It was great fun to speak about biblical manhood and womanhood to a group of teens in the Philippines. They giggled and squirmed with the same reactions I would expect from youth in the U.S. But they also listened well and were a great encouragement to me, not only with their attitudes, but with the legacy they represented.

They were the youth from some of the churches planted out of Agape Christian Training Center. Since the 1990s, MV missionary Philip Gonzalez has led the Bible school while also pastoring his church. He regularly tells multiplication stories from Agape graduates, who are now pastors, church planters, nurses, teachers, and ministry workers across the Philippines and other nations. Their additional potential to reach nearby closed nations with the gospel is powerful.

Yet this is not a fancy seminary like you might see in the U.S. The teachers are all volunteers, and the school even grows its own rice to help feed the students during their two-year training. Students come trusting that God will meet them there.

And He has. 

Agape is one of more than 100 Bible schools started by Missionary Ventures, all utilizing a curriculum pioneered by an MV missionary who goes by RevC. In the Philippines alone, graduates have planted 27 churches, not to mention the community impact of graduates who have entered the fields of education, government, and the marketplace. At an average cost of just $100 per student per year, this is one of the most replicable, self-sustaining models of church multiplication I have seen. At Agape’s 57th anniversary celebration, I not only spoke to the kids at the church, but I also encouraged the newest graduating class and many alumni.

I also visited several other cities in Asia on my trip, and what I kept encountering was the same thing: multiplication of Kingdom impact. All around the world, we are working together as one global family. What God is building in the Philippines is connected to what He is building in Spain, Peru, and Uganda. From anywhere to everywhere. It’s not simply a slogan – we’re watching it happen.

I wish you could have stood beside me in the Philippines. I wish you could have seen the looks on those kids’ faces. I was deeply encouraged and re-energized yet also reminded of the great need and the great opportunity ahead of us. There is a massive lack of Bible-trained leaders in so many parts of the world. The hunger is there, the workers are there, the open doors are there.

God is doing incredible things among faithful people, and we at MV desperately want to help expand each of these ongoing ministries while also reaching brand new nations with the gospel.

I got a glimpse of the kind of multiplication that can happen from just one training center over decades. Imagine what can happen if we reach 1,000 training centers like RevC is believing God for.

Paul says it clearly in Romans 10:14: “How can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent?” You are the ones who send.

This is God’s work. We want to bring Him glory in partnering with what He is doing. And we invite you to partner with us, with the Philippines, and with many others around the world, continuing to believe God for great things. Please consider investing today.