Chapter 5 -My First Year Ministry at Maao Central Evang. Church; Church Visitations, bible Studies, Started "Hour Discovery" Radio Ministry

                                             Chapter 5

         First Year Ministry at  Maao Central Evangelical Church;  Church Visitations ,

                     Bible Studies, Started  “Hour of Discovery” Radio Ministry

                     

Maao Central  Evangelical Church  was located in an industrial community, with  Maao Sugar Central Company, Inc   It was surrounded with thousands  hectares of sugarcane plantations that  covers most Bago villages.

Maao Sugar Central Company, Inc., was  1 of the 5 sugar centrals in Negros Occidental, 4 in Negros and 1 in  Iloilo, owned by the Araneta and Roxas family.

The central  rail road crisscrosses the villages, with nearly a hundred bagoons, working  9  months during the year  on harvest seasons.  People were  always busy. The Sugar Central operates 24-hours daily. The village has several   housing subdivisions, where sugar central families resides with their families.

Nearby, in La Carlota, about 10 kms away, was  La Carlota Sugar Central, a bigger sugar central company with wider sugarcane plantations covering three towns around, was also operating.

In Barrio Maao, paet of Barangay Maao Central and in other barangays, there were  thousands of hectares sugar cane plantations owned and leased by  Mr Robeto Benedicto, one of the few powerful and rich sugar  owners of the country. 

Bobby Benediction during his time, under President Marcos martial law regime, has built wide  business conglomerates –sugar, banks, cannery, international trading and  other different kind of businesses during that time.

His  businesses  has provided employment to many people of Bago City, Maao  and Bacolod City.

When I started my ministry, I found it hard to visit and relate closely with the members of the church and the community in the 6 housing subdiviions.   I need to befriend and establish close relations with as many people as possible. I would like to knew their names, if possible their first names. It will make me more closer to them.

I requested  Mr. Childe Alvarez  to   help   me make a Vicinity Map of the housing  areas. That will make easier learning the community, the homes and the people living in the area.

I asked  him to marked the  homes of members with blue. The  homes of potential  members, green,  The families that were not associated with MCEC marked with red.     I pasted  the  Vicinity Map on the wall, near the area where I sat  for study and  knelt in   prayer. 

There were 6 small housing  villages in Maao Central, where  people resides. At the center was  the  community market. On the western side was the Elementary school. And on the northern south-western side was the Sugar Central, with housing units for the company staff.

Looking at the vicinity map, I can  clearly see the members of the  households  and the community they were living.   At nights,    I can   reached  to  them  in thoughts  and prayers.

To  make the work more easirer,  I requested   Mr.  Childe Alvarez,  to  give  me a list  of  all the members of the church,  together   with  the   names  and   the ages of  their  children.  Then,  it  will be easy for me  to learn all the church members and  the names of  their children.  I would like to call  the youth and  children  by their first names.

It will be a way to make me close to each of them. Calling the children by their  first names, is one secret that will make them closer to me.  A pastor must be a friend of each child.  I developed a way to  smile.  I learned how to wink my  right eyes. I raised my hands, when I met a child. It was my way to  make them realize, I knew them and a friend.   

Then, I scheduled  my home  visitations. First,  I visited  the homes of     members, by  myself,  alone.  I discovered that only women were at  home during the day.  The men were  in there works. Or they were sleeping.  They rests and slept  during the day. While the others, on another shifts,  works during the nights.   At most, only  50% of the men in  Maao Central Evangelical Church  can attend worship on Sundays.

The other 50% were working in the sugar central.  Or, they were sleeping. I kept thinking of the situations. And brought it go God  in my  prayers.

Mondays  were  my off days.  I usually go to Bacolod City and hang at the Record Bar.  Tuesdays  were my visitations.   Wednesdays  was Prayer Meetings.  Thursdays  mornings  were  visiting  days.   The afternoons and evenings were   for my studies, meditations,  reflections and prayers.

I  learned the importance of visitations. It’s during the sharing with the members,  that I learned their  problems and their joys. Knowing their problems, I would be able to bring it to God.

I saw the need for a wider visitation ministry. I shared this need with the deacons. The Board of Deacons saw the need.   We organized the deacons  for  home visitations.  Two deacons  visiting   homes every  week.   After three months,  we have developed the deacons  into a dynamic group for visitation and prayer ministry.

Pastor  Dolores Escoton was the minister  of Maao Central  Evangelical Church before I came.  She  resigned about 4 months ago.  She’s  a  talented,  committed,  industrious   and dynamic lady  minister.   But she has some other  plans and priorities.  I assumed my pastoral work at  Maao  Central Evangelical  with   guidance,  insights and advises  from Pastor Dolores  Escoton.   For that, I will always grateful and Jun Escoton, her husband, who was also an official of the church.  

One day, I called the Church Officers and the Board of Deacons for a meeting.  I discussed with them the situation. Every Sunday, at most only  about  50% of the members can attend worship. The other 50 per cent were working  or sleeping.  Our worship time of 9:00 AM was already  working time. If we changed our time of worship,  to 6:30 at AM, the members who return home from work at 7:00  AM, will be able to attend worship service, even for only half hour beore the sermon was delivered. 

And the members who will go to work at 7:00 AM can attend the full service, if they woke up early.

With these new arrangement,  perhaps 80 per cent of the members can worship at 6:30 AM.   We will be able to help in  their growth.  After long discussions, the  officers saw the wisdom of the plan. We decided to change the time of the our worship service.

