Missions FAQ

I wanted to post some FAQ answers about our new ministry endeavor.  Of course, you can always contact me directly if you have questions, but this post may answer a few of them.

Are you moving to the Philippines?

At this point, we have no plans to move to the Philippines. Of course, we are willing if the Lord makes it clear to us to take that step. The work of which we are a part is a mature ministry as much of the leadership responsibilities has been handed over to Filipino leaders. The national leadership is running the day to day work in both the institute and seminary as well as the church association (ACCPHL). They are doing a great job overseeing the day to day ministry needs. Bill Ebert, another missionary with CTMF is onsight and assists them with any daily needs that should arise. Much of our work is not in day-to-day management operations but strategic planning, expansion build out, and reorganization. These are things that need to be done, but neither the national leadership nor Bill can do because of their daily commitments. Along with tasks mentioned, I will be teaching courses in the seminary as needed and preaching while in the country. I expect to make four to five trips a year to the Philippines and stay a term of about two weeks each.

Are you accountable to anyone?

Yes, we are accountable to our mission board and our local church. We are doing mission work under the Christian Training and Missionary Fellowship (CTMF) mission board. The story of CTMF grows out of the missionary legacy of Dan and Dot Ebert, who served for over fifty years in the Philippines. During that time, Dan lived in the jungle to enable him to create a written language for a people group on which a New Testament translation would be based for them. Later, Dan moved his family to Manila to plant churches and eventually build a Bible institute and seminary to train national leaders and plant churches. It is upon that legacy that we will be creating an educational model for the future to continue to train Christian leaders and plant churches.
As with all believers, we are accountable to our local church. We are actively involved and support our local church. We are under their authority and guidance in our ministry efforts.

What precisely will you be doing?

I will be doing several tasks related to building up national leadership and church planting initiatives. 

• First, I will be working with the Bible Institute and Seminary to attain several accreditations. During my August trip, I attended the Asia Theological Association conference in Manila. This group has an accreditation process for colleges and seminaries. Gaining accreditation through this agency will allow graduates to quickly move into graduate and postgraduate programs both in the Philippines and throughout Asia. We are also looking into other accreditations that will be important to consider for the future.
• Second, I will be working with the Seminary to create satellite learning centers. These centers will allow theological education to those who cannot travel to the location of the seminary. Creating these satellites will require curriculum reevaluation, securing a place, and building out the satellite location. 
• Third, I will be working with the national pastors to build a strategy for church planting. The mission in partnership with the association of churches (ACCPHIL) has planted over two hundred churches throughout the last twenty-five years. We now need to focus our attention on strategically using resources and planning out future stages of church planting in Metro Manila and throughout the Philippines.
• Fourth, I will be preaching and teaching in churches and the institute and seminary. The association of churches (ACCPHL) has special meetings throughout the year. While in the Philippines in August, I spoke at one such event, the day of prayer. I will have opportunities to speak at the other events as I travel over there throughout the year. I will also be teaching in the institute and seminary as needed. 
• Fifth, I will be creating a strategic plan for CTMF mission to assist them in their efforts to support the training of national leadership and church planting (see above for some specific responsibilities, other missionaries have other parts not listed).
• Sixth, I will be doing some theological writing. Over the years I have started some book ideas that I believe will be useful for the church. There are also existing resources that need to be refreshed. The existing resources were created by Dan Ebert III as a discipleship church resource for national pastors. These resources need some format and application to accompany the excellent exegetical and theological foundation already contained in them.

How are you raising financial support?

The strategy of raising mission support has changed in the past several years. Historically missionaries established support primarily through local churches and denominations. While some of this structure still exists, much of missions support now comes from individuals and entities outside churches and denominations. We are looking for churches, individuals, and other entities to support our ministry, however, we realize that most of our support will come from individuals who share our passion for church planting and developing national leaders.

We are interested in getting in front of mission committees in churches, small Bible study groups, individuals, and organizations that want to invest in global missions through prayer and awareness or a financial commitment. You can help by hosting a small group presentation, recommending us to your church mission committee, or as the Lord leads you, to give personally. At any time one can support us with a one time gift or an ongoing monthly amount through the CTMF mission board website or by mailing a financial gift to CTMF P.O. Box 1128, Madisonville, KY 42431.

What are your support needs?

We have two funds that we are looking to secure funding. 

