Post by djpray on Jul 10, 2006 3:00:11 GMT -5
Fellow street preachers/campus preachers how would you handle the following situation/group, which we regularly encounter in our public ministry here in the Philippines. Many of you out there have much more experience than we do so any insights would be greatly appreciated.
In the Philippines we regularly go into the crowded, open-air public markets to preach the Word. We also use signs and banners in our outreach time there. The questions I have concern our encounters with a group called the Pentecostal Missionary Church of Christ - 4th Watch. The 4th Watch is basically what most would call a cult. They are led by a Filipino guy named Arsenio Ferriol who they see as being a modern day apostle, on the same level as the original 12 apostles. They essentially believe he is the only true apostle and sent one for today's time and they are the only true church. Presently they have hundreds of churches scattered around the Philippines and even a few in America and other countries. For probably 15 to 20 years the 4th Watch has been going to the public markets and other public places in the Philippines to preach. They even preach on public buses. The message they preach in the markets and public places sometimes sounds OK. But here is the problem and this is one thing that I believe hinders many evangelical Christians from also going to the markets and public places to preach in the Philippines. The 4th Watch, when they go to the markets and streets to preach, also send along a pile of people carrying offering bags. So here is the regular scenario. One 4th Watch guy stands behind a pulpit (which they bring with them to the market) and preaches (with the use of a portable sound system) and then anywhere from 5 to 10 other people roam around with offering bags asking people for money. They seem to approach just about everybody; the vendors in the market, people walking through the market and even people driving by the market. They stick the offering bags in front of people asking for a donation; the whole time preaching is going on. The end result is of all of this is that preaching in the market and other public places is associated with "collecting money". Because of the 4th Watch, it is now kind of assumed by the people that if you are there preaching; you are also there collecting money. This is one of the main reasons that I see so few Filipinos venturing out to the public areas to preach. The 4th Watch has scared people off by their methods. Personally, I don't want to be hindered from doing God's Will just because some cult group has a ridiculous method, so we have continued to go to the markets in spite of the 4th Watch people. To help people understand that we are not with the 4th Watch, we have a made a large sign in the Filipino language which reads: "The Message We Bring Is Free: We Are Not Asking For Money" That sign has helped considerably and people now realize that we are not with the "money bag" group.
Periodically we have had something like direct encounters with the 4th Watch in the markets. Every time that has happened, it has always been because of the insistence of the 4th Watch in preaching in the particular market we were in instead of going down the road to another market. Take for instance what happened yesterday afternoon (Sunday, July 9). Our public ministry team of 10 people went to a nearby public market. We arrived at about 4:45 pm and set up with our signs and started preaching. We also had a few in the group roaming around wearing signs looking for small groups to talk with. Well, lo-and-behold at about 6:00 pm a group of 4th Watch people show up. They saw us when they got to the market, but instead of going down the road to another market (maybe a mile away...numerous markets abound in the Philippines) they instead just "set-up" right there near and even in front of our group. As usual, they had one person preaching and a pile of others walking around with offering baskets - many of which walked right in front of us attempting to collect money from people going by. One of our folks using a megaphone made it clear to those there that we were not involved with the 4th Watch. In times past I have tried everything in dealing with the 4th Watch - when we have these direct type encounters. I have rebuked them, attempted to talk one-on-one with one of their members/leaders, attempted to find their schedule of which markets they would be in (so we could go to another one on that day - but they didn't want to tell me their schedule). At times, my patience has worn very thin in dealing with them. Imagine, you are standing there preaching and people are listening and then suddenly a 4th Watch guy shows up with an offering bag going by the people just near you. It is really amazing.
My question then for the more experienced street preachers/campus evangelists out there is:
How would you handle the 4th Watch when you have direct encounters with them?
1) Would you continue to rebuke them?
2) Would you use satire and mock them and their unbiblical methods?
3) Would you make more signs pointing out the errors of their way and disassociating ourselves from them?
4) Would you just leave, if they suddenly show up and go to another market?
5) Would you just stop doing anything and just pray while they are there?
6) What would you do? ____________________ Fill in the blank…..
So how would you handle the 4th Watch? We need some help and insight in this matter. Let me know what your advice is. It would be greatly appreciated. Thanks...
