Filipino Overseas Workers have been hailed as “national heroes” by their countrymen and countrywomen. The accolade is well-deserved. OFWs have given [both] their families incomes with which to lift their living standards, and our country with better opportunities for dealing with problems of instability associated with home conditions and international recessions.

—Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, former President of the Philippines

I am Pol Gonzales, Operations Manager of Grace Asia Inc, an affiliate ministry with the sole purpose of supporting Grace School of Theology. I am based in the Philippines, a nation of 104.9 million strong by 2017 statistics.

My country is now considered an emerging market as it (for better or for worst) transitioned from an agricultural economy to one based on services (mostly business process outsourcing) and a slowly growing manufacturing sector. For decades, our leaders have struggled to address both unemployment and underemployment (the population that works less than 40 hours a week and desires more income opportunities). A large majority of its population plunged by an obligation to improve the lives of the loved ones they leave behind to find greener pastures overseas. There are easily over 2.2 million OFWs (one of the largest in the world and second only to Mexico). You will find a English-speaking Filipino worker in almost every imaginable country in the world with a majority of them in the Middle East like Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

Then there is the fact that the Philippines claims to be one of southeast Asia’s predominantly “Christian” nations— however, that Christianity is predominantly Roman Catholic and a flavor that is highly idolatrously evolved with cultural adaptations from Buddhism and indigenous animism. Statistics show that about 80 percent of the Filipino population are Catholic, 6 percent is Islamic and only 11 percent are Protestant— of which only 2 percent is evangelical born-again.

This represents a tremendous opportunity for missions in both the global and home fronts. Many of these OFWs are in what we know as the 10/40 window— the final frontier of world evangelism. Even now, Christian OFWs with a burden to share Christ are ministering to homesick fellow expatriates and their local Muslim co-workers. Just recently I came across an article about one such Filipino worker who after learning about God’s grace, begun preaching the message of salvation in an underground church that quickly grew. He was later discovered by the muttawa (Islamic religious police authorities), incarcerated, tortured, barely escaping execution and later deported. How many more like him will boldly stand for Christ after having tasted so great a salvation?

Back in the Philippines, an archipelago of over 7,100 islands, the Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches (PCEC) had embarked on a Vision 120 x 2020 with the goal of starting 120,000 new churches nationwide. Who will pastor these churches? Believers thrusted into pastoring fledging churches with little or no training and armed only with a passion to serve the Savior.

Grace School of Theology can offer its undergrad, graduate and certificate programs to these merging spiritual leaders so that they can more effectively teach others of the love of God, a love that cannot be earned or lost. They with take the gospel to their Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the ends of the earth.

Grace School of Theology is an evangelical Christian institution of higher learning and has as its purpose the offering of programs of study in an environment where academic excellence is emphasized and a biblically based perspective is maintained. Grace is committed to enriching its students spiritually, intellectually, and professionally, and to preparing students to serve God in a global and culturally diverse society.

Vision Statement: 

To develop spiritual leaders in every nation who can teach others about the love of Christ, a love that cannot be earned and cannot be lost.