• The first is a monthly support fund which has several tiers to it. We are concentrating on the first tier of support that would offset my income from adjunct teaching at two colleges. This would allow me to focus on doing missions full time. The first tier goal would fund my salary and all taxes, four budgeted trips to the Philippines a year, and misc. office expenses. Our monthly support goal is $3500.00. This is our most significant need to be able to transition to full-time ministry quickly. 
• The second support need is an initial transition expense that would be used during the interim of our monthly support need to fund deputation travel costs, trips to the Philippines during deputation, and equipment needed to do ministry. We realize that some may not be able to take on a monthly obligation but still want to financially invest in the ministry; this may be the way to financially be a part.

Ways you can partner with us

Abells for the Philippines

Anthony & Julianne Abell have been accepted by the Christian Missionary and Training Fellowship (CTMF) board to work with them in the Philippines.   We are rejoicing about the new ministry that God has provided for us. We are ready to begin the deputation process so that we can focus all our time contributing to the needs of the work in the Philippines.

You can help make this happen Here are several ways you can participate in our ministry Read about what we will be doing here on this blog. This will provide more details than a newsletter can provide. Read about my August trip to the Philippines in links below. Sign up for our prayer newsletter. Pray for us as we begin to raise the funds needed to accomplish ministry and begin doing some ministry. To continue to receive updates about our ministry, you must sign up to receive them here. Partner with us financially to plant churches and train national leaders. Make a one time gift toward transition expenses such as deputation travel, equipment, and interim trips to the Philippines. Make a monthly commitment to support us. Provide opportunities for us to present our ministry. I will be traveling after the first of the year to present our ministry to churches, small groups, and groups of friends and family. If you would like to be involved in hosting a group or presenting at your church, contact me at anthonyabell@ctmfonline.org.

Missions to the Philippines

It has already been over a month since I returned from my visit to the Philippines. The past month has been full of times of prayer, fruitful discussions, and long contemplation about the work that impacted me so significantly in such a short visit. As I reflect on the trip, I remember several moments that both excited me and gave me pause. One such time happened as I sat in Coron captured in my thoughts before preaching to look up and see the young pastors huddled together. These men, now pastors were the fruit of the institute and seminary.

Another time happened as we returned from Coron, we were on approach to land, and the national capital region of Metro-Manila was in complete view. As I viewed the city, I recalled an earlier conversation that informed me that the institute and seminary had about thirty pastors in the city. I was overwhelmed by the need for more churches led by trained pastors that could proclaim the truths of the scripture.

The Christian Training and Missionary Fellowship Mission Agency (CTMF). has graciously offered to take us to be missionaries under their oversight. We have accepted their offer. This opportunity is a process for us. We don't have a complete picture of how this will unfold, we believe this is the next ministry for which God has been preparing us. For the immediate future, I will start raising support for our transition expenses and monthly support.

I am excited to fold into their mission of developing national leadership through education and church planting. I am delighted to join a team that is committed to entrusting kingdom work to national leadership. 

As it stands now, my responsibilities will include these projects.

• First, I will be involved in the planning and implementation of projects related to the Bible Institute and Seminary, specifically in areas of accreditation and future extensions beyond the current physical campus.
• Second, I will be assisting in developing and implementing a missions strategic plan to clearly and directly fulfill a mission of raising up national leaders and planting churches.
• Third, I will be teaching courses for the seminary as well as preaching and teaching for special days hosted by the association of churches.
• Fourth, I will be editing existing discipleship materials and writing materials to assist with leadership and church planting efforts.

I will fulfill my role by primarily working from our current location in Florida while being in regular (daily/weekly) contact with leadership in the Philippines. I anticipate making about five trips a year over to the Philippines upon gaining full support. I ask you to join me in prayer for this ministry and our family as we make this transition. I already have some speaking engagements scheduled and I am looking for others. Also, I would ask you to consider a role as a financial partner to make this ministry happen.

Contact me: anthonyabell@ctmfonline.org

Giving: Christian Training and Missionary Fellowship

Prayer and Information Mailing: Sign up here

Day of Prayer and visit to Coron

Coron is a city of 50,000 people located on Busuanga Island in the Province of Palawan. The city is about 275 miles south-west of Manila. Coron is most noted as a vacation destination for snorkeling and scuba diving. They boast of some of the best reefs for snorkeling and there are sunken WWII Japanese warships for scuba adventures. In addition to the water adventures, the area has many islands for exploring. The resorts provide a destination for many in Asia.

