Would you believe that Faith Baptist Church was indeed brought back by the Lord to where it all started? Right here at Barangay Tambo but more than 24 years after. It all started here at Kabesang Cillo St. in front of the Meralco Office at the eskinita right side of Dimapilis Bakery a few meters away from the present location of Faith Baptist Church today. Lecile Natividad (now Camua) made a firm
decision to resign from her work in Pasay City to fulfill her commitment to her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to meet with a group of young high school students on regular basis for a Bible Study and fellowship every Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. She met with them at the house of the Zeny Luga at Kabesang Cillo St. The same trend and schedule went for quite a while and it lasted up to August 1988 and grow in number until it reached 9 young people. The group included: Garry Tabungar (now Pastor of FBC Paliparan, Dasma Cavite), Hazel, Chelo, and Chona Luga; Vanessa, Ulysees, Jesse Edralin; Jojo Soriano and Sharon Pescador. These young people brought their classmates and friends to that Saturday meeting with Sis. Lecile till they reached 22 in attendance. Lecile served as the voluntary worker but her heart’s desire was to help the youngsters grow in a church together with their parents. This was the reason why she gathered them together one Wednesday evening to discuss the plan at hand because they wanted to be officially become a mission and to have a sending church at the same time. Lecile approached Dr. Pedro Narvaez, a missionary from the United States to the Philippines. She came to know him earlier in one of the Evangelistic Crusade at Camella Homes, Naga road, Pulang Lupa, Las Pinas City. Dr. Narvaez responded to the proposal and said that if the Lord blesses the plan, then by the following Wednesday he will come to start the mission work with a Midweek Prayer Meeting Service. Wednesday came, the group waited for him, but he did not show up. Thelma Narvaez, Ptr. Narvaez’s wife came instead. She told the group that Pastor Pedro has been hospitalized but still the work will be considered God’s will if on the following Wednesday he will be able to come. The next Wednesday the whole Narvaez family came together. So they prayed more and more for God’s will. Praise God! He did answer their prayers. That Prayer Meeting marked the beginning of a little work in Cabesang Cillo which gave birth to the present church. In short, Faith Baptist Church of Paranaque started as an official Mission of Independent Baptist Church of Taguig then (now Pateros Independent Baptist Church). Dr. Narvaez was the pastor of IBC (PIBC). The date was August 10, 1988 at 7 o’clock in the evening when that small group of believers composed of Zeny Luga with her daughters Hazel, Chelo, and Chona; Bro. Noel Edralin (dec.); Sis. Lecile Natividad (now Camua) and with the presence of their new converts who were already candidates for baptism: Mrs. Praxedes Tabungar with her son Garry; Chona Luga; Vanessa & Ulysees Edralin; Tina Cabanacan; Carol Grafil; Sonia Pescador; Jojo Soriano; with Ptr. Narvaez as the Presiding Pastor and Missionary. Lecile also became the first voluntary mission worker. The group had come to an important decision, which is to ask the Independent Baptist Church of Taguig to sponsor them as their official mission. On August 25, 1988 they forwarded their Letter of Request to IBC signed by thirteen members. Thank God (P)IBC did accommodate them—thus considering them as members of IBC. So they did submit themselves to IBC’s scripture-based rules and regulations that might lead them to become worthy Christians. That evening was the beginning of the first Prayer Service of the new church at the Luga’s residence. The following Sunday August 28, 1988, the first regular Sunday Service was held. The First Baptism was held at Baptist Bible Church, Sta. Mesa on Sept. 14, 1988 officiated by Ptr. Narvaez with 14 brethren following the Lord in water baptism. FROM TAMBO TO DONGALO
On October 6, 1988 the new Mission moved out of the Luga’s residence to a garage in Quirino Ave., Dongalo. It was there at Dongalo that the decision was made to name the new mission “PARANAQUE BAPTIST MISSION” after a unanimous vote. Bro. Leo Camua, who was then a full-time worker of IBC was also sent from time to time to preach at PBC’ pulpit, do visitation and give out tracts and home bible studies. The mother church also sent Bro. Felicito Narvaez and later Bro. Sammy Bermejo to help in the new mission. One year after, October 16, 1989 PARANAQUE BAPTIST MISSION transferred from Quirino Ave., Dongalo to a new location in the corner of Dimatimbangan and Mabini Sts. That new location will be its home for the next fifteen (15) years. Paranaque Baptist Mission was nurtured as a mission and was already exercising with almost complete activities, services, fellowships, prayer meetings but above all the ministry of the word of God. It underwent trials and testings but also triumphs with the help and grace of God. FROM PARANAQUE BAPTIST MISSION to FAITH BAPTIST CHURCH
