CTTP Mission
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Expand churches Edilberto C. Colosaga. published on Evangelicals today ., Volume # # No. 6
The story of Christ to the Philippines started with a vision, a vision of islands – “The isles shall wait for his law” (Isaiah 42:4). It continued with another vision, “the isles shall wait upon me and on my arms shall they trust” (Isaiah 51:5). Now we declare his praise in the islands” (Isaiah 42:12). These ‘islands’ of course were believed to be the Philippine archipelago. The Setting. Christ to the Philippines came into being some 60 years after the first protestant church was established in the Philippines. It was during those years when then Ferdinand Marcos was about to finish his four-year term as president of the Philippines. A confirmation from the Lord. In 1966, Harold Mcdougal Jr., from Fairmount West Virginia, came to the Philippines with his wife Diane to proclaim the Gospel of Christ to the Philippines with the intention of planting churches. Originally, they had in mind going to India to serve as missionaries there, but on their way to the country and in transitory ministry in Hongkong they were given two tickets for Manila which they acknowledged as a confirmation from the Lord to come to the Philippines. Rev. Robert Robinson and wife Rita later joined them. He became a co-founder of Christ to the Philippines and served as director of CTTP from 1973 to 1978. Other American missionaries followed them. They conducted evangelistic crusades in many towns, cities and even remote villages, with the purpose of planting churches. Along the years, God raised people to support the Mission, Sis Ruth Bloom and husband George Hurd(deceased) served as Treasurer of Philippine Mission and raised finances for the ministry. The birth of an Organization. In 1969, CTTP was formally registered as a non-stock, non-profit organization, a denomination aimed at uniting local congregations it has established in a single legal administrative body. Training workers became an integral part of the ministry using the Short Term Training Program. Taking Root in the Heart of the City. By 1970 Murphy Church found a permanent location for worship. In its beginnings, the church had to meet in a rented apartment before finally finding a house at 11th Avenue, Murphy Quezon City with an ample space at the back where at first, services were conducted under some trees. Today a new building is situated to host the worship services. Catalyst of the Holy Spirit. We could very well say that CTTP has played a role in ushering the movement of the Holy Spirit among the Catholics in the Philippines. By the later part of the 80’s the Catholic Church in the Philippines recognized the emergence of Pentecostal and Born Again groups. The Mustard Seed Planted in the City. CTTP began small and with not much resources but the passion of the mostly young and untrained ministers sufficed – a CTTP trait that has been noted even by other denominational leaders. In 1976, a daughter missions organization was established in Thailand called Christ to Thailand Mission. The year marked the turn for Filipinos – Luciano Cariaga, Pedro Belardo, Mario Taculod and Sonny Largado – to become founders of a mission group. It would later become an umbrella organization for various Christian ministries. Seven years later the Mission established a Training Center in Khonkaen located in Northeast Thailand.
1978 saw the turnover of leadership from the foreign founding missionaries to the locals giving birth to all-Filipino CTTP Board, with Joey Tupe, former missionary to Vietnam, as director. They missionary founders by then believed that it was high time to give full authority to the nationals but they were neither independent of the Philippine Mission nor continue to be fully dependent on them. The aim was to have an interdependent relationship between the two. In 1979, the CTTP Training Center in Murphy was transferred to Sampaloc, Tanay, Rizal. It also got a new name, Asian Hope Bible School, under the leadership of Levita Dacayanan, former missionary to Hongkong. Other Bible Schools were established to serve the districts of North and South Bicol. In Thailand, a church called Namphrathai (God’s Will) was established in Bangkok under the leadership of Luciano Cariaga. Then a few years lalter, Estelita Besas took over and has now served in that capacity for ten years. In 1981, Berth Colosaga, former missionary to Ecuador, was elected as CTTP Director. A three-year program of church growth was launched. The plan was designed to produce simultaneous growth in membership of local churches as well as the number of churches under CTTP. Over the years, CTTP has been declaring God’s Word and touching the world. As we’ve grown spiritually, we have also grown numerically. To date, we have planted 91 churches geographically located in six districts all over the country with 150 licensed ministers all actively and faithfully serving in God’s Vineyard. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4SU5iv0a3Po