Dan and I flew out of Manila arriving in Coron Sunday afternoon. Jonathan Dabuit, a seminary alumnus, met us at the airport and hosted us for the time we were in Coron. Jonathan is an assistant to the mayor of Coron and works in a church in Coron. As one can imagine, being a government official provides some benefits for his guests. We visited the government center and met some town officials. We were met at the airport by the chief of security who escorted us through the security. I finally experienced more winding roads than are found in southeastern Kentucky while here in Coron (see picture below).

Our primary reason for visiting Coron was to investigate the feasibility of an institute and seminary extension and participate in a day of prayer with pastors in the Association of Christian Churches of the Philippines (ACCPHIL). On Monday, I preached on Ephesians 6:18-20, which tells us we should pray for each other in every occasion especially in our trials because we are to be bold proclaimers of the gospel even in our trials. It was encouraging to see both young and older pastors praying together and sharing each other’s burdens. Monday night we went to another fellowshipping church for supper and worship. They served us traditional Filipino cuisine and presented their ministry. The final event of the evening was a foot washing of the attending pastors by the young people and lay leaders of the church.

Tuesday we visited the island of Coron and other sites around the city of Coron. When returning from the island of Coron, we stopped at the Balinsgasayaw Resort for lunch. After returning to the city of Coron, we met with alumni about the opportunities and challenges of an extension in Coron. These conversations are valuable in assessing what’s next for the institute and seminary.

I am writing this entry from a hotel near the airport in Manila. We return to the U.S. on Thursday traveling from Manila to Hong Kong to Newark to Tampa. Please pray for our travels on Thursday. This trip has provided a much-needed perspective for me of the work in the Philippines and the many possible ministry opportunities.

Saturday men’s Bible study and library visit

Saturday began early here with a men’s Bible study. Pastor Bill led us through a study in the book of Colossians while we shared pandesol (“bread of the sun”) and coffee. After our Bible study Dan and I visited the library.The library has about 8,000 books as well as several journal subscriptions. They also have a recently updated computer workstation room that has about twelve stations for students to write papers. As you can see from the picture below, it is very well kept and houses great resources for the students.

Academic meetings at the institute and seminary

I met with leadership of the institute and seminary to discuss their recent recognition by CHED (Commission on Higher Education) to grant a bachelor degree. The institute grants a bachelors degree with concentration in Christian Education, Church Studies, and Biblical Literature, while the seminary offers a Masters in Biblical Studies. This meeting was an important step for us to assess where we are at in light of the anticipated journey through accreditation with Asia Theological Association. Both these accreditations will allow graduates to further their education with fewer obstacles in the Filipino educational system as well as other international educational systems.

I also took in a great view from the “tower.” The breeze was as wonderful as the view. I was told that sometimes the church here has had Easter sunrise services in this location. I’m sure the view on those mornings were spectacular.

Asia Theological Association Consultation, Days 3-5

I attended the Asia Theological Association’s Consultation in downtown Manila with alumni  from the Center For Biblical Studies and Seminary. For those familiar with Evangelical Theological Society, this conference is similar. The conference started on Tuesday and concludes on Thursday. The topic of the conference was, “interdisciplinary approaches to doing theology in Asia.” The scholarship was outstanding but just as important was networking opportunities for the institution. We were also able to better understand requirements to become an accredited member of ATA.

Our trip from Antipolo to downtown was eleven miles, this short distance took us two and a half hours. I am told this is not abnormal for this morning trip. Along the way we encountered an army of “Jeepny” (pictured below). These colorful vehicles were originally constructed from Jeeps left behind after WWII. They were modified to carry people and materials, a sort of taxi. It may be the earliest form of Uber! The Jeepny vehicles are everywhere on the streets of Manila jockeying for passengers. These vehicles added to the already exciting driving style found in the Philippines that is not for the faint of heart.

Center for Biblical Studies: Training pastors and Christian workers

Today I toured the facilities of the Center for Biblical Studies and Seminary. It is an amazing facility that consists of classrooms, library, cafeteria, men’s and women’s dormitories, and a chapel as well as housing for missionaries. What is just as amazing is that the entire facility was built and paid for in three years. Medical professionals in a Singapore church urged Dan and Bill’s father to find land to fulfill his desire to build a school which would train pastors who would plant churches here in the Philippines. He found this land on the outskirts of Manila and over the next three years these brothers in Christ raised the million dollars it took to build the campus. On Sunday, forty churches worshipped in Manila, two hundred churches worshipped in all of the Philippines and about a dozen more throughout the world, all led by pastors trained through this work.

