The Philippines is often described as the only Christian nation in Southeast Asia, but Acts 29 church planter John Hofileña says that label can be misleading.

“We have a predominantly Roman Catholic culture,” he explained, “but a lot of people are apathetic about God or maybe just brought into religion because of their family.” At the same time, prosperity teaching has drawn many people away from the hope found in the true gospel.

That burden led John to plant Redeemer Christian Church in Manila, Philippines, in 2020. After taking a leap of faith and launching online gatherings during the pandemic, the church quickly became a place where people searching for biblical answers found Christ. John reflects, “We couldn’t manufacture that kind of need. It was God who was bringing these people into our online services.”

One of those people was Bonn. Raised Roman Catholic before becoming an atheist, he spent years believing science could answer life’s biggest questions. After a friend invited him to Redeemer, he listened to the preaching week after week until everything changed. “Jesus is the solution,” Bonn said. “I spent most of my life running after knowledge… But what the gospel actually says is I can rest—not on my work, but on Christ’s complete work.” John remembers asking if he truly believed. Bonn simply replied, “It’s the truth. I can’t do anything but believe.”

Now, Redeemer is preparing to send its first church plant south of Manila. Led by church planter Julius Berdan, the new church is being launched with the support of Redeemer Church and a partner church in Australia. “Church planting is already a difficult thing,” Julius said, “but God has blessed us with a network and churches that are willing to support us.” John’s church-planting dream doesn’t stop at one new church; he hopes to continue sending churches for as long as he’s able.

That multiplication is possible because of Acts 29. Through training, church-to-church partnerships, and ongoing encouragement, pastors like John are planting healthy, gospel-centered churches that will continue sending more churches throughout Manila and beyond. As John puts it, “The more churches that are planted in different parts of Manila, the more that we would see people get discipled into gospel-centered Christianity.”