Finally, with much prayer for over two years, God paved the way for Paranaque Baptist Mission to be organized into an independent self-governing and self-propagating church. So on the first Sunday of October 1990, with the attendance of IBC, Taguig (FBC’s Mother Church) and some other fellowshipping Baptist Churches, Faith Baptist Church was organized into an independent, self-supporting, Bible-believing Baptist Church—Jesus Christ being its Head; with the Dr. Narvaez as the Missionary and its first Pastor. God really led us along these years through thick and thin; through sunshine and rain and in the midst of insurmountable problems. THE CHURCH WELCOMES ITS NEW PASTOR
On August of 1992, Bro. Leo Camua joined FBC and became one of the church’s fulltime worker along with Bro. Sammy Bermejo, Sis. Agnes Kakillala and our own Sis. Lecile Natividad. Leo proved to be a diligent hard working servant of God. That year God blessed the church with many souls saved, more home Bible studies established, children gospel classes started and more souls added to the church by baptism. The year following (1993) Dr. Narvaez went to the States for furlough and Bro. Leo acted as the interim pastor. In 1994 we attempted to start a mission work in San Miguel Molino Cavite with Bro. Noel Edralin as the missionary but problems met the new mission work and it died an early death. But this is the early beginning of Mission work that FBC engaged in. When Ptr. Narvaez came back from the US, he recommended Bro. Leo Camua to the church to call him the Associate Pastor. Two years passed by and Ptr. Narvaez decided to pass the baton to the new pastor, Ptr. Leo Camua. In 1995 Ptr. Narvaez during a church business meeting recommended to the church to call Bro. Leo Camua as their new pastor. So on May 20, 1995 Dr. Narvaez turned over the pastorate to Pastor Leo. A few months later (December 9) Ptr. Leo was ordained to the ministry. The occasion was attended by pastors acting as ordaining councils. They are Dr. Pedro Narvaez, Dr. Joseph Boyd Lyons, Ptr. Nicanor Ciron, Ptr. Tom Cordero, and Ptr. Tony Maramara. MINISTRY AND MISSION WORKS UNDER THE NEW PASTOR
“And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.“ (Acts 2:42) This verse expresses what FBC Paranaque did for the next four to five years (1995 – 1999) under the leadership of its new pastor. We preached, taught, fellowshipped, enjoyed the ministry, praised God, endured every trials that come along our way. We received blessings, and we carried our burdens with the grace of God. For these years we saw people saved in the church, saw them baptized in water, trained them in the work of the ministry. We saw families and individuals come to the Lord and remained faithful to the Lord in the church. Ptr. Leo had the privilege of conducting the marriage ceremonies of some of the brethren in the church during this period of church history of FBC. In 1997 to 1998 some brethren transferred to Cavite. All of them continued to attend FBC every Sunday although its very far from their homes. During this period Ptr. Leo and some brethren decided to hold Bible studies and from time to time evangelistic work there specially Salawag Dasma Cavite. This became a weekly activity until in 1999 with much prayer and fasting the church decided to start a mission work in the area of Paliparan Cavite. FBC rented an apartment owned by Mrs. Rosario Saramines, who later became one of the members of FBC Paliparan. Men from FBC Paranaque even helped in the construction of pews of the church. Able men of FBC took turns in preaching alongside with Pastor Leo. It is the joy and privilege of FBC that even though we do not have foreign funding we were able to start a mission work. Meanwhile as the work in Paliparan progresses, Ptr Leo and Sis. Lecile got engaged in 1999 and on December 6 they were married. In 2001 Bro. Garry Tabungar accepted the call of the Lord to the fulltime ministry and he became the Pastor of Faith Baptist Church Paliparan Dasmarinas Cavite. On January 2003 FBC Paliparan was organized and later in August of that year Ptr. Garry was ordained in to the ministry. BACK TO TAMBO
Its over 10 years already and FBC Paranaque has been staying in a small rented apartment in corner Dimatimbangan and Mabini in Dongalo. The Church has been praying that God will move us from this small place. We have been praying that God bless us with our own property and building. So we tried to act in faith. We decided to create a Building Rental Commitment Fund in order to prepare for the moving out. Sure enough God honors faith. In the year 2003 – 2004
