Student Missionary Outreach played an active role in the 8th World Congress of the International Council of Christian Churches held in Manila and Bacolod on October 11-15, 2010. SMO was one of the organizers of this historic event which gathered nearly a thousand of pastors, laymen, Christian workers, and youths to hear the call on being “faithful unto death.”
Present during the Congress were key leaders of the ICCC, among them were Rev. Dr. KC Quek, ICCC 1st Vice President and Executive Secretary, Rev. Dr. Quek Swee Hwa, ICCC General Secretary, Rev. Edwin Ormeo, ICCC Executive Secretary and President of the Philippine Council of Christian Churches.
Three pastors who passed away were given tribute in front of their respective families and Congress delegates and participants. Given tribute were Rev. Antonio F. Ormeo (former ICCC Vice President for the Philippines and one of the founders of SMO), Rev. Dr. Jose L. Latorilla, Sr., and Pastor Renato S. del Mundo (former ICCC Vice President for the Philippines and National Director of SMO).
Prior to the World Congress, SMO also took part in the first-ever International Christian Youth (ICY) held in Bacolod.
Pastor del Mundo headed the preparations for the 18th World Congress and worked with several pastors in ensuring a successful congress in the Philippines until his demise on August 26, 2010, barely two months before the scheduled event. Taking over his responsibilities were Rev. Luis Seijo and Pastor Renato S. Bravo for the Manila and Bacolod events, respectively.
Two of the major highlights of the 18th World Congress were the drafting of the Manila Declaration and a Statement on the Preservation of the Bible.
Part of the Manila Declaration stated: “Brethren, we are here to remind ourselves that God commands us to be faithful unto death. The Bible was written to be believed and obeyed. In the history of the Church many were willing to sacrifice their life and endure suffering. Those of us who have been preaching all our life, love the Bible with all of our heart, soul and being. The Bible is all that God wants us to preach. Great preachers are great expounders of the Bible.
“Each year brings us closer and closer to the coming again of our Lord Jesus Christ! Let’s look up into the heavens. Let’s tell our fellow Christians to look up also, for our redemption draweth nigh. Brethren, Jesus is coming! At the sound of the trumpet of the resurrection, the dead in Christ shall rise first. That statement of Jesus is final. It will never be amended. Resurrection power is in the hand of Jesus. He comes to sweep us off our feet into the skies and we shall meet our precious Lord! There’s not a word that is not true in the Bible. All will be literally fulfilled. Everyday we need to know about the end-times and the coming of Jesus is before us. The Bible tells us what Jesus said we would see and which we are now seeing. There’s nothing that we should do but cry out in great faith: “Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus.” This statement may be fulfilled any day. Eternal life has no end and the joy of this resurrection is our blessed hope.”
And part of the Statement on the Preservation of the Bible stated: “Be it further understood that the Word of God has come down to us, not through a miraculous action of God, but through the providential care of God Almighty in preserving the text and the message of Holy Scriptures intact, so that we may read and understand it sufficiently, using it as a means of grace for our salvation and sanctification. The loss of the autographs – the original writings as they left the hand of the Scriptural writers – does not obscure for us the truth of the Gospel. Through the providence of God, His Word was preserved in such a manner that we do not need to change any major doctrine we find in the KJV or in any other faithful translation of the Bible. We do not have to fear that we have in our hands something less than what is the Holy Scriptures. The Word of God is totally preserved both in its message as well as in the very words that have come down to us. These words are inerrant, not in any English or non-English translation, but in the original texts. “
Part two of the 18th World Congress will be held on February, 2012 in Sao Paolo, Brazil.