Derek Johns
Missionary from Georgia USA to the Philippine Islands
In the Philippines we regularly go into the crowded, open-air public markets to preach the Word. We also use signs and banners in our outreach time there. The questions I have concern our encounters with a group called the Pentecostal Missionary Church of Christ - 4th Watch. The 4th Watch is basically what most would call a cult. They are led by a Filipino guy named Arsenio Ferriol who they see as being a modern day apostle, on the same level as the original 12 apostles. They essentially believe he is the only true apostle and sent one for today's time and they are the only true church. Presently they have hundreds of churches scattered around the Philippines and even a few in America and other countries. For probably 15 to 20 years the 4th Watch has been going to the public markets and other public places in the Philippines to preach. They even preach on public buses. The message they preach in the markets and public places sometimes sounds OK. But here is the problem and this is one thing that I believe hinders many evangelical Christians from also going to the markets and public places to preach in the Philippines. The 4th Watch, when they go to the markets and streets to preach, also send along a pile of people carrying offering bags. So here is the regular scenario. One 4th Watch guy stands behind a pulpit (which they bring with them to the market) and preaches (with the use of a portable sound system) and then anywhere from 5 to 10 other people roam around with offering bags asking people for money. They seem to approach just about everybody; the vendors in the market, people walking through the market and even people driving by the market. They stick the offering bags in front of people asking for a donation; the whole time preaching is going on. The end result is of all of this is that preaching in the market and other public places is associated with "collecting money". Because of the 4th Watch, it is now kind of assumed by the people that if you are there preaching; you are also there collecting money. This is one of the main reasons that I see so few Filipinos venturing out to the public areas to preach. The 4th Watch has scared people off by their methods. Personally, I don't want to be hindered from doing God's Will just because some cult group has a ridiculous method, so we have continued to go to the markets in spite of the 4th Watch people. To help people understand that we are not with the 4th Watch, we have a made a large sign in the Filipino language which reads: "The Message We Bring Is Free: We Are Not Asking For Money" That sign has helped considerably and people now realize that we are not with the "money bag" group.
Periodically we have had something like direct encounters with the 4th Watch in the markets. Every time that has happened, it has always been because of the insistence of the 4th Watch in preaching in the particular market we were in instead of going down the road to another market. Take for instance what happened yesterday afternoon (Sunday, July 9). Our public ministry team of 10 people went to a nearby public market. We arrived at about 4:45 pm and set up with our signs and started preaching. We also had a few in the group roaming around wearing signs looking for small groups to talk with. Well, lo-and-behold at about 6:00 pm a group of 4th Watch people show up. They saw us when they got to the market, but instead of going down the road to another market (maybe a mile away...numerous markets abound in the Philippines) they instead just "set-up" right there near and even in front of our group. As usual, they had one person preaching and a pile of others walking around with offering baskets - many of which walked right in front of us attempting to collect money from people going by. One of our folks using a megaphone made it clear to those there that we were not involved with the 4th Watch. In times past I have tried everything in dealing with the 4th Watch - when we have these direct type encounters. I have rebuked them, attempted to talk one-on-one with one of their members/leaders, attempted to find their schedule of which markets they would be in (so we could go to another one on that day - but they didn't want to tell me their schedule). At times, my patience has worn very thin in dealing with them. Imagine, you are standing there preaching and people are listening and then suddenly a 4th Watch guy shows up with an offering bag going by the people just near you. It is really amazing.
My question then for the more experienced street preachers/campus evangelists out there is:
How would you handle the 4th Watch when you have direct encounters with them?
1) Would you continue to rebuke them?
2) Would you use satire and mock them and their unbiblical methods?
3) Would you make more signs pointing out the errors of their way and disassociating ourselves from them?
4) Would you just leave, if they suddenly show up and go to another market?
5) Would you just stop doing anything and just pray while they are there?
6) What would you do? ____________________ Fill in the blank…..
So how would you handle the 4th Watch? We need some help and insight in this matter. Let me know what your advice is. It would be greatly appreciated. Thanks...
Derek Johns
Missionary from Georgia USA to the Philippine Islands