As Michael Johnson was talking with some of his members at the Pasadena church where he is the pastor, the topic of mission trips came up. He was sharing about when he and his wife participated in a mission trip to El Salvador. One member asked if he had ever been to the Philippines. Johnson said he hadn’t, and the member asked if he would be interested in conducting an evangelistic series there.
“I said yes, and they became excited, and we began to plan right away,” Johnson recalled. “Sery Vingua, a member of my church, stated that her nephew, Pastor Marvin Diaz, was an evangelism coordinator in the Philippines, and the rest is history!”
That exchange led the church to Pasuquin Ilocos Norte this June. During the six-day mission trip, 14 missionaries from the Pasadena church brought messages of hope as well as free medical services to the community. At the end of the trip, 116 people were baptized in the hotel pool.
While many powerful testimonies resulted from the trip, Johnson shared one such experience that would have lasting impact. “We had an unexpected encounter that was very exciting,” he shared. “There was a group of about 30 to 50 people who had been meeting in a home that had a small amount of space in a country area of Pasuquin. This group had been praying for a church to be built in their area. We had placed in our budget for a church to be built in that area, but it did not include the property on which it would be built. To our surprise, someone heard about the need and donated property in the same area where the group was meeting. Therefore, before we finished the evangelistic meeting, we held a groundbreaking ceremony where many who were baptized will become members of that church. To our surprise and excitement, the group voted to name the new church Pasadena Pasuquin Seventh-day Adventist Church.” “My wife and I and our mission trip team members, many of whom had never gone on a mission trip, are now excited even more to do the work of soul winning in the community around our church,” Johnson said. “We look forward to returning to the Philippines to cut the ribbon at the opening of the new Pasadena Pasuquin Adventist Church.”
