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.
Part of the series The Ministry Years (chapter 5 of 48)
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