Pastor Hazel MandaguitBata Fundamental Baptist Church Block 5, Prk Katilingban, Bata Bacolod City 6100 Negros Occidental Philippines
I was born in a Christian family. My father came to know the Lord through the preaching of an American ABWE missionary, and my mother then was a Roman Catholic. She came to know the Lord through my father’s life and witness.
During my elementary and high school days, my parents continued to remind me to attend Sunday School, and every summer I would attend Daily Vacation Bible School for one or two weeks. That is the time when I came to know Jesus as my Lord and personal Savior. As I remember, it was my VBS teacher who shared with me the Gospel of Salvation on the day that I accepted the Lord into my life. |
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When I finished high school, I knew that the Lord was calling me into full-time service, but I resisted and did not take heed to His call at that time. I enrolled in college, taking up a Mechanical Engineering course. My Christian life during that period was not pleasing in the sight of God, because I was disobeying His will, which resulted in no peace of mind.
I graduated in my course in 1983, and then landed a job, but I was still unhappy with what I was doing. I knew something was missing in my life that only God could satisfy. After three years of searching for life’s purpose, the Lord spoke to me through His servant, who was our main speaker in our 1986 Annual Conference. The message he preached was about the “Great Commission” found in Matthew 28:18-20. At that very hour, I experienced the call of the Lord in a still small voice: The Lord began speaking to me about entering into full-time ministry, and at that moment I surrendered all my life to Him, convinced that I would serve Him until He comes again – No turning back!
I quit my secular job and enrolled in Doane Baptist Seminary, and for the first time I experienced joy, peace, and contentment. I graduated from Bible School three years later in 1989, the same year I met and married my wife Tessie. The Lord blessed us with four children: My eldest son is Timothy, is attending Bible College. My second son, Quinit Fil, is a fourth-year hearing-impaired high school student who is studying at a special education center. My third son, Spencer, is in elementary school, and my daughter, Diadem, is in kindergarten.
Tessie, my wife, is a kindergarten teacher, and she also teaches in our church’s kindergarten center. In addition, she is involved in other children’s ministry programs, such as Kid’s Games, Sunday School, VBS, as well as leading the church choir.
By the grace of God, I am now in my 17th year of ministry. During my first six years of service, the Lord led me to the town of Sibalon in the province of Antique. Through the Lord’s grace and faithfulness in our lives, He gave our church great increase, both spiritually and numerically, resulting in the planting of two more churches.
The Lord then led us to our current place here in Bacolod City, where I have been the pastor of Bata Fundamentalist Baptist Church for nearly ten years. The Lord is blessing His ministry here. The church has grown to the point that we have just started an additional new work in Abkasa, which is about two kilometers from the city proper. By God’s grace there are 25 –30 believers now gathering in there every Sunday. One of the most exciting parts of my ministry, however, was when the Lord put a burden on our hearts to preach along the streets of Bacolod City together with four other pastors. Since we started this five-days-a-week “street preaching” ministry four months ago, many people have come to know the Lord. Just recently, I also started our church-based open-air evangelistic campaign, broadcasting messages from a loudspeaker atop the roof of our church, enabling the Lord to touch the lives of our neighbors within their own homes.
To God be the glory for the great and mighty things He has done!
In the Service of the King,
Pastor Hazel Mandaguit |
