Pastor Jerry & Barb Osbron

The work in Bacolod City, Negros Occidental began with a burden felt by the missionaries of the Baptist General Conference-Philippine Mission. In 1975, they pinpointed seven other cities on the fringe of the area where they were working and began praying about entering into them. After a time this number was narrowed down to three priority areas namely, Bacolod, Ormoc and Dumaguete.

The first problem encountered was looking for available personnel for the work in the said areas. There were no missionaries available at the time. However surveys were conducted first by Gus Tillman and Irv Stauffer, and later in July 1976, by Bill Chesbrough and Jerry Osbron.

In August 1976 the Evangelism Board of the Joint Work Program, a venture by the Baptist Conference of the Philippines and the Baptist General Conference-Philippine Mission, asked Andres and Norfely Pepito to come over.

Pastor Joe & Pastor Jerry (back)

The Pepito family arrived in Bacolod in October 1976 to start the work here. The first worship service was held in January 1977 at the Gensoli Apartment located near the West Negros College. There were many old contacts here in Bacolod, there were some who had been students in Cebu, who had come in contact with our work there and had come back to Negros to live. These contacts were followed up. The five Pepito children, being enrolled in high school and college, were very effective in making new contacts. Thus, in the beginning, the work involved a lot of students as well as a few families.

During the first part of 1978, the church was moved to the corner of Burgos and Lopez Jaena in one of the storefronts. In June 1978 the first outreach work was also begun. Mrs. Norfely Pepito worked in the new high school that was opened at ABKASA and soon Bible studies were being held there.

The church in Bacolod issued a call to Gerald and Barbara Osbron to come and work here. This call was channeled through the Baptist Conference of the Philippines and the Executive Board of he Baptist General Conference-Philippine Mission. These negotiations went on in May and June of 1978.

Year 1987

The church building at 18th St. Lacson, under construction (1978)

The year 1987 was an exciting one for us. In the summer of that year, the church started the building renovation to extend the chapel area up to the front yard of the property on 18th Street. Four new bible studies were formed:

(1) AFISCO under T. Severino and I. Tacardon, (2) at Espinos Village under B. Yulo and B. Tacardon, (3) at Luzuriaga St. under E. Arbolario and E. de Asis, and (4) at ERORECO under J. Ramos and N. Arceo.

In March, the Sangers left for a year-long furlough, and in June, the Osbrons came back from their furlough. It was also in June that Joe Ascalon assumed the position of CAB principal. In early July we acquired our very first APPLE personal computer for the church office. The main highlight of the year was the Dedication Service we had for our new church building in October.

Pastor Jerry baptizing Tony Zayco

The year 1988 began with Jose Roberto Ramos being formally called as BCCB Youth Worker in January. The BCCB REACHOUT Youth Center was opened at Lopue’s San Sebastian Basement in April.

In February-March of that year, Bill Mills of Personal Ministries, upon the invitation of Pastor Jerry Osbron, presented two weeks of seminars at our church. Those nightly meetings of spiritual feeding had a significant impact upon our growth and life as a church.

Pastor Jerry & Barb (Moving Forward Seminar)

This year saw the growth of our Iloilo outreach which was begun in 1987 by Awi Valderrama. The BCCB Cadiz Outreach was begun, also in April. The Pastors’ Care Committee was formed under Daisy Maulbecker. Four airconditioning units for our new building were donated. Jim and Linda Sanger came back from their furlough in August, and towards the end of the year, Paul and Anne Dreblow arrived as short term missionaries for our church.

The American Missionaries

(from left to right) Joebert Ramos, Ernie Arbolario, Pastor Joe & William Su

In 1989 our work went on. We were, in fact, blessed with three American missionaries all working as elders of the church. Ministries such as Visitation (E. Arbolario), Mission Board/Evangelism (Jerry Osbron), Discipleship & Youth (J. Sanger), CAB (J. Ascalon), Worship & Pulpit/Seminars & Conferences/Music (E. Arbolario), Christian Education & Sunday School (P. Dreblow), Reception & Ushering (B. Tacardon), Info-Dissemination (J. Ramos), Transportation (E. de Asis), Social Concern/Pastor’s Care/Benevolence (M. Armonio) and Building (T. Zayco) were formed under a coordinating elder or deacon.

