PMCC 4th Watch renews vow to live life of Christ, share Gospel

In spite of Typhoon Goring’s heavy rains, scouts marched inside the Athletics Stadium on Sunday bearing the 72 flags of nations where the Pentecostal Missionary Church of Christ (4th Watch) runs over 1,000 churches.

PMCC (4th Watch)’s Golden Anniversary Celebration was marked with a series of grand worship, led by their Chief Executive Minister and Goodman of the House, Apostle Arsenio T. Ferriol, along with the church’s Bishops, Presbyters, and Evangelists.

For the 50th anniversary of the PMCC (4th Watch), nearly 3,000 global and local ministers strode before 42,000 members who represented their congregations. 

Fourth Watchers were undeterred by the relentless rain as they celebrated PMCC (4th Watch)’s 50th anniversary at the New Clark City Athletics Stadium. Officials estimate that over 42,000 attendees joined the church’s grand celebration

The cheers and claps went the loudest when the founder and Chief Executive Minister, Arsenio T. Ferriol—also reverently called the Apostle and Goodman of the House—rode through on an open vehicle, assisted by his son, Bishop Jonathan S. Ferriol, who was ordained the Deputy Executive Minister that night. 

The downpour turned to drizzle when almost all the ministers reached their seats, prompting Dr. Leticia S. Ferriol, director of the church’s Maranatha Christian Academy, to exclaim, “Hindi napigil ng ulan ang init ng ating pananampalataya.”

During the eight-hour-long program and worship, bishops and guests attributed the growth of the Bible-based PMCC (4th Watch) to the time-honored battle cry, “No Retreat, No Surrender.”

ZEAL

“We are very thankful that our leadership has been very sound, very grounded and very scriptural and he (Apostle Ferriol) has passed on to us a lot of wonderful legacies and heritage. For one, we are going to continue living out the life of Jesus. We are all about Jesus, his teachings, and his practices. We are about the legacy of religious zeal,” Bishop Ferriol said in a press briefing on the group’s golden anniversary. 

The 4th Watch refers to a “time in God’s calendar” for the return of Christ. For the group, Christ’s return is imminent, and Apostle Ferriol, their Goodman of the House, is also the anointed Apostle of the End-Time.

Bishop Jonathan S. Ferriol formally took his oath as the Deputy Executive Minister to the Apostle Arsenio T. Ferriol in a solemn ceremony during the Pentecostal Missionary Church of Christ (4th Watch) Golden Anniversary celebration last August 27.

Preparing for Christ’s return entails sharing the Gospel with the world, Bishop Ferriol emphasized.

That meant establishing churches in East and West Africa and building more houses of worship. “A number of them are being built by ourselves because our congregations, by the grace of the Lord, are expanding not only spiritually but also numerically,” he added.

Its social services are also being expanded. Previously, PMCC (4th Watch) held medical missions, bloodletting drives, disaster rescue missions, and educational outreach in the run-up to its 50th year. 

“We are very strong partners in community and nation building,” he pointed out, a fact also acknowledged by local lawmakers. This August, the Philippine Senate passed Resolution No. 719, congratulating the church on its 50th anniversary, and thus recognizing the efforts of the PMCC 4th Watch, one of which was as a “source of hope and salvation” during pandemic and crises. Senators Cynthia Villar, Bong Go, Imee Marcos, and Nancy Binay introduced the resolution, with Go as well as Senators Robin Padilla and Raffy Tulfo presenting a copy in the program. 

DEPUTY

On the same night, the council of bishops signed a document officially appointing Bishop Ferriol as the church’s deputy. 

As Deputy Executive Minister, he vowed that the next years will see the church forging meaningful alliances with like-minded Christians, as well as other government and non-government organizations.

“You will be surprised that despite the uproar of religious differences, religious people have more in common than what separates us.”

The bishop sounded confident of the future, saying that young people serve as one of the backbones of their ministry.

“In our generation of dying belief in God and faith, there are people who are still into God. They celebrate their faith. They fellowship with one another,” Bishop Ferriol said, reflecting on the church’s 50 year-legacy amid the world’s current spiritual situation. “God is alive in the midst of people.” 

The bishop said its members, estimated at over one million, are called to be “more expressive, more demonstrative of our faith and our belief in Christ Jesus.”

ADVT.