ARE YOU FAMILIAR WITH FEBC, the Far East Broadcasting Company? In 1987 I
was led to the Lord by Pastor Sam Lacanienta at the Fil-Am Church of
Irvine (FACI). Pastor Sam began his pastoral walk with the Lord many
years before, when he was a young man living in the Philippines.
During his early pastoral years, Pastor Sam, who is both a talented pastor and singer, began his association with the relatively new Far Eastern Broadcasting Company helping broadcast Gospel messages to remote areas of the Philippines - and as part of a Gospel Quartet, singing Christian music on the air waves of the FEBC.
He attended the Far Eastern Bible Institute and Seminary (FEBIAS), was ordained, and pastored a church in the Philippines. Later he and his young bride, Ida, immigrated to America where he followed the Lord as an associate pastor with a small Baptist church in Santa Ana, California, and later at Woodbridge Community Church in Irvine, California. That led to the foundation of the Fil-Am Church of Irvine.
Pastor Sam Lacanienta became Director of Church Planting for Filipino Churches in the Southwest District of the Baptist General Conference. In that role, he began working to plant new Filipino-American churches in California and other western states and over the years planted about a dozen Fil-Am churches in western states of America.
He is a good example of the "paying it forward" principle. In the early 1990s, a young man from the Philippines, Leto Carag, was attending our FACI services while preparing to attend Westminster Theological Seminary in Escondido, California. Through Pastor Sam, our church arranged to give a used car to Leto so that he would have transportation while attending Westminster Seminary. Today that young man is Dr. Anacleto S. Carag, M.Div and D. Min., president/director of FEBIAS College of Bible, Pastor Sam's alma mater.
All of this is to explain how the ministry of FEBC has affected my life and my personal walk with the Lord. Without FEBC, would Pastor Sam have eventually been in Southern California where he led a fifty year old man, Bill Gray, to the Lord? And over the years so many people who were, or are, involved with FEBC have played a big part in my spiritual walk with the Lord.
Another example of my connection with FEBC alumni is my long time Friend and Christian brother, Pastor Joe de la Peña, and his wife, Ardith. Like Pastor Sam, Pastor Joe and Ardith worked at FEBC in the Philippines. Matter of fact, that is where they met and were married - in the music ministry of FEBC.
Circa 2000 I was an elder in the Fil-Am Church of Corona (now CICF), another of Pastor Sam's church plants. One Sunday when I was an usher, the service had begun, so I took my seat for the service. Just after we began an older couple, a Caucasian man and his Filipina wife, came in to join us in worship. I went back, gave them bulletins, and introduced myself. He told me his name was Bill Roberts. For some reason that name had such a familiar ring, but I could not remember where I had heard the name.
After the service when we began our mandatory (in Filipino churches) Food Fellowship I went to him and told him, "Your name is so familiar to me. Have we met before?"
He told me, "I am Bill Roberts, one of the founders of Far East Broadcasting Company."
Wow, I was almost speechless, feeling as though I was standing in the presence of history. That is when I told him, "My senior pastor who led me to the Lord, Sam Lacanienta, worked at FEBC as a young man. And because of that I found and have recently read the book "Sky Waves; The Incredible Far East Broadcasting Company Story" - the story of your adventure."
I told him of reading about a Filipino man who was electrocuted installing their first antenna. With no hesitation, Bill Roberts told me, "Yes, his name was. . ." That happened in 1948, it was now the year 2000, and without skipping a beat he had given me the name of that man who was the first to die for FEBC in the service of the Lord. Amazing.
Later Dory and I were invited to an FEBC function in Anaheim, California, by Jonathan Mortiz Administrator, FEBC International Ministries. At this function we were able to meet the other two founders of FEBC, Robert Bowman and John Broger. At that time all three were in their 90s. Bill Roberts, when I met him at our church in 2000, was then 94 years old. So I am sure that all three are worshiping in the presence of our Lord today. But the impact of FEBC, which they began in 1948 - has touched my life in so many ways.
For me, FEBC is that "gift that just keeps on giving!" Over the years I have had the pleasure of meeting and worshiping with a number of FEBC folks and alumni. A major ministry of FEBC is "Papuri! / The Music Ministry of FEBC Philippines." Based in Southern California, working through Jonathan Mortiz, Administrator for FEBC International Ministries, that organization has a number of Papuri! groups which visit local churches and Christian functions, sharing their music and sharing the Gospel.
In 1987 Jonathan Mortiz was hired as an announcer for FEBC’s radio station DZAS in the Philippines. In 1995 he was called to head its music ministry called “Papuri” - which means “Praise” - and pioneer the production of Original Pilipino Christian music. In 1997 Jonathan relocated to Southern California where he accepted the position as FEBC’s liaison to Filipino-Americans in the United States. Jonathan finished his BS in Biblical Studies at Bethel College in the Philippines and his MA in Organizational Leadership at Biola University in Southern California, and now also serves as the worship pastor at Woodbridge Church in Irvine, California.
