippines

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Oct 04: Philippines

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Philippines

Republic of the Philippines

Asia

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Geography

Area: 300,000 sq km
80 provinces; 7,250 islands, of which over 700 are inhabited, 11 of which contain the vast bulk of the population. The largest are Luzon (116,000 sq km) in the north and Mindanao (102,000 sq km) in the south. Over 75% mountains; prone to devastating typhoons.
Population: 93,616,853    Annual Growth: 1.83%
Capital: Manila
Urbanites: 66.4%
HDI Rank: 105 of 182 (UN Human Development Reports 2009)

Peoples

Peoples: 186 (11% unreached) All peoples
Unreached Peoples Prayer Card

Official language: Filipino (based on Tagalog), English    Languages: 181 All languages

Religion

Largest Religion: Christian

Religion		Pop %	Ann Gr
Christians	86,361,547	92.25	1.7
Evangelicals	11,558,344	12.3	3.1

Challenges for Prayer

Leadership development is a priority. Praise God for many Filipino leaders with national and international influence. Yet, even the more than 100 seminaries and Bible colleges and numerous TEE courses have not kept pace with the need. Splits and schisms – often led by those with minimal training and little accountability – have led to doctrinal distortions and moral failures. Many see formal training as an unaffordable luxury or an unnecessary distraction. Graduates are often reluctant to serve in needier rural areas; many emigrate to the USA. Thousands of rural congregations languish without adequate leadership; thousands of pastors struggle to survive on the meagre offerings of their congregations. Pray for such institutions as the Alliance Bible Seminary (CMA), Philippine Baptist Theological Seminary (IMB), ATS, FEBIAS (SEND), APTS in Baguio (AoG), and IGSL (CCCI). TOPIC plays a key role in equipping Christian leaders in the Philippines. Pray that God may continue to raise up godly, committed leaders.
The Filipino Church is now a significant missionary-sending Church. With over 50,000 evangelical congregations and a widespread diaspora, the potential is great. Filipino cultural flexibility, resilience in difficult environments, good education, language skills (including use of English) and positive foreign relations all weigh heavily in favour of Filipino missionaries. Pray for:
a) The Philippine Missions Association. The PMA is a coordinating body for most of the mission agencies based in the country. Pray for effective national and international networking to maximize the impact of this movement, crucial to world evangelization.
b) Growth of this vision, that it be embraced by local churches – with all the supportive implications. The PMA seeks to raise up 25,000 mission-supporting congregations by the end of 2010.
c) Major Filipino sending agencies: CAMCOP(CMA), Free Believers in Christ, Philippines Missionary Fellowship, Tribes and Nations Outreach, RCMH, Hosanna, Christ to the Orient, AoG, Asian Center for Mission, FIFCOP, Church of God, Philippine Frontline Ministries, Victory World Mission, Church of the Foursquare Gospel. There are also significant numbers of Filipinos serving with international mission agencies: CCCI, SdA, YWAM, OM, AEF, WV, International Teams, OMF.
d) The PMA goal of sending out 5,000 cross-cultural missionaries. About 3,300 are already on the field. They also seek to raise up 2,000 mobilizers, 200,000 Filipino tentmakers and 500,000 mission intercessors; pray for the fulfilment of these ambitious and faith-filled goals.
e) Missionary training. Praise God for programmes such as Asian Center for Missions (ACM) in eight locations, Great Commission Missionary Training Center, School of Frontier Missions and Cross-Train, where many Filipinos prepare for missionary service. Pray for the further development of these programmes; such preparation will be essential if the above mobilization goals are to be met.
     For an additional 12 Challenges for Prayer see Operation World book, CD-ROM, or DVD-ROM.

More Information

The Operation World book, CD-ROM, and DVD-ROM provide far more information and fuel for prayer for the people of Philippines.