On August 28, the Gospel Baptist Church in Bacolod City, Philippines, was able to celebrate its 20th anniversary since I founded it. Although we were not able to attend as we had been planning to do, Pastor Felix Penaflorida allowed me to send a video greeting to the church. God has blessed the ministry beyond what I could have ever imagined when we first started it. The church auditorium, staff housing, dormitories, Christian school, Bible college, and four local missions churches are all a testimony to its members’ hard work and God’s goodness through the years. To God be the glory!
The church was built on soul winning and has continued winning the lost for the past 20 years. Every year, just before the anniversary service, we have held a weeklong soul-winning marathon. This year, over 900 souls were saved, not including those in the anniversary services. Since its inception in 2002, over 100,000 souls have been saved. Please pray for the continued success of Gospel Baptist Church.
Teaching All Nations (TAN), under Bro. Greg Ogle’s leadership, is being used greatly to train national pastors all over the world. I have been privileged to hold a few Zoom training calls with pastors in the Philippines and in India. It has been a challenge to be able to get the men to join at times that are inconvenient for them or when their internet connections are not available. Nevertheless, we are committed to this training. TAN is currently developing a mobile app that will allow us to better train and teach our national pastors. Please pray, as it just about ready to be released.
Please pray fervently for my son’s health. The radiation that he has had on this throat to remove the cancer has destroyed and scarred a lot of the tissue there. He is unable to swallow and can’t eat or drink anything. Although he can now talk again, his esophagus has almost entirely closed. Please pray that an upcoming procedure will allow him to swallow and eat again. He will also have a PET scan this week to find out if the cancer is all gone.
We thank you for your continued love, prayers, and financial support as we continue to reach Asia with the Gospel.
The Vests
20th Anniversary of Gospel Baptist Church, Bacolod City, Philippines