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Chapter 18–The Ministry of Rev. Ernesto Carvajal in Dumangas Baptist Church, Dumangas.Iloilo

That was  April, a dry seasons of 1959.  Rev. Ernesto Carvajal,a pastor and evangelist,   stood on a small wooden pulpit in a  20 x 40 -foot movable “Church Tabernacle”, a make-shift  structure covered with tent  roofs  with two-lines of 15- seats in the middle of the newly  harvested rice field.

I  was   third year high  school at Dumangas High School.  Rev. Carvajal  preached  that evening in an Evangelistic meeting in the newly harvested rice field

Nearly 500 people, men and women, adults and youth with some children  were [present in Bacay, a village of Dumangas  that evening in  April 18- May 19, when he preached. His voice was strong, resonant, vibrant and clear. There was no amplifier. No loud speakers. But his words could be heard clearly  about  half a kilometre away. He told stories of life -deadly sins, death, hope, and God’s offer of salvation, faith and eternal life. The church evangelistic meetings on dry season, March and April was often 30 days, every night. 

Rev. Ernesto B. Carvajal preached his sermon that night with strength and power. He stood on  a pulpit, in the make shift Tabernacle, in a rice field that was harvested a month ago.  His audience  listening to him  with their hearts  open.  They were attentive.  He makes them smile. He make them think. He touched their hearts and souls.  They burst into laughter with his jokes. They think and  reflect solemnly on the message he shared with them..

He led them in deep heart and soul -searching as he shared the story of the love of God who sent His son to die on the cross, between two thieves to redeem men from their sins. He called on them to repent and surrender their lives of Jesus Christ. Many of then responded  to his invitations, under the choir’s soft singing “ Pass Me Not, Oh Gentle Saviour”.  Solemnly, he asked them   to come to Jesus Christ and accept Him as their Lord  and Savior.

Scores came forward on the makeshift altar Tabernacle Tent. They came and stood on the altar, some with thirst in their eyes. Then, he led them in prayer, asking God to be with them, as they go to start their new lives, under God's  care and guidance.

The wide rice fields that night, under the spill of dry seasons of  April, became a holy ground – where 40 people  came forward and stood on the small altar, heads solemnly bowed, many with tears in their eyes.  They were silently committing and dedicating their lives to God and service to people.

 They were experiencing  the solemn moment, when God, in another time and another place, called Moses through a "burning bush", also on the fields, to come and follow God's  call and mission in life, bringing the Jews from slavery in Egypt to freedom and liberation, a new life in the Promised Land.

Rev. Carvajal was a passionate and dedicated pastor and evangelist. His evangelistic meeting that night lasted for 30 days, preaching every night under the lights of 4 kerosene lamps. His listeners came from distance several kilometres away, to hear him preached. At daytime, he and his deacons and deaconess held prayer meetings and visited homes in the community.

He organized the adults for visitations and personal evangelism. He grouped the young people to provide gospel music and religious dramas. Some served as counselors and others participated with their presence. It was never easy to have a preaching sessions daily for 30 days, when you are not deeply committed to the task God called you to do.

The evangelistic meetings headed by Rev. Carvajal in previous and succeeding years in Dumangas, always lasted for 30 days. He has a battery of co-ministers, who came and preached one night, after his 3 nights successive preaching. Then, again for three nights, he preached with another preacher coming to preach and helped him the succeeding nights.

Rev. Carvajal earned three Bachelors Degrees for his ministry. His Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Theology and Bachelor of Divinity at Central Philippine University in the years 1956, 1969 and 1970. He was among the first batch of students who earned Bachelor of Divinity at CPU. He has been a well-known and courageous pastor- evangelists and debater, who always have a formal debates with the debating teams of the Iglesia ni Kristo, who were well trained in debates.

To learn the truth, the people helped build the elevated platforms where the debaters of the Baptists and Iglesia ni Kristo stood and fought with their wits, wisdom, fast thinking and great sense of humour. With his debating partner, Rev, Eduardo Montoyo, they held formal debates with the Iglesia ni Kristo groups in several venues – at Jaro Plaza, another time in San Jose Plaza in Antique, also in Dumangas Plaza, at the back of Municipal Hall in Buenavista, Guimaras and several other places that served as venue for their debates.

Often thousands came and listened to the public debates with great interest. I have listened to one of this debates with his partners in Dumangas Plaza. And, again I listened in his debates, in Buenavista, Guimaras, with the Iglesia ni Kristo debaters.

