CHURCH HISTORY

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     Tel: 046 471-0696 ~ Imus Unida Christian Church, Gen. Castaneda St Imus Cavite

                                     © Imus Unida Christian Church 2009

Church History !

The Birth and Growth of Imus Unida  Church

The Birth

In 1902 the American Presbyterian Mission Conducted a propaganda/evangelistic meeting in the old Imus Public Market. The evangelist was Pastor Wright. Among those who responded to the preaching of the Word and  then became church officer were : Valeriano del Mundo, Pedro Castro, Julian de Castro, Crisanto Diaz, Genaro Jaro - secretary, Cayetano Espiritu - treasurer, Jorge Topacio, Agapita del Mundo, Maximo Alcantara and Hermogenes Manago. There were others who responded like : Tuto Saprid who donated part of our church lot and Bernardino Monzon, father of Pastor Igmidio Monzon. This marked the beginning of the Chrstian Church in Imus. the first Christians were not called Christian but  " Protestants ". The church was under Presbyterian Mission for eleven years.

In September 21, 1913 , the church was placed under the banner of " Iglesia de los Cristianos Filipinos."  A federation of Filipino independent churches. Through evangelistic rallies held in Bayan Luma, Bucandala , Tanzang Luma and in other Imus barrios more families were added to the group. Added to the first batch of officers were:Gen. Panteleon Garcia, Juan Paredes, Clemente Sarreal, Agripino Panis, Pedro P. Bautista, Benigno Agco and Mariano Abad. The  Lord raised up Valeriano Del Mundo to be their Pastor.

The early Christians belonged to the low and middle class families. They held fellowships under a "kubo" made of bamboo and banana leaves, located at Mang Tiago's  lot ( the present shell station in front of

our church building ). The Christians were persecuted by unbelievers but they stood firm in their new found faith. Eventually they were able to purchase a lot from Jose Topacio where they built a chapel made of bamboo and nipa. Vidal Garcia's lot was also sold to the church and the chapel was remodeled, this time made of wood and G.I. sheets. From time to time the Christians were visited by foreign missionaries but the elders took turns in leading the church. Imus was under Iglesia de los Cristianos Filipinos for eighteen (18) years.

New Affliation - October 21, 1931

Meanwhile Don Toribio Teodoro, and other pastors met for prayer. As they finished they decided to organize the various independent churches under the banner of Iglesia Evagelica Unida de Cristo. Imus was one of them. The first Unida General Assembly was held in Imus at Capt. Felix Paredes compound Gen. E. Satorre St. and in Imus Chapel. Propaganda and Bible studies continued. Pastor Francisco Aguilar and Pastor Tomas Filio of Bacoor were among those invited as evangelists. As the church grew numerically the elders saw the need for a bigger site for the chapel. With God's provision through members with open heart in giving for the church they were able to buy the adjacent lots from Restituto Saprid, Miguel Topacio and Pricilla Alcantara.

In 1945 - after liberation, American Christian G.I. Roger Johnson came to Imus together with brother Zacarias Campana. He was invited to join our church worship service. He led many young people to come to  Christ and challenged them to the service of the Lord. After some time FEBIAS started a Bible training school and their first students were from Imus Unida Church who served the church during vacation time. Pastor Arsenio Dominguez, Miss Gloria Nave. Betty Javalera, Zacarias Campana and others were products of FEBIAS college. They were also instrumental in founding the Philippine Missionary Institute where most of our church workers now were trained.

After the death of Pastor Valeriano del Mundo, Pedro P. Bautista was ordained as church pastor, he was a strong and influential leader. He held several positions in Iglesia Evangelica Unida de Cristo. On September 8, 1950 he led the church in the construction of a concrete chapel with the help of  engineer Maximo Javalera who offered his free services for this project. Since then, more improvements were done to  accommodate the growing number of church members and activities.

There were other pastors assigned in Imus. They helped and strengthened the members. like; Pastor Anacleto Lazaro - Japanese time, Pastor Jose Javier (1947-1958) Pastor Igmidio Monzon (1959-1985). Pastor P. Dominguez (1985 - 2001 ) and Pastor Benjamin Enriquez .

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