Pastor Jerry commissioning Pastor Joe

Jim Sanger started his Masterlife weekly Bible lessons as part of his discipleship thrust. Our Wednesday Bible studies under Paul Dreblow saw the growth of the Negros Navigation Christian group. Paul Dreblow also assumed the position of Asian Theological Seminary’s (Bacolod branch) first executive director. Pastor Jerry continued to feed us with his ministry of the Word during the Sunday sermons and the ongoing Monday Bible study.

This was the year when we purchased a lot for our Punta Taytay outreach. In July, the Lausanne International World Congress was held at the PICC in Manila. Joe Ascalon was sent to attend this Congress.

Pastor Joe Ascalon with wife, Marilou

At this point in time, we are moving forward, traveling on a higher plane, and waiting upon God alone for our marching orders. We are learning first hand what it means to serve God out of a spirit humbled and awed by the mighty presence of God. It is an impossible task if we think that we can do it on our own. We are an imperfect church filled with imperfect people. But as long as we are willing to learn and make mistakes as we go along, it will surely be a challenging and rewarding experience. May God bless us as we move toward being a “Purpose-Driven Church” for His glory alone!

The Journey into a Purpose-Driven Church (1996 - 2004) by Pastor Joe Ascalon

"So that in everything He might have the supremacy" Colossians 1:18

Founded in 1977 by Pastor Jerry Osbron and his wife, Barbara under the Baptist General Conference-Philippine Mission, the Baptist Conference Church of Bacolod, or the BCCB.

The flexible spirit of the church led us to try several programs that are best suited to our needs. As I would say, "Just try and see!" Finally we found ONE!

How it all began…

1996 - The Beginning
OBJECTIVE: To understand and learn the PDC program.

It was around August of 1996 when I attended a National BCP-Board of Trustees Meeting in Cebu. Just before its end, each one of us was given a copy of the book "Purpose-Driven Church." The minute I got hold of the book, I didn't what was in it that I wasn't able to put it down. I can't stop reading! Even before I got home, I knew that I found something that will work for in our church

.I was then able to get hold of the series of teaching tapes of Pastor Rick Warren on "How to transition your church", "Authentic Leadership", "How to Develop a Seeker-Sensitive Service", etc. I made it available to our church's leadership and started introducing to them the PDC program.

I caught it and was determined to implement it!

1997: The "Trial Period"
OBJECTIVE: To slowly transition the church from a traditional Baptist church to a Purpose-Driven church through a "trial and error" method.

I did not wait for everyone to fully support it before making trying it! I asked for a "TRIAL" period. NOW, it was FIRST THINGS FIRST! We needed to transfer from a house church to a bigger venue-a theater for our new worship area. Bigger place… higher commitment. Then we had the environment conducive to apply the principles.

We had our first worship service on May 7, 1997. The spirit of excitement was overwhelming! We were just awed to see the NEW things God was preparing for us!

The Lord prompted me to start on a sermon series on "WHAT ON EARTH AM I HERE FOR?" which lasted for about four months.

Slowly but surely, I did not stop to continuously infuse the PDC programs to everyone I meet. Before we knew it, the attendance increased from an initial 200 to an almost filled-up capacity of 500. I knew I got the right one for us!

1998: The Year of Opposition and Waiting
OBJECTIVE: To convince the leadership to support the PDC program.

BCCB Prayer Summit 1998

Because of the significant results, the leadership was convinced that if officially allowed me to continue with the program.

We started collating materials for CLASS 101. We then had our try on Membership and Baptism classes. We were confronted of the normal resistance to change syndrome. There was a segment that was not yet fully convinced and made it difficult for the transition. So, we just trusted and waited upon the Lord. Believing in myheart that this was what God wanted, not pushing through and just going on, we made use of the time internalizing, educating and learning the whole process.

