Church planting in Olongapo City, Philippines
(All donations for the Song’s are forwarded to them through their sending church, Valley View Baptist Church, Cainta, Rizal)
About Francis and Mariana
Mariana Song (formerly Pedrosa) became a member of Faith Baptist Church of Hollis, NH, in 2013, when she was serving in Uganda as a missionary. She was the Head Teacher of Jesus Is the Truth Nursery and Primary School from 2014 to 2016. Prior to that, she completed her Masters in Theological Studies with a focus on Christian Education at Westminster Theological Seminary, Uganda.
After six years of studying and serving in Uganda, Mariana returned for furlough in the Philippines, and served under the leadership of Sovereign Grace Christian Church in San Pedro for two years before she met her husband, Francis Song.
Francis is a missionary-in-training sent to Olongapo City (province of Zambales, north of Manila) by Valley View Baptist Church of Cainta. He studied at Febias College of Bible, and completed his pastoral/theological training at Grace Ministerial Academy. Prior to this, Francis ministered to young adults and served through preaching and teaching in different churches and outreach ministries in his native Philippines.
Francis and Mariana have been serving together in Olongapo since they were married in July of 2019. Grace Baptist Community in Olongapo currently has about 15 regular attenders, several of who have become members or have expressed interest in church membership.
Olongapo is situated next to a former U.S. naval base (now the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority). The city, chartered in 1966, is know for its resilience, experiencing a double blow in 1991, when the U.S. Navy lef tthe Subic base and nearby Mount Pinatubo erupted in the same year. However, it has also had its dark side, becoming known for its nightlife including prostitution and sexual exploitation.
Pray that the light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ would, by God’s grace, shine in the hearts of the people of Olongapo, and that GBC would be used of God to call out His people from darkness into light.
About Valley View Baptist Church, Cainta, Rizal
Valley View Baptist Church recently celebrated its 28th year anniversary on 17 March 2019. It started out as an outreach of a Fundamental Baptist church (1991) and was weaned accordingly to be independent, self-supporting, self-propagating, autonomous local church. Through the reformation efforts of her leaders (Elder and Deacons) beginning in 2006, the congregation changed its creed to be a Reformed Baptist upholding substantially the 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith. The Church believes the Doctrines of Grace, practices the Regulative form of worship, is Evangelical in its fundamental tenets and embraces with full conviction the 5 SOLAs of Reformation. The Church with its belief in the sovereign election of God is very much missionary oriented upholding and practicing the implications of such belief — God having elected unto salvation will surely bring fruit to the active efforts of faithful evangelism and missionary outreach. Valley View Baptist Church is a local community located in the outskirts of Manila with 70 church members serving together. Given her heart for missions, VVBC has embarked on a number of church planting efforts over the course of more than a decade – including Grace Baptist Community, Olongapo City.