Philippines (5.22 – 28)

Geography Area: 300,000 sq km 80 provinces; 7,250 islands, of which over 700 are inhabited, 11 of which contain the vast bulk of the population. The largest are Luzon (116,000 sq km) in the north and Mindanao (102,000 sq km) in the south. Over 75% mountains; prone to devastating typhoons. Population: 93,616,853    Annual Growth: 1.83% Capital: Manila Urbanites: 66.4%

Peoples/Religion Peoples: 186 (11% unreached) Official language: Filipino (based on Tagalog), English    Languages: 181 Largest Religion: Christian Religion                 Pop % Ann Gr Christians 86,361,547 92.25 1.7 Evangelicals 11,558,344 12.3 3.1

Answer to Prayer The continued growth of nearly all evangelical denominations, most marked among the indigenous Pentecostal denominations, but almost all evangelical denominations are growing significantly faster than the national growth rates. Church planting rates have slowed since the surge of the 1980s, but many large and megachurches have sprung up, and the sophistication and diversity of ministry within evangelical churches have come along significantly.

Challenge for Prayer Many new challenges confront evangelicals, often in significant contrast to the typical Catholic hostility and poverty of earlier generations. Pray for the spiritual health of the Church and the right way to address: a) The unabating fragmentation of churches. There are now over 2,000 registered religious denominations, not including the hundreds of unregistered cults and sects. Diversity itself is not a problem, since there are many strong umbrella networks for churches. Too often, the divisions reflect schisms, broken fellowship or unhealthy and authoritarian leadership patterns. b) The lack of discipleship and solid biblical teaching for new believers and new congregations. Frequently, the results are lack of fellowship with other groups, erroneous beliefs, a syncretistic worldview and superficiality. c) Spiritual complacency and second-generation nominalism. Growing in maturity and depth needs to take priority over mere numbers. The “arrival” of evangelicals as a force in the Philippines must not spawn apathy. Pray for new vision and for a new direction from God for setting biblical priorities and goals. d) Poverty in many congregations, especially rural ones. Churches often take one of two extremes – either unhealthy health-and-wealth teachings or equally destructive dependence on foreign funds and sponsorships. Pray that Filipinos in stronger financial positions might assist their less-well-off brethren. Pray that Christian organizations find and implement sustainable ways to empower and uplift the poor in churches. Pray also for loving sensitivity to this on the part of foreign workers and donors seeking to help. SOURCE : http://www.operationworld.org/