Rev. Carvajal was considered one of the most effective and successful pastor and evangelist in Panay during his time. A researched study by Rev. Moley Famillaran, faculty of CPU College of Theology in 1968, that interviewed leaders of churches in the Baptist Convention area showed Rev. Ernesto Carvajal rated Number One on the list of Most Effective pastor in the Baptist Convention during that time. The study also revealed that the top 5 Most Effective ministers- were pastors  and evangelists at the same time.

He was a diligent student of the Bible, of history, prophesies, biographies and current events. He anchored his preaching on the exhortations and promises of the Bible. He reads extensively. His library was full with books and most of the current Christian literature and preaching books available at the time.

He has a strong sense of history. He loved freedom and justice. In the early 1960’s, most Filipinos thought the United States was a benevolent government and have no imperialist interests and designs, that will bury Filipinos, specially farmers and workers in landless  poverty. Rev. Carvajal already saw the evils of US imperialism in  1950's  and 1960’s.

He saw the U.S. greedy foreign policies and how USA controlled and dominated the economic and political life of the Filipinos, burying them, deep in poverty. In a lecture he made “Spiritual Revolution”, he spoke of US imperialism, feudalism and bureaucratic capitalism, the three evils of American controls that caused Philippine’s malady, economic poverty and deprivations.

He said in his lectures to a selected audience: “We are victims of neo-colonial schemes and greedy interests of US imperialism – the imposition of unequal treaties and agreements in the form of Military Basis Agreements, the Military Assistance Programs, the Laurel-Langley Agreements and the Parity Rights Amendments to the Philippine Constitution.”

He said, these were all one-sided treaties and agreements that put the interests of the United States and their businesses over the needs and interest of the Filipino people.

“These arrangements preserved the country as a source of raw materials and foodstuffs for the US industries and people and as rich market for US finished products in the country. The Philippine currency was tied to the US dollar- thus the Philippine economic life was controlled in varieties of ways by the US capital.” He said, while the Philippines has political independence, it has no economic freedom.

He decried and lamented, how the United States controlled the Philippines and Filipino people through their multi-national corporations:

“The Petroleum industry is dominated by five U.S. oil giant companies, profiting hugely from the monopoly of the oil industry. These oil company profits hugely from the monopoly and the large part of the profit were withdrawn from the country and remitted to the United States.

“ The tire industry was completely American.

“American manufacturing companies, like Proctor & Gamble and Colgate Palmolive dominates the soap and cosmetic industries. Seven U.S. owned and controlled corporations were the controlling groups in chemical products.

“Some 170,000 Chinese and Filipinos were utilized as distributors of these different US products all over the country.” During that time, a lecture of this kind, he gave only to small and selected audiences .

In the early 1960’s, specially after the election of Diosdado Macapagal as Philippine President, Rev. Carvajal had spoken of the “bogus land reform laws” passed by the landlords dominated Congress with so many loopholes that genuine land reforms could not be achieved. He spoke of the worsening conditions of the Filipino masses, if these problems were not addressed.

He said, the strength of his ministry was in prayer. He was a man of prayer. I saw him often in his studies with head bowed, in deep meditations, asking God for a message to share with his people. When he mounts the pulpit to preach on Sundays, he asked some of the church deacons to support him with their prayers, some in the prayer room. Others on the pews.

When he preached in outdoor evangelistic rallies, he gathered a small group of friends in the church to support him with prayers. During his evangelistic meetings, often in the afternoons, they went to some isolated places, setting on the rice paddies to commune with God, seek His guidance and prayed to give power to the songs and messages that will be shared that evening.

In preparing his messages, he struggled to find the Bible references where his message will be anchored every Sunday. He said he has to dig for wisdom from God’s words every day of the week, that will feed the spiritual and mental needs of his congregation. He has to mine for hidden treasures in the Scriptures, words and wisdom that could guide and direct, inspire, comforts and strengthen his members as they struggled under hard life and their problems during the week.

When he attended ministers conferences, Kasapulanans and Convention national assemblies, he was always attentive on the lectures and messages whether in small discussions, plenary or the sanctuaries. He was seldom seen outside the Assembly Hall. He listened attentively to messages and lectures always with a pen and notebook in his hands.

He said, he has to “jot down important points of the messages and lectures and tried to remember points as well as stories and illustrations. Often, the messages of the following Sunday, and some other Sundays in his church were summaries of the important points of messages and lectures he heard during conferences and assemblies.