Since the days of my early Christian life which began in 1987, I have counted Nadine Kyna Lacanienta, daughter-in-law of Pastor Sam Lacanienta, as a Christian sister and dear Friend. For many years Kyna has been a singing member in one of the Papuri! groups. Also my Christian brother and Friend, Mel Amante, sings with Papuri!
And in my local home church today, International Bible Baptist Church of Riverside, Danny & Heather Fernandez greatly enhance our music ministry, worship, and overall fellowship with their beautiful voices, musical talents, and Christian love. Oh, by the way, did I forget to mention that Danny & Heather have long been a part of the Papuri! music ministry?
Yes, since 1987 when I turned from the secular world and became a child of God, my life, in so many ways, has been touched by the ministry begun in 1948 by Bill Roberts, Robert Bowman, and John Broger - FEBC, the Far East Broadcasting Company. So, I will share this from their web site - and let me state boldly that FEBC's web site practices a principle which I have long espoused.
"Bill, pray tell, what is that principle?"
Glad you asked. When you visit the FEBC web site, one of the first things you will see on their home page is: WHAT WE BELIEVE. Many years ago, my long time Pastoral Friend, Freddy Cortez, Jr., taught me that when I read or listen to the teaching of a ministry or church not familiar to me - "Look for their Statement of Faith" - their "What We Believe" statement. That tells you what they believe - and what they believe is what they teach. You do not want to be filling your head and heart with wrong Christian doctrines and teachings.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
So back to my excerpt from the web site of FEBC:
PROCLAIMING THE GOSPEL BOLDLY ~ What We Believe
The Origins of the Far East Broadcasting Company: While attending Southern California Bible College, God planted in the hearts of two young men named Bob Bowman and John Broger a vision for missionary radio that would one day become Far East Broadcasting Company (FEBC). They shared this vision with Reverend William Roberts, the pastor of a church that Bowman’s parents attended, who enthusiastically supported their plan; Roberts and his church were the first to assist FEBC through prayer and funding.
In 1945, FEBC was officially incorporated by Bob Bowman, John Broger, and William Roberts and (was) established with one goal in mind: Broadcasting Christ to the world. They had no supportive board at the time, and were not affiliated with a specific church denomination. Instead, they followed God’s lead to launch a ministry that focused on sharing Christ with the people of Asia. With nothing more than a heart to reach the lost and an understanding of radio’s ability to reach far and wide, they leaned on this promise from God: “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go. I will guide you with my eye” (Psalm 32:8).
With one country in particular on their hearts - China - they aired their very first broadcast from Shanghai. But by 1948 all mission work in China was shut down due to Communism. An alternative had to be found.
First Radio Station: Ideally located in the South China Sea, the Philippines had much to offer, and the newly established nation was more than willing for FEBC to establish their operations there. The first broadcasts, over local station KZAS (as it was known), went on the air in Manila on June 4, 1948. International broadcasts to China started the following year and have since expanded to cover most of Southeast Asia, as well as Russia, Ukraine, and Central Asia. FEBC’s sister organization, FEBA, broadcasts programs in Africa, the Middle East, and India.
Circling the Globe, FEBC’s programs are heard on AM and FM stations worldwide, as well as by satellite and the Internet. We also broadcast by shortwave through our transmitter sites in the Philippines, sharing Christ in hard-to-reach minority groups. Our total number of languages is now 124 worldwide, with broadcasting hours totaling 842 a day.
Four billion people live within range of our transmitters. But the only figure we’re truly interested in is the number of people whose lives have been changed by Christ. Last year, we received 2.26 million listener responses, many attesting to transformed lives. That’s why FEBC was launched. . . and that’s why we continue. To share Christ with the world. UNTIL ALL HAVE HEARD.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Earlier in this blog I mentioned the book I had read about the early days of FEBC, "Sky Waves; The Incredible Far East Broadcasting Company Story." My hard copy version of that great book is long out of print, but Praise God, because of our technological advances (and you thought God had forgotten) that book is now available in PDF format. You can read it at:
To all my Christian Friends, and even to those who have not yet joined our team and become a child of God - I pray you will visit the FEBC web site, visit their Facebook page, and read this very interesting book - all about how God chose to use three Americans when World War 2 was won and life was ready to move forward. They chose to move forward sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the Far East - and they have impacted the whole world through their ministry.
I pray you found this information useful and that it will enhance your spiritual walk with the Lord. Note of interest: In the photo below I have superimposed the photo of the FEBC founders on the cover of the book, "Sky Waves."
