April 6-May 8, 2026 Philippines, Japan
PLEASE SHARE THIS LETTER ON GOSPEL PREACHING IN THE PHILIPPINES!
February 28, 2026th Year of Our Lord
Dear brethren,
Plans are underway for my 94th Philippine trip since 1995 when Jim McDonald first took me. The focus will be on grounding evangelists in the fundamentals of the faith. Mark Mayberry (Alvin, TX), Harry Osborne (Tuttle, OK), and I will cross paths and teach in different locations, God willing.
The theme for training preachers will be “Back to Basics.” Hebrews 5:12 reminds us that all growth to maturity in understanding and teaching God’s Word rests on the fundamentals of the faith: “For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God.” We cannot teach first principles exclusively nor teach the truth effectively without being grounded in the first principles. New men need to learn the basics and mature men must be reminded.
April 6-8 is scheduled for flying to Manila, then a day to run errands and repack boxes of Bibles and study materials to relay to our venues. April 9 Mark will proceed to Tuguegarao, Cagayan to work with Rody Gumpad and other faithful evangelists through the 15th, while Harry and I will begin a two-day lectureship at the Kaptibahayan church of Christ in Navotas, Metro Manila on “Issues that Have Divided Brethren” for the 9th-10th. These lessons will discuss the need for unity in the truth on issues that have troubled brethren for 150 years. We will examine instrumental music, missionary societies, premillennialism, the one-container doctrine for the Lord’s Supper, institutionalism, the social gospel, divorce and remarriage, and other topics.
On the 11th Harry and I fly to Cebu City where we will scatter to preach in the area on the Lord’s Day.
April 13-18 we plan to teach classes for preachers on “Basic Bible Doctrine” at the Cebu City church of Christ. Robert Harkrider wrote 4 volumes of workbooks covering this ground which will be used as a guide, but the Bible will be our authority for these lessons on the fundamentals of the faith. Two of the workbooks focus on “First Principles of Christianity” and two on “Examining Popular Doctrines.” Workbooks will be distributed to 35 students and we will conduct six sessions each day to complete all the material. Conducting these classes for six days will be expensive, but I have learned to trust God’s providence for such endeavors!
Harry will return to Metro Manila to work in the area on the 18th, but I will use the Lord’s Day to encourage the saints on Cebu meeting at Libjo with Gil Suico and at Bogo where Rupert Ramirez preaches. Mark will work in Metro Manila with James Paet April 17-19, as will Harry April 18-21 (and Harry will be in Tuguegarao April 22-27 with Rody). On the 20th, I will fly from Cebu City to Manila to meet Mark and we will proceed to Bacolod City, Negros Occidental. The 21st is for rest. We will work with Jack Jaco in several congregations in the area until the 26th, and that evening we will travel to Iloilo City on the Island of Panay.
In recent years, Jack has been helping us make a beachhead on Panay. The recent conversion of Hernane Epiquado from the Baptist denomination was a major step forward. Monday-Wednesday Mark and I plan to present a series in Iloilo City covering the book of Revelation and refuting premillennialism which permeates most denominations. Typically, about 60 denominational preachers attend our lectureships in Iloilo City.
On the 30th Mark and I return to Manila (Harry returns home). May 1 I plan to buy Bibles in Filipino dialects at the Philippine Bible Society (Mark returns home). Rody Gumpad and I have scheduled May 2-7 to labor with Kim Caa in Japan. Friday, I return home and Rody returns to the Philippines a few days later, God willing.
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In Christian love,
Ron Halbrook