Mindanao is the second largest and southernmost major island in the Philippines. This is also the name of one of the three island groups in the country (the other two being Luzon and the Visayas). It consists of the island of Mindanao (with a population of over 18 million) along with smaller outlying islands.
Over 70% of the people in the Philippines profess the Roman Catholic religion; 17% are Protestants; 5–10% Muslims, and the remainder are Buddhists and persons of other religions.
The language most commonly spoken in Mindanao is Cebuano (Bisaya), although the official languages are Filipino and English.
Since its inception in 1958, the work of the SDA Reform Movement in the Philippines started in Mindanao, particularly in Davao city. Later on, a property was acquired in Digos, Davao del Sur to be the first Mission headquarters in the country. By the grace of God, the work grew—and from this first Mission, it spread around the country and today we now have an established Union Conference with five Field Conferences and a very active membership.
At this point, the structure of this headquarters has become very old, and instead of repairing it, the brethren decided to build a new one to meet the demands of the activities of the Field Conference. This new building will include dormitories, restroom facilities and a session hall to hold reorganizational meetings.
“We may well feel that it is a privilege to be laborers together with God by giving of our means to set in operation that which will carry out His purposes in the world. All who possess the Spirit of Christ will have a tender, sympathetic heart, and an open, generous hand. Nothing can be really selfish that has Christ for its absorbing object.”—The Review and Herald, April 18, 1912.
Our brethren are raising funds for this project and still have a long way to bring it to completion. It is our sincere desire and prayer that the Lord will bless your generosity in furthering His work in this region.
Your brethren in the Southern Mindanao Field Conference