1999: Status Quo
OBJECTIVE: To continue the process of education for the full acceptance of the PDC program.

T.O.P.I.C. Seminar

The mode of the church was "maintenance." A lull period, I continued infusing the program. Preaching on the "GRACE" series, the catalyst that paved the way for acceptance, graciousness, freedom to be and to do. If God wanted BCCB to be a PURPOSE-DRIVEN CHURCH, then it shall be so!

2000: The Acceptance Year
OBJECTIVE: To fully introduce the PDC program.

Amidst it all, the Lord provided me a group of people who rallied, believed and supported the vision. We then conducted LAMP 101 AND 201 classes. By October, we launched the CELEBRATE RECOVERY program, with the Sunday preaching focused on it, small groups met every Wednesdays to discuss the Sunday message. Majority of those who took part were integrated into the Small Groups.

2001: Take-Off Year
OBJECTIVE: To streamline the organizational structure.

Beginning of the year ushered us to putting in place the 5 M's. We fully implemented the PDC program into the whole structure of the church. From the office staff, annual budget, ministries, etc., ongoing trainings went on. Getting the feel of it, a lot signed up to serve as Small Group leaders which resulted to the formation of additional Small Groups. Because of this, an increase in membership was evident as needs were met, the feeling of belongingness imbibed by the congregation.

The theater was now filled-up to the brim holding approximately 700 attendees, even the middle aisles were filled. This challenged us to start another worship service in another location to accommodate the overflow. Thus, the Convention Hotel worship service came to be.

2002: The Year of Equipping
OBJECTIVE: To equip leaders and ministry workers.

In line with the Seeker-sensitive principle, we transferred the Convention Hotel worship service to a more accessible location - another hotel. Thus becoming the Sugarland Hotel worship service at 10:00 in the morning.

Much of the year's activities was geared towards equipping of leaders not only in our church but also shared it with other churches outside Bacolod. To name a few, we held one in Cebu, Bohol, Cagayan and other Bacolod churches. Monthly Leadership Conferences, Small Group trainings, equipping seminars such as World Teach and theological classes were scheduled throughout the whole year.

Slowly solidifying the foundation, the church has now
caught the vision. Full speed ahead!

2003: Year of Preparation
OBJECTIVE: To continually improve, refine, evaluate the system and the program.

With the diversity of attendees, we felt the need to start an early worship service, a 7:30 a.m. in another hotel. Business Inn worship service, became our 3rd.. Having three services now, this challenged the laymen to take the burden to help me out in the pulpit. With more attendees, this meant additional opportunities for service. So, more signed up to volunteer in a lot of ministries.

With the regular holding of LAMP 101, 201 and 301, membership took on a very big leap!

By the end of this year, we made preparations for the full 40-Days of Purpose Campaign
by 2004.

2004: A Year of Growth! 40 Days of Purpose Year
OBJECTIVE: To fully implement the PDC program.

With the system and the structure in place, 70% of the program was implemented. The remaining 30% was for the Purpose-Driven Small Groups structure to be fully operational.

Ongoing LAMP 101, 201, 301 and now, 401 was regularly held.

Due to the increase in membership and attendees, we decided to centralize the two hotel worship services to another venue which can now hold four worship services throughout the day. Thus, having a total of five (5) worship services during Sundays. Home to us now is Ikthus Center, #66 Lacson Street, Mandalagan, Bacolod City where our church office is also.

2nd week of April started our 40-Days of Purpose Campaign. June for the 40-Days of Faith, September for the 40-Days of Excellence and December for the 40-Days of Generosity.

With 20 small groups before the campaign, we ended with 75 small groups!

Tremendous increase in membership! 247 became official members of BCCB.

All of these accomplishments would never have been possible without the prayer support of the people behind the vision.

We continually acknowledge total dependence upon the Lord.We thank God for Pastor Rick Warren and his church for inspiring us in fulfilling God’s purposes for our lives and for His church.

“Only by grace and by grace alone”