RISE UP

Hello everyone. For this installment, we will be presenting the Church's place of worship, and its on-going construction... no mean task, especially in these hard times. But we're not worried, we have the God of Heaven whose riches is beyond comprehension.

As we've said before, groundbreaking was done in 2000, construction was never in full swing because of the limited resources. That was roughly 9 years ago... and up to this writing, the building isn't totally finished yet, though it is already being used. We feel it is fitting to say here that, the building rose and up to now, is being finished without any outside help. Meaning, the finances were provided by the Lord through His children in Cainta PBBC. No "green money" so to speak.

One thing every member could proudly ( pardon the word ) say is that, the building was constructed through their own.. that they were the channels used by God to provide the monies needed. We can thus say that this building is truly "PINOY".

The auditorium, still unfinished, but is now being used for services and other
church activities. Notice the bare flooring.

A few months ago, a small group from the Adults took the initiative to promote the continuation of the construction of the church building, which for a while had stopped. Since then, Sunday after Sunday, the members show their unwavering support by giving. Every Sunday too, they are given updates on the construction's status. We thank the Lord for Christians like Arch. John Caronongan (who took over the responsibilities of Bro. Joey who's in Dubai now ), Sis. Lita Micu and Sis. Rosie Perez, who tirelessly oversee this campaign. And our thanks too to the general membership whose support and cooperation is beyond compare.

The soon to be finished facade, as it is now.

The blueprint of the Cainta PBBC building as conceptualized by Arch. Joey Lopez,
one of the trusted men of the Church.

We had produced banners promoting the fund-raising campaign to continue with the
construction. The campaign theme was taken from Nehemiah 2:18.
Bookmarks echoing the design of the campaign banners were also distributed
to members, to remind them of the on-going project every time they
open their Bibles and pray.

The "Rise Up..." banners could be seen hanging on the two
extremities of the stage in this shot of the PBBC Choir singing in
the just concluded Anniversary celebration last December.
They are still there up to now... to always remind the members of
the task we still need to finish.

Following are some photos of the on-going construction on the fourth floor, which will house the parsonage and Pastor Bing's quarters and office.

The stairs leading to the future parsonage on the fourth floor.

There will be two toilet/bathrooms. One beside the other.
Notice the steel rafters above, waiting for the roof to cover it.

Another view of the kitchen area. One of the toilet/bathrooms
could be seen on the right side of the photo.

This long hallway will house the rooms for the pastor's family. Notice
the wide window openings on the right side. This surely would be a very
well ventilated space.



Another view of the above space.

This is Pastor Bing's proposed private quarters and office. With a 180 degree view
of the surroundings.
No, that's not him... can you identify this guy? =)

Still part of Pastor Bing's room on the fourth floor. Viewed from his proposed
private quarters. This is supposed to be his future office, adjacent to his room.

Hope you've seen and appreciated how the Lord is working in and within us to finish what we've started. We appreciate and thank you for your support, your prayers, and for believing that... With God's provision, and with our Pastor at the helm... YES WE CAN!

WELCOME

Welcome to THE PILGRIM. The official blog of the Cainta Pilgrim Bible Baptist Church, chronicling its steps as it travel this earth on the way to the Celestial City.

For this maiden post, we will be featuring its 30th Anniversary celebration held last December 17 to 21, 2008. But first, lets take a look back in time... (rewind.. rewind..)

The ending years of the 1970s saw the energetic Pastor Bing Escrupolo preaching the Word to the inhabitants of the then sleepy and laid-back town of Cainta. The early meetings were held in a makeshift tent in a place called DM compound. This later on, was moved to a rented space also in that area. The work slowly grew and more people were added to the congregation.

December 17, 1978, a Sunday, was the date the Mission was organized into a church, and since then, there's no stopping the spread of the Word of God. Pastor Bing found an available abode along Espiritu Drive in Brgy. San Juan, which is much bigger than what they were currently occupying then. The church moved to this place and the house saw the steady growth of the Church. Soon enough, membership swell and the need for a bigger place of worship became the church's focus.

With much prayer and sacrifice, the members through the Pastor's leading and with the grace of God, were able to locate a suitable parcel of land in Brgy. Sto. Nino.

The property was purchased and groundbreaking was done in 2000. A four-storey edifice was planned for the 280 meter square lot, and again, through the members' concerted effort, construction commenced. The church moved to the half-built building in 2005, and up to this writing, the members together with Pastor Bing are continuosly praying and working to finish the building.. an arduous task, considering that not much of the membership have the capacity and means to financially support the construction. But there's one consolation.. though the pace of construction seems slow, one thing is for sure: God is working in His people in this part of town.. making them a great testimony to His power and might.

Soon, by God's grace, the building would be finished and would be a source of pride and joy for God's pilgrims in Cainta... thus we can once again say...
TO GOD BE THE GLORY.



Fast forward to 2008..

December saw the joyous celebration of the church's 30th year. WHEW!!! what a busy period (October-November) it was.. committees were earlier created to undertake and oversee the different components of the momentous celebration...

This year's theme, taken from Jude 1:22. The church's goal and battlecry..
MAKING A DIFFERENCE, IN THIS LIFE, FOR THE LORD.

Pastor Bing delivering his welcome address.

All ears to the pastor.

Our young and beauteous receptionists.

The kids of Pilgrim Baptist Academy.

Jordan & Jinky Cruz.. kudos to Pastor Redith & Sis. Beth =)

The Escrupolo Sisters.... need we say more?

View from the mezzanine.

Part of the crowd.

The pastors who graced our first night, the Inter-Church Fellowship. ('Dami noh?)

We're really having second thought in posting this pic.... LOL

Well, what's a Baptist fellowship without food? =)

The Cainta PBBC Choir, our pride and joy. =)

Rev. Lito Valencia delivering his message during the
Evangelistic & Revival Night, Dec. 18.

Guests who forwarded to receive the Lord, being led in prayer
by Pastor Bing. During the Evangelistic Night.

Dr. Edwin Tan and Pastor Bing...a little tete-a-tete.

Pastor Bing presenting the token of appreciation to Dr. Edwin Tan
the resource person for two nights, Dec. 17 and 19.

We'll end this post with another eating session. =)


There's thousand more of photos taken to record this momentous event.. we don't think we have enough bytes to post all of them here. =)

We hope you enjoyed our maiden posting... please do visit us fron time to time. By God's grace, we will try to update you with the PILGRIMS' PROGRESS in Cainta. Ciao