Philippines Voice of Youth Campaign Results in More Than 8,000 Baptisms

The Unstoppable Voice of Youth (VOY) Campaign in central and southern Philippines recently resulted in more than 8,000 baptisms, regional youth leaders reported. The campaign moved Seventh-day Adventist young people to evangelistic action March 18-April 1.

Unstoppable involved young people in mission and mobilized more than 14,280 young people, divided into 557 teams, to conduct public evangelism. Students on public campuses, young adults, and Pathfinders led these evangelistic efforts, leaders reported. “Together, with the Holy Spirit, the effort welcomed 8,119 new disciples to Jesus and to the church,” they said.

Pako Mokgwane, associate director of Adventist Youth Ministries for the General Conference of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, was there to personally witness the zeal, dedication, and involvement of the young people in the Central Philippine Union Conference (CPUC) and the South Philippine Union Conference (SPUC). He heard the young people preach. He prayed for each team he visited and encouraged them to continue fulfilling the gospel commission.

“I return to my office with a full heart and excited about what God is doing through young people in SSD [Southern-Asia Pacific Division], and the ability of youth directors to mobilize young people to ‘go,’” Mokgwane said. “My interactions with the young people, conference leaders, institutional leaders, and church members have left deep impressions on me. It is indelibly clear to me that the youth will finish this work and that leaders are happy to give them the finances, space, and time to use their gifts to win souls.”

Keith Nemenzo, one of the youth speakers in central Philippines, said that “being one of the speakers of the VOY effort in their target community, I felt privileged to be the mouthpiece of our living God.”

He also invited others to do the same. “To all the young people, let us continue making ourselves available [to do] God’s work until His glorious appearing,” he said.

Lester Eldan, one of the thousands who accepted Jesus and was baptized, shared his joy in a video testimony. With teary eyes and sobbing voice, he stated, “Honestly, I am very thankful for this very moment, wherein I have accepted Christ as my personal Savior. I could hardly express it because of the joy of having God in my life. To those who conducted this evangelistic effort, thank you so much. On behalf of those who have accepted the good news, I thank you and I thank God so much who worked in me, through the Holy Spirit, that I may be His new creature, a part of the work of serving the Lord.”

CPUC youth director Von John Sanchez and SPUC youth director Jemsly Lantaya and the rest of the team said they will continue to nurture, disciple, and assimilate the new believers into the life of the church through the Christian Life Cycle (CLC). The CLC involves four cycles, including (1) bringing people to Jesus, (2) building them up through God’s Word and other spiritual disciplines, (3) training them how to serve using their spiritual gifts, and (4) sending them out to fulfill the gospel commission, leaders said.

“Through this loving effort of young people, SSD brings back the glory to God who has called and empowered its young people to witness for Jesus,” leaders said.

VOY is a preaching and teaching ministry of Adventist Youth Ministries. It is an initiative designed to help young people proclaim the Three Angels’ Messages found in Revelation 14 in their local communities. It also seeks to provide them with the opportunities and resources needed to effectively make disciples for Jesus.

The original version of this story was posted on the Southern Asia-Pacific Division news site.