God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,
Bill
During his early pastoral years, Pastor Sam, who is both a talented pastor and singer, began his association with the relatively new Far Eastern Broadcasting Company helping broadcast Gospel messages to remote areas of the Philippines - and as part of a Gospel Quartet, singing Christian music on the air waves of the FEBC.
He attended the Far Eastern Bible Institute and Seminary (FEBIAS), was ordained, and pastored a church in the Philippines. Later he and his young bride, Ida, immigrated to America where he followed the Lord as an associate pastor with a small Baptist church in Santa Ana, California, and later at Woodbridge Community Church in Irvine, California. That led to the foundation of the Fil-Am Church of Irvine.
Pastor Sam Lacanienta became Director of Church Planting for Filipino Churches in the Southwest District of the Baptist General Conference. In that role, he began working to plant new Filipino-American churches in California and other western states and over the years planted about a dozen Fil-Am churches in western states of America.
He is a good example of the "paying it forward" principle. In the early 1990s, a young man from the Philippines, Leto Carag, was attending our FACI services while preparing to attend Westminster Theological Seminary in Escondido, California. Through Pastor Sam, our church arranged to give a used car to Leto so that he would have transportation while attending Westminster Seminary. Today that young man is Dr. Anacleto S. Carag, M.Div and D. Min., president/director of FEBIAS College of Bible, Pastor Sam's alma mater.
All of this is to explain how the ministry of FEBC has affected my life and my personal walk with the Lord. Without FEBC, would Pastor Sam have eventually been in Southern California where he led a fifty year old man, Bill Gray, to the Lord? And over the years so many people who were, or are, involved with FEBC have played a big part in my spiritual walk with the Lord.
Another example of my connection with FEBC alumni is my long time Friend and Christian brother, Pastor Joe de la Peña, and his wife, Ardith. Like Pastor Sam, Pastor Joe and Ardith worked at FEBC in the Philippines. Matter of fact, that is where they met and were married - in the music ministry of FEBC.
Circa 2000 I was an elder in the Fil-Am Church of Corona (now CICF), another of Pastor Sam's church plants. One Sunday when I was an usher, the service had begun, so I took my seat for the service. Just after we began an older couple, a Caucasian man and his Filipina wife, came in to join us in worship. I went back, gave them bulletins, and introduced myself. He told me his name was Bill Roberts. For some reason that name had such a familiar ring, but I could not remember where I had heard the name.
After the service when we began our mandatory (in Filipino churches) Food Fellowship I went to him and told him, "Your name is so familiar to me. Have we met before?"
He told me, "I am Bill Roberts, one of the founders of Far East Broadcasting Company."
Wow, I was almost speechless, feeling as though I was standing in the presence of history. That is when I told him, "My senior pastor who led me to the Lord, Sam Lacanienta, worked at FEBC as a young man. And because of that I found and have recently read the book "Sky Waves; The Incredible Far East Broadcasting Company Story" - the story of your adventure."
I told him of reading about a Filipino man who was electrocuted installing their first antenna. With no hesitation, Bill Roberts told me, "Yes, his name was. . ." That happened in 1948, it was now the year 2000, and without skipping a beat he had given me the name of that man who was the first to die for FEBC in the service of the Lord. Amazing.
Later Dory and I were invited to an FEBC function in Anaheim, California, by Jonathan Mortiz Administrator, FEBC International Ministries. At this function we were able to meet the other two founders of FEBC, Robert Bowman and John Broger. At that time all three were in their 90s. Bill Roberts, when I met him at our church in 2000, was then 94 years old. So I am sure that all three are worshiping in the presence of our Lord today. But the impact of FEBC, which they began in 1948 - has touched my life in so many ways.
For me, FEBC is that "gift that just keeps on giving!" Over the years I have had the pleasure of meeting and worshiping with a number of FEBC folks and alumni. A major ministry of FEBC is "Papuri! / The Music Ministry of FEBC Philippines." Based in Southern California, working through Jonathan Mortiz, Administrator for FEBC International Ministries, that organization has a number of Papuri! groups which visit local churches and Christian functions, sharing their music and sharing the Gospel.
In 1987 Jonathan Mortiz was hired as an announcer for FEBC’s radio station DZAS in the Philippines. In 1995 he was called to head its music ministry called “Papuri” - which means “Praise” - and pioneer the production of Original Pilipino Christian music. In 1997 Jonathan relocated to Southern California where he accepted the position as FEBC’s liaison to Filipino-Americans in the United States. Jonathan finished his BS in Biblical Studies at Bethel College in the Philippines and his MA in Organizational Leadership at Biola University in Southern California, and now also serves as the worship pastor at Woodbridge Church in Irvine, California.
Since the days of my early Christian life which began in 1987, I have counted Nadine Kyna Lacanienta, daughter-in-law of Pastor Sam Lacanienta, as a Christian sister and dear Friend. For many years Kyna has been a singing member in one of the Papuri! groups. Also my Christian brother and Friend, Mel Amante, sings with Papuri!