We programmed our worship service at exactly one hour.  It was a hard decision. It calls for change in the life of  our church – sleeping, waking and  working habits.  But we made a decision. We  announced our  new worship service. It was 6:30  AM. After the worship service, follow our Sunday School.

To help us in our new schedule of worship, we  bought a powerful amplifier  with 3 strong trumpets to bring soft  gospel songs to the members in  their homes  and the community.

Our Sound System was powerful.   It  can reached  the community  3 kilometers around.  Every  5:30   AM, we have soft  recorded gospel music played for the church and the community. It prepared the members for the morning service, waking them softly an hour,  with our soft music spewed by the sound system.

Few months later,  we  started a  Radio   ministry.  We called it  “Hour of Discovery”,  aired first over DYVS, at 5:00 AM every Wednesday. We were with DYVS for some 6 months. We made  a good breakthrough. 

How did we start our Radio ministry? Under our circumstance, it was nearly impossible to start a radio ministry. But faith taught us how. We were taught. “Nothing,  impossible with  God”. I started to dream of a radio ministry at Maao Central Evangelical Church. I did not tell anybody. But I am praying for a radio program in our church.

Years ago, in 1969.  I have a public  commentary broadcast in Iloilo City. It was aired at Station DYRI, at 12:30 -1:00 PM., every day, except Sundays.  The cost of  Air Time was given to me at P1,000  per month.  It was given  by the Station Manager,   as a special offer. I will helped  sell Air Times  to Iloilo City businesses.   He will  gave me 15%  commission for my sales.. And some of it could be paid for my broadcast time.

I started  thinking of  a radio ministry, with  Maao Central Evangelical Church as base. I negotiated with DYVS. I did not tell anybody, even the officers of the church.   DYVS  asked  P50.00,  per broadcast every Sunday.  These  means,    P 200 monthly with 4 Sundays. And P250  monthly for 5 Sundays. They gave me  5:00 -5:30 AM  time slot every Wedenesday mornings.  That was a  good privilege by DYVS.  But it was  tiresome.  I woke- up at 3:30 AM every Wednesday. Took  a bath. 

Then wait for  a jeepney for Bacolod City.  I must be at the station, at least quarter to 5:00 AM.

After, I got the contract with DYVS, I talked to Mr. Childe  Alvarez. I told  him,  We decided to start a radio program. I asked him for his support. I will announced  our decision to the church that Sunday.  We  made a flyer announcing “Hour of Discovery” broadcast w/ Maao Central Evengelical Church   at   5:00 -5:30 AM  every  Wednesday.

We announced the start of our radio ministry to the church during worship service.  We prayed for its start and success. We  gave copies of the Flyers to our church members for the  community.  I made   our  maiden broadcast that  Wednesday morning, praying for  God’s guidance and help.

That morning many homes, opened their radio  to DYVS  and   Hour of Discovery.  At Central

Maao,  it was a great moment, when the  church and community members opened their radio receivers and listened to our broadcast.   That day and time, most radio  transistors Maao Central were   tuned-in to DYVS and Hour of Discovery.

The following Sunday, some  Baptist Men sponsored, individually sponsored 1 Wednesday broadcast.  Then other  Baptist Men followed.  They join hands and sponsored our broadcast time. Five months later, we transferred to DYHB,  the strongest radio station in Bacolod, with its 10,000 watts power reaching  whole of Negros,  Panay, Masbate and part of Romblon islands.

A new ministry was born at   Maao Central Evangelical Church.  Every Wednesday morning, at 5:00 AM almost all Baptist households  in Maao Central  and  Baptist churches in Bago City  were   tuned- in to DYVS’s  & “Hour of Discovery”. And soon, we have reached out to most Negros Kasapulanan Baptist Churches every Wednesday morning.

 Months later,   Baptist  churches in Panay also listened to  “Hour of Discovery”, based at  Maao Central Evangelical Church. During that time, no Convention Baptist church in Bacolod has a  radio broadcast yet.   It was Maao Central Evangelical Church, who pioneered a church  radio ministry in Negros Island.

That was a  journey we made together with Maao Central Evangelical Church. You knew who they were?

Mr. Doronila  & his daughter Daday.    Leonila (Deding) Mongcay  and her parents.   Simon and Endring Alvarez. Atty. Wally  &  Linda Hidalgo.  Lolita Bulaclac and her sisters  Lota &  Linda Bulaclac. Mr. &  Mrs. Vic Llanado. Cecilio Villasenor & his  brother. Mr. &  Mrs. Tito Figueroa, Mr.  Ephraem and Mrs. Villasenor, Mr. & Mrs. Childe &  Leonor  Alvarez, Mr. & Mrs. Marcelino Libre;

Miss Modesta Belmonte,  Mr. & Mrs. Linaja, Mr. &  Mrs. Bien &  Amparo De Asis with son, Elmer, and his brother and sisters,  Mr. & Mrs. Demapindan, Mrs.  Tingson,  Miss Erlinda Almaiz, Mr. &  Mrs. Dalmacio Samson,  Miss Daraug,  Mr. Montor and Dapia Advincula, Mr. Teodorico and Ella Villaflor.

Mr. and Mrs. Laurico,  Mr. & Mrs.  Julio & Angelica Gonzaga,  Mr. and Mrs. Hermosura,  Mr. & Mrs. Abelarde,  Mrs. Inocencio & son, Tongue.  There were some others, who supported our  ministry. But we have forgotten their names

I have learned as Jesus taught, the greatest gift and resources we have were  our members and   people in the churches.  We must worked hard so that no one will go out of our fellowship. For they were  God’s gift to us.