PHOENIX (BP)–The Filipino Southern Baptist Fellowship of North America will meet Tuesday, June 14 in conjunction with the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention in Phoenix.
The group, with about 200 affiliated churches in the United States, will gather for a luncheon and meeting from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday at North Phoenix Baptist Church, located at 5757 North Central Avenue.
Kevin Ezell, president of the North American Mission Board, will be the featured speaker. The fellowship was founded 18 years ago and meets each year during the convention.
“The highlight of our meeting will be the reports and challenge for the Filipino church planting initiatives all over the United States,” Roger Manao, president of the fellowship, told Baptist Press. “We’ll include in our reports the SBC Philippines, the Philippine Baptist Theological Seminary and their church planting initiatives.”
Manao, pastor of Philadelphia Bible Church International in North Philadelphia, said information from NAMB and the Filipino community suggests more than 3 million Filipinos live in the United States, indicating a tremendous need for more churches to reach them with the Gospel.
Last year the Asian Multiplication Evangelical Network was established within the Filipino Fellowship to promote awareness of church planting, motivate pastors and leaders to participate, and partner with existing organizations to advance church planting among Filipinos.
The network also seeks to train, deploy and support church planters, with a goal of planting 30 Filipino churches in 10 years in the United States.
“My goal is that pastors and messengers attending the annual meeting would partner with us for church planting,” Manao said. “We enjoy seeing each other during our annual fellowship. The pastors know each other already, and they enjoy fellowship as well. It’s about inspiring them and encouraging them to partner.”
To register for the meeting, email Manao at [email protected] or call him at 610-580-8635. The fellowship also has a Facebook page.
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Compiled by Baptist Press assistant editor Erin Roach.