Typhoon Jongdari wanted to prevent us but The Lord provided a way

     

We arrived at Houston airport only to find our flight plans were cancelled because of the typhoon in Japan. The airline rerouted us through San Francisco and arrived in Manila thirty-six hours after we departed from Tampa. We arrived at Hilltop Baptist Church about an hour before Dan Ebert, my traveling companion was scheduled to preach. Dan’s brother, Bill, had traditional Filipino shirts for us to wear that reflected the formal dress used in such occasions. We had a great Sunday celebrating twenty-five years of the Lord’s favor on this church. They celebrated with a dinner after the service which included many traditional Filipino dishes. Our day was full and our hearts also.

Trip Ready

The previous post explained my trip to the Philippines. If you have not read the post, it will fill in details. I would appreciate prayers as we visit several places on this trip and future direction for our family in relation to this trip. God has wonderfully provided the resources for me to be able to explore this ministry possibility. I am so grateful for His provision. I have been meditating on Paul's instruction found in Ephesians 6:18-19, "Pray at all times in the Spirit with every prayer and request, and stay alert in this with all perseverance and intercession for all the saints. (19) Pray also for me, that the message may be given to me when I open my mouth to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel."

Itinerary for the Trip

July 27-28 - Travel from Tampa, FL to Manila, Philippines

July 29 - Visit Church on Hilltop and Tour Center for Biblical Studies

July 30 - Participate in Discussions about CBS and prepare for meetings with ATA

July 31 - Participate in Asia Theological Association Consultation

Aug. 1 -  Participate in Asia Theological Association Consultation

Aug. 2 -  Participate in Asia Theological Association Consultation

Aug. 3 - Tour Manila and proposed sites for city CBS extension

Aug. 4 - Men’s Bible Study & Discussions on Hilltop

Aug. 5 - Fly to Coron

Aug. 6 - Speak at the Day of Prayer hosted by local pastors (alumni of CBS)

Aug. 7 - Visit Island and Prospective Sites for CBS extension

Aug. 8 - Fly back to Manila

Aug. 9 - Fly back to Tampa FL

I will be posting here throughout the trip so stay tuned...

Philippines mission education opportunity

For the past three years, I have been seeking God’s place to minister for Julianne and myself. We have looked into several opportunities, but never felt it was the next move for us. Through this time, God has provided for us financially in ways that is nothing short of a miracle. Julianne and I were both without work in June 2015, by August, she was working full-time and I had some part-time opportunities to continue teaching. Even before Clearwater Christian College’s closure, I began to feel an urge to connect my teaching more closely with education in the church. At the time I didn’t know what that could look like, but I knew that I wanted it to be global, ministry oriented, and connected with local church ministry.

I now have an opportunity that would bring these three together. My friend and fellow professor of many years Daniel Ebert has invited me to pray and explore a possibility to assist him in expanding a ministry in Asia. Dan’s family has invested their lives among the Filipinos, first through his dad’s Bible translation for a tribal people; then together with his sons, they established a Bible institute to train pastors. This school has trained hundreds of Filipino pastors. Now the Center for Biblical Studies is an accredited Bible college, awarding both undergraduate and master’s degrees.

The Christian Training and Missionary Fellowship (CTMF), the mission board of which the college is a part, desires to expand the current campus to include satellite campuses on neighboring islands. They are also seeking further accreditation to enable graduates greater opportunities. I have an opportunity to play a strategic teaching and administrative role in these promising initiatives.

I am making an exploratory trip to the Philippines July 27th through August 9th. I want to accomplish three things in visiting the ministry. First, I will sit in on the Asian Theological Association conference, which meets in Manila this year. Accreditation by this agency could be crucial moving forward. Second, I will travel with Dan to visit a potential satellite site on another island. Finally, while I have been serving on the CTMF board, I will have an opportunity to see the work in person.

I am asking you to pray with me over these next several months about this opportunity. It is something that has much potential, but I want to make sure the needs fit my skills and strengths. If you feel so inclined to assist me financially in exploring this possibility, I have provided a link below to the mission agency. My portion of the trip will cost about $2,500.00. You can contribute through the agency, any monies contributed will go to offset my costs. Designate your gifts to Anthony Abell.

Thank you for praying for Julianne and me; we will provide updates as we have them.

Many Blessings

Anthony Abell

To contribute - ctmfonline.com/giving

For more information on CTMF - ctmfonline.com

For personal updates - anthonylabell.com