He often said: “Speakers and lecturers in conferences and assemblies came with preparations. They came with new insights, new discoveries, new interpretations, fresh experiences and original stories and illustrations to share. I have to capture these insights, thoughts, feelings and stories to enriched my own messages. I have to catch ideas and insights, wherever I can, to share and feed the needs of my church, my members and the community people.”

Rev. Carvajal was sickly, even in his youth. He suffered from stomach trouble, and often in great pain whenever it attacked. He has a very delicate health. He has to choose his food daily. When he forgot and eat fatty and hard to digest foods, he was attacked with the stomach malady that he carried most of his life.

Later, he has a stomach operations. His vile was taken. And he has to be more careful of his foods.

No more soft drinks. No coffee. No chocolates. No fatty foods. The soup he has to take was carefully sifted, so that fatty and oily substance were taken out. When visiting church members in their homes and offered drinks, he politely declined and only asked for a glass of water. He said, this was also good and helpful. His members do not have to worry what to offer him during times he called and visited them.

Visiting his members in their homes was a joy for Rev. Carvajal. Every Tuesday mornings and afternoons, Wednesday mornings and Thursday and Friday mornings, he visited his flocks. His visit were anticipated. These were times for his members to share with him their difficulties and problems. It was also times to listen to their joys.

Before he ends his visits, he opened his Bible and read an appropriate verse and pray, praying for the shared problems and joy, asking God’s help, protection and guidance – a specific prayers for specific personal and family needs. He said, major part of his messages on Sundays were responses to the shared problems and difficulties of his members. “How could I provide relevant messages for my members , if I do not visit them always and knew their problems and needs?”

Another reason why he remained faithful visiting members. “They responded and returned my visits, They came to visit me in church on Sundays.”

Rev. Ernesto Carvajal was a pastor and evangelist by heart. Preaching on different occasions, he came always to the central point of his message –Jesus Christ and His love, his death and resurrection. He stood before his audience and solemnly, prayerfully and boldly reminded each one, even how dark their lives and sins were, even how heavy their burdens were , if they open their hearts to Jesus and accept Him as Lord and Savior, He will forgive their sins, cleansed them and make them whole again.

As a minister, Rev. Carvajal stayed long in his pastorate. In Barsasan Baptist Church where he was student pastor, he stayed for 5 years. In Dumangas Baptist Church where he worked after finishing his theological studies, he pastor  his church  14 years. At Jaro Evangelical Church, the First Baptist Church in the Philippines, he served 12 years, until his death.

His church calls? Most of his calls was only for one year. Every December as his term ends, he submit his Letter of Resignation. And every year, he was recalled. Asking him one time, how he feels when the congregation was discussing his resignation and will decide to recall him or not. He told me: “ In the Lord’s work, when one door closes, another door opens. We need only to be sensitive to His call and guidance.”

Rev. Ernesto B. Carvajal was called by the Lord to join Him April 7, 1974. He was still young, only 47 years old when he died. He was the pastor of Jaro Evangelical Church, when God called him to come home. He expected it. He knew  death is coming. After an open and closed surgery on his stomach, he knew he will just wait a few weeks or months before death comes.

He talked and prayed for his wife, Irene, her daughter Erne and sons, Ernest and Rene Billy. He entrusted them all to the Lord. Before he died, he had made a request – that his fellow pastors carry his coffin with his body to his grave.

In his tomb, he asked that the words of St. Paul be written, a testament of His commitment of service to God and his undying faith and hopes. It said: “For me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.”

Reading this short story of Rev. Ernesto Carvajal's ministry, Pastor Alpha Dofelez Sorensen, a graduate of the College of Theology, CPU and now in the United States, in July 14, 2918, said: " MANOY Erning was MINISTER PAR EXCELLENCE ! I used to hear him preach as our pastor when we had no church yet in Bantud,  Dumangas.  |I| sometimes visit him and his wife, |Manay Irene in the nipa & bamboo parsonage ...

"Despite his ill.health he kept preaching. He was unstoppable in his desire to proclaim the Gospel. Now we have no more night evangelistic meetings. Neither  IGLESIA NI KRISTO DEBATES!

"I heard my dad discuss the workings of their debates as to 1st or 2nd or 3rd speaker... Those we now MISS!"

I hope you have some pictures to go with this...