And in my local home church today, International Bible Baptist Church of Riverside, Danny & Heather Fernandez greatly enhance our music ministry, worship, and overall fellowship with their beautiful voices, musical talents, and Christian love. Oh, by the way, did I forget to mention that Danny & Heather have long been a part of the Papuri! music ministry?
Yes, since 1987 when I turned from the secular world and became a child of God, my life, in so many ways, has been touched by the ministry begun in 1948 by Bill Roberts, Robert Bowman, and John Broger - FEBC, the Far East Broadcasting Company. So, I will share this from their web site - and let me state boldly that FEBC's web site practices a principle which I have long espoused.
"Bill, pray tell, what is that principle?"
Glad you asked. When you visit the FEBC web site, one of the first things you will see on their home page is: WHAT WE BELIEVE. Many years ago, my long time Pastoral Friend, Freddy Cortez, Jr., taught me that when I read or listen to the teaching of a ministry or church not familiar to me - "Look for their Statement of Faith" - their "What We Believe" statement. That tells you what they believe - and what they believe is what they teach. You do not want to be filling your head and heart with wrong Christian doctrines and teachings.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
So back to my excerpt from the web site of FEBC:
PROCLAIMING THE GOSPEL BOLDLY ~ What We Believe
The Origins of the Far East Broadcasting Company: While attending Southern California Bible College, God planted in the hearts of two young men named Bob Bowman and John Broger a vision for missionary radio that would one day become Far East Broadcasting Company (FEBC). They shared this vision with Reverend William Roberts, the pastor of a church that Bowman’s parents attended, who enthusiastically supported their plan; Roberts and his church were the first to assist FEBC through prayer and funding.
In 1945, FEBC was officially incorporated by Bob Bowman, John Broger, and William Roberts and (was) established with one goal in mind: Broadcasting Christ to the world. They had no supportive board at the time, and were not affiliated with a specific church denomination. Instead, they followed God’s lead to launch a ministry that focused on sharing Christ with the people of Asia. With nothing more than a heart to reach the lost and an understanding of radio’s ability to reach far and wide, they leaned on this promise from God: “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go. I will guide you with my eye” (Psalm 32:8).
With one country in particular on their hearts - China - they aired their very first broadcast from Shanghai. But by 1948 all mission work in China was shut down due to Communism. An alternative had to be found.
First Radio Station: Ideally located in the South China Sea, the Philippines had much to offer, and the newly established nation was more than willing for FEBC to establish their operations there. The first broadcasts, over local station KZAS (as it was known), went on the air in Manila on June 4, 1948. International broadcasts to China started the following year and have since expanded to cover most of Southeast Asia, as well as Russia, Ukraine, and Central Asia. FEBC’s sister organization, FEBA, broadcasts programs in Africa, the Middle East, and India.
Circling the Globe, FEBC’s programs are heard on AM and FM stations worldwide, as well as by satellite and the Internet. We also broadcast by shortwave through our transmitter sites in the Philippines, sharing Christ in hard-to-reach minority groups. Our total number of languages is now 124 worldwide, with broadcasting hours totaling 842 a day.
Four billion people live within range of our transmitters. But the only figure we’re truly interested in is the number of people whose lives have been changed by Christ. Last year, we received 2.26 million listener responses, many attesting to transformed lives. That’s why FEBC was launched. . . and that’s why we continue. To share Christ with the world. UNTIL ALL HAVE HEARD.
GREAT GOD, GREAT MISSION: THE STORY OF FEBC https://www.febc.org/learn-about-us?scroll_to=section4-svg
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Earlier in this blog I mentioned the book I had read about the early days of FEBC, "Sky Waves; The Incredible Far East Broadcasting Company Story." My hard copy version of that great book is long out of print, but Praise God, because of our technological advances (and you thought God had forgotten) that book is now available in PDF format. You can read it at:
Sky Waves; The Incredible Far East Broadcasting Company Story
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjhk4zj5LzjAhXbK80KHQPtBX4QFjAAegQIAhAC&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.americanradiohistory.com%2FArchive-Bookshelf%2FHistory%2FSky-Waves-Ledyard-1963.pdf&usg=AOvVaw2ZNb6UKmu_43PTzMXyMvKK
To all my Christian Friends, and even to those who have not yet joined our team and become a child of God - I pray you will visit the FEBC web site, visit their Facebook page, and read this very interesting book - all about how God chose to use three Americans when World War 2 was won and life was ready to move forward. They chose to move forward sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the Far East - and they have impacted the whole world through their ministry.
I pray you found this information useful and that it will enhance your spiritual walk with the Lord. Note of interest: In the photo below I have superimposed the photo of the FEBC founders on the cover of the book, "Sky Waves."
God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,
Bill
Click on the image to enlarge:
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