A dream, as abstract and intangible as it may seem, can go a long way in helping God’s people flourish.

This truth is visible in the story of Marvin and Cecile Adel, the current leaders of ICOC Batangas. This church is a thriving part of the ICOC Philippines family of churches, which began with the vision of 15 missionaries who had sincere dreams for God. Witnessing their sacrificial hearts and zeal for service, Cecile was inspired by their example and decided to make Jesus her Lord and Savior 29 years ago.

Meanwhile, throughout college, Marvin was a high-ranking leader in a university-wide organization. During this time, one of his subordinates invited him to church. Initially, Marvin had no intention of accepting the invite and even persistently gave this subordinate a hard time by assigning taxing and demanding duties (yikes!). Despite Marvin’s attempts to discourage him, the disciple’s persistent invitations never wavered. Marvin's turning point came when he encountered the disciple's group holding a Bible talk in a park, which convinced him to attend church.

Indeed, God’s hand was evident in Marvin’s journey to accepting His call! Marvin’s life was blessed with numerous milestones: dating within the Kingdom, marriage, the birth of his son, and a successful business. However, all the while experiencing God’s blessings, Marvin had only one dream—to serve by leading God’s people. Though this dream took quite a while to materialize, Marvin remained steadfast in his service.

Contributing in every possible capacity–he served as a teaching coordinator and the chairman of the board of ICOC Batangas; he had uncontainable zeal to improve the Kingdom and was always brimming with ideas. Marvin generously offered guidance to those disciples seeking counsel. While his current roles allowed him to serve God, a burning desire to contribute more to the Kingdom filled his heart.

Marvin's dream of ministry wasn't his immediate reality, but his passion never flickered. He poured his energy into the business world, building a thriving career that took him across the globe, from speaking engagements to training sessions in places like Dubai. Yet, the call to ministry never fully faded. As the book of Ecclesiastes reminds us, 'There's a time for everything.'

After years of patient waiting, God finally opened the door Marvin had been longing for. However, this opportunity came when Marvin had much more to sacrifice, he was in the middle of living “the dream”. Their family was financially comfortable, he was at the peak of a successful career.

"From the beginning when he became a disciple, it has always been his passion and dream to serve in the Kingdom. I reminded him, 'Be aware that whatever you can do in business now, you won't be able to do once you start leading a church. If you want to travel anytime now, you won't be able to do that anymore. So let's pray about it, let's fast, and if this is really what you want, I will support you.'”

After days of solemn prayer and fasting, Marvin and Cecile agreed to heed God’s call to lead ICOC Batangas. Their journey, though joyful and meaningful, was not without its trials. They found a renewed sense of purpose in leading God’s church.

Yet, sacrificing their thriving business meant a significant financial change, forcing them to adjust their lifestyle. Even as they were only transitioning to leadership, they were already faced with hard decisions, and one of their toughest was dealing with so many inactive disciples, from a community of a hundred disciples, their numbers had dwindled to just a little over 70.

Despite these challenges, God remained faithful to His promises. Through fervent prayer and with the support of the leadership, Marvin and Cecile addressed the difficulties head-on, implementing concrete plans to revitalize ICOC Batangas. Among their key strategies was to reach out to counted-out disciples. They maintained communication with them and consistently invited them back to church. Their unwavering commitment to reach out to these disciples bore fruit – these couples rekindled their faith and were eventually restored to the church!

This started off as a domino effect on the church’s growth. Inspired by their experiences, the restored disciples reached out to their families, leading to new baptisms and a renewed sense of vitality within ICOC Batangas. Making church activities of ICOC Batangas-–in a very literal as well as spiritual sense–like a huge family reunion simultaneously.

ICOC Batangas grew to be a thriving ministry, from just above 70 members, God grew them to almost four times that at 187 disciples—more than double the number from eight years ago! God’s goodness did not stop there, they were blessed with a church building seven years earlier than they planned.

With your support, you can help Marvin, Adel, and ICOC Batangas evangelize their province.

You may be miles away but with your donation, you can be part of God’s mission.